OPINION
{1} Defendant, Richard Eddie Sanders, was convicted of willful and deliberate first degree murder contrary to NMSA 1978, § 30-2-l(A)(l) (1994) and numerous other crimes 1 stemming from his involvement in a drug trafficking ring that operated in southern New Mexico. Sanders’ sentence to life imprisonment vests this Court with jurisdiction. See N.M. Const, art. VI, § 2 (as amended 1965); see also Rule 12-102(A)(1) NMRA 2000. Sanders appeals his conviction on three grounds. He alleges that the district court: (1) improperly admitted his confession in violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment’s prohibition against coerced confessions; (2) committed reversible error by improperly rejecting his proffered jury instructions regarding the voluntariness of his confession; and (3) improperly denied his motion to monitor the jury culling process. Finding no error in the rulings of the trial court, we affirm Sanders’ convictions.
I.
{2} Sanders’ conviction resulted from a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) probe into a suspected drug organization operating in southern New Mexico. In conjunction with its drug investigation, the FBI was also investigating the disappearance of Darrett McCauley, a purported member of the drug organization. During the course of their investigation, the FBI learned of a threat on Sanders’ life and that members of the drug organization considered him a “loose end that had to be taken care of.” The FBI has a policy of alerting intended victims of threats on their lives which they have learned of during the course of an investigation. Accordingly, two agents, Mr. Colbridge and Mr. Pittman, visited Sanders’ father’s feed store in Alamogordo on July 27, 1994, in an attempt to contact Sanders. Because Sanders was not available, the agents spoke with his father, advised him of the threat, and left a contact number for Sanders to reach them. The next day, Sanders called the FBI and left a cellular telephone number where he could be reached. FBI Special Agent Pittman returned Sanders’ call. Statements made during this initial conversation between Special Agent Pittman and Sanders provide the basis for Sanders’ Due Process challenge. The conversation occurred as follows:
SA Pittman: Well, we, we ... ah ... talked to your father, Jim?
Eddie Sanders: Yeah.
SA Pittman: Yesterday, um ... we ... like we told him ... we needed to contact you and advise you that ... ah ...
Eddie Sanders: I’ve got problems.
SA Pittman: Well, not that you’ve got problems that ... ah ... during the investigation of our we’ve recently received information ... ah ... that your life might be in danger.
Eddie Sanders: Okay, would it help you all in the investigation if I cooperated any at all?
SA Pittman: It’s ... it certainly would and ... and may in fact help yourself.
Eddie Sanders: Well, I’m ready.
SA Pittman: Okay, you need to understand that I can’t promise you anything.
Eddie Sanders: Yeah, I realize that.
SA Pittman: But what I can do is I can ... um ... communicate to the U.S. Attorney with whom I, I work on a daily basis about your cooperation.
Eddie Sanders: Okay.
SA Pittman: Okay, now ... um ... when would you like to get together?
Eddie Sanders: Ah ... what would be convenient for you all cause I really kind of hate to get back in Alamogordo for a little while because I’ve got some other problems there.
SA Pittman: Okay.
Eddie Sanders: My girlfriend got beat up a couple of nights ago and raped and that’s one of the reasons that we’re out of town.
(Agent Pittman and Sanders then arranged a tentative time to meet in Las Cruces.).
Eddie Sanders: I should get over there ... ah ... I just call you sometime in the morning and let you know where I’m at and everything.
SA Pittman: Okay.
Eddie Sanders: Cause ... ah ... I’d like for you all to go ahead and keep track of me.
SA Pittman: Okay.
Eddie Sanders: You know ... cause ... ah.... I don’t know what the investigation is about but I have a sneaking suspicion about how it’s originated.
SA Pittman: Okay.
Eddie Sanders: And ... ah ... I’ve.
SA Pittman: Now if we ... I’m gonna be frank with you Eddie, if we get together I don’t, I don’t wanna dance around. I want, I would like to get to the point and get to the bottom of this.
Eddie Sanders: Me too. No problem at all.
SA Pittman: Okay.
Eddie Sanders: Ah, you know I’ve been ... this has been kind of in the back of my head, bugging me for probably a year.
SA Pittman: Okay.
(Conversation ends with confirmation that Defendant should call in the morning to arrange meeting with Special Agent Pittman.).
{3} Following this conversation, Sanders met Special Agent Pittman and Agent Col-bridge at a Super 8 Motel in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Sanders was driven to the Super 8 by his girlfriend and his father. During this meeting, Sanders gave what was to be the first of a number of detailed confessions in which he described the killing of Darrett McCauley and provided information that led to the discovery of McCauley’s remains in the forest of Catron County. At the conclusion of the initial interview on July 28, 1994, Sanders signed an FBI Advice of Rights interrogation form which contained his rights under Miranda and the following statements: “I understand and know what I am doing. No promises or threats have been made to me and no pressure or coercion of any kind has been used against me.” He again signed advice of rights forms when he met with the FBI on August 9, 1994, and August 15,1994.
{4} Sanders was subsequently charged with the murder of Darrett McCauley. Sanders filed a motion to suppress the contents of his confession, alleging that it was coerced by Special Agent Pittman’s indication that he would communicate his cooperation to the United States Attorney’s office. Sanders also maintained that the FBI coerced his confession by informing him of the threat on his life. The district court conducted a suppression hearing at which Sanders and the FBI agents testified. In addition to the transcript of the conversation, the trial court also considered a number of other relevant factors. The trial court detailed those findings of fact after the suppression hearing: (1) Defendant, an adult male bom March 1953, completed high school and reads and understands the English language; (2) Defendant was having some “problems” in 1994 which included the suspicious destruction of both his truck and home and the rape of his girlfriend; (3) In May of 1994, Defendant sought treatment for depression, was prescribed Prozac, but was not taking his medication at the time of his confession; (4) In May of 1994, while fighting forest fires, Defendant became seriously depressed and started using marijuana, but during a subsequent fire in June of 1994, he worked hard for 20 days without incident; (5) On the day of his confession, Defendant appeared in good health and did not appear to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs. After reviewing all of the relevant factors, the district judge ruled, based on the totality of the circumstances, that Sanders’ statement was “completely voluntary.” Sanders seeks review of this conclusion. He also alleges that the district court committed reversible error by refusing to give his proffered jury instructions with regard to the voluntariness of his confession. Finally, he asserts that he should have been allowed to participate in the jury qualification or culling process.
II.
{5} Sanders was not in custody and was free to leave when he gave his initial confession and therefore he does not assert that his confession was taken in violation of Miranda v. Arizona,
{6} We review the voluntariness of a defendant’s confession based on the totality of the circumstances. See Arizona v. Fulminante,
{7} Sanders finds support for his contention that his confession was coerced in State v. Aguirre: “For a confession to be voluntary, it must not have been extracted by any sort of threats or violence, nor obtained by any direct or implied promises, however slight, nor by the exercise of any improper influence.”
{8} Additionally, the expansive language relied on by Sanders from Aguirre originated in Bram v. United States,
{9} Therefore, Sanders’ reliance on Aguirre for proposition that “any sort of threats or violence” or “any direct or implied promises, however slight” operates to render a confession involuntary is not a proper articulation of the applicable law.
A.
{10} Sanders claims that Special Agent Pittman’s promise to inform the United States Attorney about his cooperation with the FBI investigation was sufficient to induce his confession. However, numerous courts have held that merely promising to bring a defendant’s cooperation to the attention of the prosecutor is not objectionable. See United States v. Lewis,
B.
{11} Sanders also asserts that the threat on his life induced his confession. However, the FBI did not originate the threat, but merely communicated it to Sanders. Accordingly, we must consider whether the mere communication of a threat made by a third person can constitute sufficient state coercion to render the resulting confession involuntary.
{12} Sanders relies on State v. Foster,
{13} Despite Sanders’ misguided citations to Foster and Benavidez, we have found some support for his contention in Federal jurisprudence. The United States Supreme Court indirectly addressed the issue of whether the threat need originate with government officials in Payne v. Arkansas,
{14} The United States Supreme Court directly addressed the issue of whether the threats of violence need to originate from the government officials in Arizona v. Fulminante.
{15} Other courts have followed Fulminante’s pronouncement that the communication of a credible threat is sufficient to operate as official coercion. See United States v. McCullah,
{16} Based on this precedent, we conclude that a finding of coercion need not depend upon actual violence by a government agent, and we follow the United States Supreme Court’s determination that a credible threat of physical violence from a third party may be sufficient to render a confession involuntary. However, we hold that the communication of a credible threat of violence to a defendant is but one factor to be considered when conducting an examination into the totality of the circumstances surrounding the confession.
C.
{17} In this case, based on the totality of the circumstances, we find that Special Agent Pittman communicated a credible threat to Sanders of violence from the drug organization. However, where the FBI made no offer of protection in exchange for Sanders’ cooperation and all of the other circumstances support the voluntariness of the confession, we hold that Sanders’ confession was voluntary and properly admitted by the district court.
{18} There is nothing in the record which indicates that Sanders did not fully understand what he was doing when he gave his confession. He is a middle-aged individual with a high school education. There is nothing in the record to suggest that his mental faculties were in any way impaired on the day he gave his confession. Sanders makes no showing that his depression rose to a debilitating level, such that he was unable to make an informed, knowing decision. Cf. Colorado v. Connelly,
{19} We also can find no wrongdoing in the conduct of the FBI agents in this case. See Connelly,
{20} We also find no wrongdoing on the part of the agents in offering to inform the U.S. Attorney of Sanders’ cooperation. This is especially true considering that Special Agent Pittman clearly communicated to Sanders that he was unable to make any promises to Sanders, and Sanders responded that he “realized that.”
{21} We find it significant that Sanders initiated the telephone conversation to which he now objects. He was under no obligation to return Special Agent Pittman’s call, and he was free to terminate the conversation at any time. Furthermore, it is significant that during the initial conversation, it was Sanders who volunteered his cooperation by stating, “Okay, would it help you all in the investigation if I cooperated any at all?” Sanders was not taken into custody and the interview took place at a neutral location. Sanders was under no obligation to meet the officers at the Super 8 Motel. He was not picked up by the officers but was driven there by his father and girlfriend. See e.g. Munoz,
{22} It is impossible for this Court to fully understand what convinced Sanders to cooperate with the FBI, but based on a totality of the circumstances, we do not believe that the officers coerced Sanders’ confession. In this case, it appeal’s that Sanders was motivated to cooperate for reasons that had nothing to do with any improper police conduct. Sanders stated during the initial conversation with Agent Pittman that, “this has been in the back of my head, bugging me for probably a year.” After reviewing the totality of the circumstances, we hold that Sanders’ confession was voluntary and properly admitted in the district court.
III.
{23} Sanders claims that the district court’s failure to submit his proffered instructions regarding the voluntariness of his confession constitutes reversible error. However, we believe that the jury was properly instructed on the voluntariness of Sanders’ confession. The jury was instructed regarding the admission of a confession according to UJI 14-5040 NMRA 2000:
Evidence has been admitted concerning a statement allegedly made by Richard Sanders. Before you consider any such statement for any purpose, you must determine that the statement was given voluntarily. In determining whether a statement was voluntarily given, you should consider if it was freely made and not induced by promise or threat.
At Sanders’ request, the jury also received an instruction that defined both “promise” and “threat.” The instructions given in this case were not erroneous, vague, nor contradictory. See State v. Parish,
IV.
{24} Sanders alleges the trial court erred by denying his motion to monitor the jury culling process. The culling process is the stage in which the judge or designee disqualifies or exempts prospective jurors pursuant to the statutory exemptions contained in NMSA 1978, § 38-5-1 (1991) and NMSA 1978, § 38-5-ll(B) (1991). A defendant’s right to be present during this process was recently addressed by the New Mexico Court of Appeals in State v. Huff,
Defendant’s presence would not impact the process. Defendant has no statutory authority to participate in this process, and, unlike the process of challenging potential jurors where Defendant may be able to discern some bias or prejudice, defendant can provide no special insight into the removal of jurors from the pool who are disqualified or excused on statutory grounds. See NMSA 1978, § 38-5-1 (1991).
Id. at ¶ 31; see also § 38-5-ll(B) (setting forth the statutory exemptions available for prospective jurors.). The reasoning in Huff is particularly convincing when viewed with Section 38-5-11(C), which allows the inspection and copying of both the certified list and the questionnaires of the panel members. See § 38-5-ll(C) (“The certified list of jurors and the questionnaires obtained from jurors shall be made available for inspection and copying by any party to any pending proceeding or their attorney or to any person having good cause for access to the list and the questionnaires.”). Access to these records coupled with the ability to voir dire the potential jury members for his trial on the information contained therein is all that is statutorily required and all that we think is appropriate.
V.
{25} We hold that the district judge properly denied the motion to suppress Sanders’ confession and the motion to monitor the jury culling process. We also hold that the jury was properly instructed on the voluntariness of Sanders’ confession. Therefore, we affirm.
{26} IT IS SO ORDERED.
Notes
. Sanders was also convicted of the following: conspiracy to commit first degree murder contrary to NMSA 1978, § 30-28-2 (1979) and Section 30-2-1; false imprisonment contrary to NMSA 1978, § 30-4-3 (1963); conspiracy to commit false imprisonment contrary to Section 30-28-2 and Section 30-4-3; and accessory to aggravated battery contrary to NMSA 1978, § 30-3-5(0 (1969) and NMSA 1978, § 30-1-13 (1972).
. Aguirre cites to Brady v. United States,
. The United States Supreme Court described the defendant and the circumstances of his confession as "a mentally dull 19-year-old youth [who], (1) was arrested without a warrant, (2) was denied a hearing before a magistrate at which he would have been advised of his right to remain silent and of his right to counsel, as required by Arkansas statutes, (3) was not advised of his right to remain silent or of his right to counsel, (4) was held incommunicado for three days, without counsel, advisor or friend. and though members of his family tried to see him they were turned away, and he was refused permission to make even one telephone call, (5) was denied food for long periods, and, finally, (6) was told by the chief of police ‘that there would be 30 or 40 people there in a few minutes that wanted to get him,' which statement created such fear in petitioner as immediately produced the ‘confession.’ ” Payne,
