Will Pennsylvania Supreme Court Consider U.S. Supreme Court Message?
If you saw someone commit a crime, would you be able to describe them accurately if questioned after the fact? Did you know that 75% of all wrongful convictions that […]
New Bill in Florida Proposes Double-Blind Lineups
In what is a terrific step forward in reducing wrongful convictions resulting from eyewitness misidentification, the Florida State Senate unanimously passed a bill submitted by Sen. Joe Negron that requires […]
NJ Supreme Court Explores the Reliability of Witness Identification
Larry Henderson claims that Camden, NJ police influenced a witness’ identification of him as an accomplice in the shooting of Rodney Harper, for which Henderson was convicted in 2004. Now, […]
Texas Senate Passes Bill Codifying Lineup Procedures
The Texas Senate passed a bill that would require police to adopt written policies when conducting live and photo identification lineups. This is a big step in helping to reduce […]
Update: Prosecution Appeals a Special Jury Instruction Regarding Eyewitness Identification
A few weeks ago, we wrote about a Florida armed-robbery trial that was set to include special jury instruction regarding eyewitness identification. Now, prosecutors wish to block a measure that […]
“A sad case of the wrong guy locked up”: VA Man Hopes to Be Released After 27 Years
Cleared by DNA in two of the cases for which he’s been charged, Thomas Haynesworth has spent 27 years in prison for rape and other attacks, maintaining his innocence all […]
Death Row Inmate To be Retried Within 120 Days or Released
For 26 years, James Lambert has been on death row proclaiming his innocence of a 1982 murder. Yesterday, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ordered that if the Commonwealth does […]
Pennsylvania Man Released after 23 Years’ Incarceration
Kenneth Shiffer was convicted of second degree murder in 1988 and sentenced to life in prison. On November 23, 2010, Shiffer was released from prison after serving 23 years. Shiffer […]
Exoneree Ferando Bermudez Speaks to Arcadia Students
Last Monday, recent exoneree Fernando Bermudez addressed a packed room of Arcadia University students and professors to share with them his personal story, and to exhort them to “live your […]
Can a Prosecutors’ Office be Liable under Section 1983 for Failure to Train?
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard argument in Connick v. Thompson. John Thompson was wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1985 in New Orleans. He was exonerated […]
Alibi Doesn’t Protect Innocent Philadelphia Teen from 5 Months’ Incarceration
Even a videotaped alibi didn’t prevent Lionel Franks, an 18 year-old high school senior, from being incarcerated for five months for an attempted murder he didn’t commit. Before his arrest […]
Is it Intimidation When a DA Does It?
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is set to hear a case where a Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney prevented a confessed killer from testifying on behalf of another accused in the same […]
New Jersey Special Master Calls for Major Overhaul of Eyewitness Evidence
For several months, a court in New Jersey held hearings at the request of the New Jersey Supreme Court to “test the current validity” of New Jersey’s standards on the […]
Justice comes after inmate’s death
On Friday, March 19, Texas Governor Rick Perry granted the state’s first posthumous pardon to Tim Cole, according to a report by Elliott Blackburn of the Lubbock based Avalanche-Journal. Cole […]
Perils of Eyewitness Testimony Continue to Plague Courts
Problems with eyewitness testimony in courts continue to raise concerns across the country. In a recent article, Do You Believe What Witnesses See?, the Baltimore Sun explores the unreliability of […]
Identification of the actual culprit jumps 40% when proper photo array procedures are followed
A news team in Pittsburgh decided to test how well witnesses to a crime can identify an unknown culprit. After staging a crime (where another student stole a laptop from […]
Former Dallas DA: I convicted an innocent man
Today, the Dallas Morning News ran an editorial by James A. Fry, a former Assistant District Attorney who prosecuted Charles Chatman for aggravated rape. Mr. Chatman was convicted but conclusively […]