Cops in Connecticut Drop Case Saying Eyewitness ID Evidence Often Too Shaky To Stand Alone…

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Mark Godsey | 2 Comments

Chief Duane Lovello

Full article here….the important quote is here:

“If you are going to seek an arrest warrant based solely on eyewitness identification, you are treading on dangerous waters,” said Darien Police Chief Duane Lovello, a member of the state’s Eyewitness Identification Task Force. “It’s not something police want to do.”

It’s good to see all the research from the Innocence Movement started to have real world impact with officers who are up to date with science and open to reforming the system for the better.

This entry was posted in Editorials/Opinion, Eyewitness identification, Freedom's Heroes, North America, Police conduct (good and bad). Bookmark the permalink.

2 responses to “Cops in Connecticut Drop Case Saying Eyewitness ID Evidence Often Too Shaky To Stand Alone…”

Phil Locke | April 10, 2012 at 6:04 pm | Reply

Having been an 8-year Connecticut resident, I can say that Darien is one of the more “enlightened” communities you’ll find in this country, but this is a huge precedent, and a great step forward.
Just look at the DATA. The Innocence Project has hard data that says eye witness identifications are WRONG 75% of the time.
lynne0312 | April 11, 2012 at 8:22 am | Reply

Reblogged this on Stop Wrongful Convictions and commented:
Read this post and then consider the Jason Young case - where the star witness and only person able to challenge his alibi identified him after being shown one photo, and then inaccurately described him at the trial. This is not enough evidence to convict. There wasn’t one piece of evidence proving that he ever left his hotel room that night or was ever at the murder scene. This is how wrongful convictions happen. At least the police in CT did the right thing…knowing how inaccurate eyewitness ID can be.