Tag Archives: eyewitness identification

In North Carolina, Damian Mills and Teddy Isbell Sr. have reached a tentative settlement agreement with Buncombe County officials while their criminal convictions are still pending review…

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Posted in Compensation/Exoneree compensation, Eyewitness identification

Tagged appeals process, central park five, compensation, exoneree compensation, expert testimony, eyewitness identification, eyewitness reliability, Innocence Project, new trial, wrongful conviction

Eyewitness Scientific Research Persuasive in Federal Court Ruling

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Nancy Petro | Leave a comment

In a ruling that may influence other courts in evaluating eyewitness testimony, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit unanimously upheld Western District U.S. Magistrate Judge Victor Bianchini’s decision to grant defendant Rudolf Young’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus and vacate his conviction of robbery and burglary.

According to Joel Stashenko writing in the New York Law Journal (here), the Circuit ruled in Young v. Conway (here) that prosecutors could not use the eyewitness testimony of Lisa Sykes, whose home was broken into in March 1991. While Continue reading →

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Posted in Editorials/Opinion, Eyewitness identification

Tagged eyewitness identification, eyewitness research

Former Supreme Court Justice’s Work for Wrongfully Convicted Sheds Light on Justice

Posted on July 14, 2012 by Nancy Petro | 2 comments

Among the many misconceptions about the criminal justice system revealed through DNA exonerations is the myth that conviction errors will get corrected on appeal. The Innocence Project now lists 292 DNA-proven wrongful convictions. Many of these unfortunate people had exhausted a lengthy appeals process before DNA finally proved their innocence. Former New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Virginia Long, who has committed to working for the wrongfully convicted, recently provided insights into why the courts do not Continue reading →

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Posted in Editorials/Opinion, Exonerations, Eyewitness identification, Uncategorized

Tagged Centurion Ministries, eyewitness identification, Fox Rothchild, Supreme Court Justice Virginia Long, wrongful conviction

Eyewitness Nightmare: We’ve Convicted Countless on Evidence that is Unreliable 25% of the Time

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Nancy Petro | 5 comments

A fundamental principal in American criminal justice is that one is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. But in the past two decades, DNA-proven wrongful convictions have revealed that we’ve routinely met the standard of “beyond a reasonable doubt” with evidence that is quantifiably incorrect one-fourth of the time.

A 25 percent error rate in school has historically earned the very lackluster grade of D. A 25 percent margin of error would shutter any hospital and ground any airline. But, in the criminal justice system, most Americans, blinded by trust in the system and a popular allegiance to “tough on crime” policies, have yet to Continue reading →