Category Archives: wrongful conviction
The Use of Mug Shot Identification in New York Police Lineups, Despite Unreliability
The New York Times recently ran an article on the use of mug shot searches in New York, despite the serious risks of mistaken identification associated with the technique. The technique involves asking victims to search through hundreds of matching photos after detectives enter a description of a perpetrator into the database. New York… Read More »
Thousands of New York Criminal Cases Relied On DNA Testing Techniques Now Under Scrutiny
DNA evidence has been considered a valuable tool in criminal investigations over the last three decades or so; especially when it comes to persuading judges or juries. Yet while something such a semen or blood can be linked to one person specifically, when the DNA material is just a few skin cells, for example,… Read More »
One Stay of Execution Issued Highlights a System Rampant With Problems
On August 22nd, Gov. Eric Greitens granted a stay of execution for Marcellus Williams, who was convicted 16 years ago for the 1998 murder of former reporter Felicia Gayle. The governor also ordered a board of inquiry to look into the case because of a series of issues found embedded in the original conviction…. Read More »
Where Does The Responsibility For A Wrongful Conviction Lie?
It would likely be a surprise to most that, according to The New York Times, just in the last three years, Brooklyn’s Conviction Review Unit has asked judges to free 23 defendants who, it stated, were in prison when they shouldn’t have been. And just think: this is only one of many units in… Read More »
Sessions’ Blow to Forensic Science Is Troubling For Justice in Criminal Conviction Cases
Recently Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that that the Department of Justice was disbanding the National Commission on Forensic Science and, instead, returning complete control of forensic science over to local law enforcement. In the same vein, Sessions suspended the department’s review of closed cases for evidence of any inaccurate or unsupported statements by… Read More »
Police Immunity & the Connection to Wrongful Convictions
What constitutes excessive use of force, and how is it connected to police immunity? Holding police officers civilly liable for police misconduct is important, but it is also important to know when police officers, as government officers, can raise immunity as a defense. Ultimately, police abuse is directly connected to other elements of the… Read More »
