Today’s Good News: States Hack Away At Criminal Injustice
It’s hard to believe there’s so much good news lately about the criminal justice system. An update from Progressive States Network shows many states are making real changes in the areas that contribute most to wrongful convictions. According to the Innocence Project, the most common causes of wrongful conviction are:
- Eyewitness misidentification
- False confessions
- Forensic science error
- Misuse of informants (”snitches”)
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Of these, eyewitness misidentification is the biggest culprit, playing a role in 75% of the wrongful convictions later overturned. In the past two years, 32 bills on eyewitness identification reform were introduced in 17 states.
I think most of us know that police use all kinds of shady methods to extract confessions at any price. As usual, sunshine does a lot to reduce the incidence of such things. California and North Carolina now require taping of interrogations for violent felony suspects (CA) and homicide suspects (NC). Hey, it’s a start.
Real forensic science, unlike the TV variety, is full of problems. Colorado, Maryland and North Carolina have passed bills improving crime lab oversight and strengthening defendants’ rights related to re-examination of evidence. Articles in the Denver Post contributed to a sense of urgency.
Our friends in Vermont passed a comprehensive bill that dealt with many of these issues in an integrated manner.
For more details click here.
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