Innocence Project Bournemouth

posted by Justice on Jul 14

A story on the front page of yesterday’s Chicago Tribune reviews two possible false confession cases in Illinois – and explores a troubling trend nationwide of prosecutions based on confessions or admissions, even when evidence contradicts the statements. Jerry Hobbs has been in jail for five years in north suburban Chicago, awaiting trial for the murder of his daughter and her friend.

"An Overdependence on Confessions"
A story on the front page of yesterday’s Chicago Tribune reviews two possible false confession cases in Illinois – and explores a troubling trend nationwide of prosecutions based on confessions or admissions, even when evidence contradicts the statements.

Jerry Hobbs has been in jail for five years in north suburban Chicago, awaiting trial for the murder of his daughter and her friend. He gave a videotaped confession after nearly 20 hours of interrogation. Now, DNA evidence has implicated another man in the crime and prosecutors have reopened the investigation.

Considering Hobbs’ case and a similar case from a town south of Chicago, the Tribune examines wrongful convictions and what Stanford Law School Professor Larry Marshall calls “an overdependence on confessions.”

“The interrogation itself is stressful enough to get innocent people to confess,” said Saul Kassin, a psychology professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. “But add to that a layer of grief and shock and perhaps even some guilt – ‘I should have been there’ – and then that the parent is trying like hell to be cooperative because they want the murder of their child solved.”

About 25 percent of wrongful convictions overturned through DNA testing have involved false confessions or admissions. Rob Warden, the Executive Director of Northwestern University’s Center on Wrongful Convictions, told the Tribune that it’s often hard for juries to grasp why someone would confess to a crime they didn’t commit.

“You can’t imagine you’d ever confess to something you didn’t do,” said Warden. “But at some point people simply lose their will to resist. That’s the danger of prolonged interrogation.”

Read more about false confessions and wrongful convictions.

Tags: injustice, law, Innocence Project

posted by Justice on Jul 14

A Florida judge ruled today that an expert in the science of human memory and eyewitness identifications can offer limited testimony at the trial of a man charged with killing three people in 2007.

Experts and Identification
A Florida judge ruled today that an expert in the science of human memory and eyewitness identifications can offer limited testimony at the trial of a man charged with killing three people in 2007. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the case and say they plan to rely heavily on eyewitness identification.

For now, (the judge) is allowing the testimony, but is placing limitations on what the expert, John Brigham, can discuss. Brigham can express opinion on general issues, including the length of time an eyewitness observes an event or the impact of stress on eyewitness identification, but can’t discuss how that relates to specific witnesses in this case.

He’s also precluded from addressing the number of defendants who were convicted largely through eyewitness testimony, and were later exonerated through DNA evidence.

Rules vary nationwide on whether courts will allow expert testimony on the science of eyewitness identification, but sometimes experts are admitted and only allowed to offer limited testimony. The Innocence Project strongly supports the admission of eyewitness experts, for both prosecution and defense, to provide background for judges and juries on variables that affect the reliability of identifications.

A major ruling last month from a New Jersey judge could lead to critical changes in the way that state – and others – handle eyewitness identification evidence in court, including the admission of experts.

And an editorial in the Philadelphia Inquirer last week calls on Pennsylvania lawmakers to follow New Jersey’s footsteps in proactively addressing unreliable eyewitness evidence. Pennsylvania is one of a few states that prohibit all expert testimony on the science of human memory and eyewitness identification.

Tags: Innocence Project, law, Miscarriage of Justice

posted by Justice on Oct 6

Thanks to hundreds of generous donors from all over the world, including many regular Innocence Blog readers, we reached our September goal of $25,000 to help us pay for DNA testing for Innocence Project clients! We are deeply grateful for your support. Our DNA testing campaign was a great success, but it’s never too late to help us free the innocent

Thank You, Blog Readers
Thanks to hundreds of generous donors from all over the world, including many regular Innocence Blog readers, we reached our September goal of $25,000 to help us pay for DNA testing for Innocence Project clients! We are deeply grateful for your support.

Our DNA testing campaign was a great success, but it’s never too late to help us free the innocent. You can make a tax-deductible donation online or by mail. Every dollar supports the Innocence Project's work to overturn wrongful convictions and reform the criminal justice system.

And if you’re not able to donate but want to get involved in other ways, check out our “10 Things You Can Do” page here.

Tags: pro bono, , law

posted by Justice on Oct 6

This week marks the seventh anniversary of Jimmy Ray Bromgard’s exoneration in Montana, after serving more than 14 years for a crime he did not commit. Bromgard was convicted at 18 and released at 32, losing the prime years of his life behind bars. Participating in a prison program for sex offenders could have led to his early release, but he refused to take the classes

Montana Man Marks Seven Years Free

This week marks the seventh anniversary of Jimmy Ray Bromgard’s exoneration in Montana, after serving more than 14 years for a crime he did not commit. Bromgard was convicted at 18 and released at 32, losing the prime years of his life behind bars. Participating in a prison program for sex offenders could have led to his early release, but he refused to take the classes. “I would have had to admit my guilt,” he said after his release. “I'd rather sit there in prison for all my life than admit my guilt.”

Bromgard was convicted based in part on forensic science misconduct. The prosecution tied Bromgard to the crime by using the testimony of a state forensic hair examiner, Arnold Melnikoff, who claimed hairs found on the victim's bed were similar to Bromgard's, and further argued there was less than a one-in-10,000 chance that the hairs did not come from Bromgard. Melnikoff’s testimony was fraudulent; there has never been a standard by which to statistically match hairs through microscopic inspection.

Unvalidated or improper forensic science has played a role in more than 50% of the 244 wrongful convictions overturned by DNA testing to date. Forensic problems include the kind of fraudulent testimony that led to Bromgard’s conviction, but they also include testimony in fields — such as bite mark comparisons or firearm analysis — that simply have not been subjected to rigorous scientific research.

To learn more about recommended federal forensic reforms and to sign a petition supporting improved support and oversight for forensics, visit the Just Science Coalition website.

Read more about Bromgard’s case here.

Other Exoneration Anniversaries This Week:

George Rodriguez, Texas (Served 17 years, Exonerated 9/29/05)

Steven Phillips, Texas (Served 24 Years, Exonerated 10/1/08)

Arthur Johnson, Mississippi (Served 15.5 Years , Exonerated 10/1/08)

Earl Washington, Virginia (Served 17 years, Exonerated 10/2/00)

Albert Johnson, California (Served 10 years, Exonerated 10/3/02)

Tags: Miscarriage of Justice, Layla D’monte,

posted by Justice on Mar 19

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony today from the co-chairman of the National Academy of Sciences committee that recently released a report calling for the creation of an independent agency to oversee and support forensic science in our criminal courts.

An Overhaul of the Forensic System
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony today from the co-chairman of the National Academy of Sciences committee that recently released a report calling for the creation of an independent agency to oversee and support forensic science in our criminal courts.

Former Judge Harry Edwards told members of the Judiciary Committee that the committee was “thoroughly convinced” that it was time to move from the current forensic science system, “which is dysfunctional.”

“The principal point of our report is simple,” Edwards said in his testimony today. “There’s an obvious need to overhaul the existing system of forensic science in the United States. …Unfortunately, adversarial approach to the submission of evidence in court is not well-suited to the task of finding scientific truth. Judicial review alone will not cure the ills of the forensic science community.”

Watch a video of Edwards’ testimony and questioning from Senators.

Download the National Academy of Sciences report and learn more about unvalidated or improper science as a contributing cause of wrongful convictions.

Tags: Miscarriage of Justice, legal aid,