A majority of Virginia law enforcement agencies continue to adhere to an outdated suspect lineup policy that frequently produces wrongful convictions, according to research conducted by Law Prof. Brandon Garrett.
Although state police have adopted a new model policy to improve the procedures for eyewitnesses to identify potential suspects, Garrett’s research shows that 9 out of 10 agencies have not adopted the new policy.
The outdated lineup policies, Garrett said, were problematic because they encouraged eyewitnesses to guess, tolerated dangerous police suggestion and caused mistaken identifications, which could permanently damage criminal investigations.
“Most often, policies that are not sequential — showing photos one at a time — and blind — where the officer does not know which is the suspect — encourage mistakes that lead to [filler candidates] being identified, but that damages the credibility of the eyewitness and may prevent an investigation from going forward,” Garrett said.
Widespread use of DNA testing has recently overturned many wrongful convictions in the state of Virginia, including the recent case of Thomas Haynesworth, who spent 27 years in prison because of eyewitness misidentification. Thirteen out of 16 DNA exonerations in Virginia have involved eyewitness errors.
According to Garrett, two main solutions exist: showing photos of suspects sequentially rather than all at once, and showing photos “blind” — when the officer officiating the lineup does not know which participant is the suspected offender.
“Making procedures blind increases their accuracy and removes sources of potential bias – even unconscious or unintended bias,” Garrett said.
Garrett has been involved with investigating eyewitness errors since 2011, when research revealed that most of the 250 DNA exoneration cases in Virginia involved eyewitness misidentifications.
Read More
Department of Education reverses course, awards Federal Executive Institute to U.Va.
By Ford McCracken | 2 days agoThe ED had previously awarded the institute to Charlottesville City Schools.
Students reflect on the life and legacy of Pope Francis
By Bertie Azqueta | 3 days agoAt the University, students shared a range of perspectives on his legacy of reform, inclusivity and his impact on the global Catholic community.
What does the University’s contract with dining service Aramark entail?
By Brandon Kile | 4 days agoThe Cavalier Daily submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the University for its contract with Aramark to understand the specific terms of the agreement.
