Eyewitness ID Report

REEVALUATING
LINEUPS:
WHY WITNESSES MAKE MISTAKES
AND HOW TO REDUCE THE CHANCE OF A MISIDENTIFICATION

AN INNOCENCE PROJECT REPORT
BENJAMIN N. CARDOZO SCHOOL OF LAW, YESHIVA UNIVERSITY
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Gordon DuGan
President and Chief Executive Officer,
W.P. Carey & Co., LLC
Senator Rodney Ellis
Texas State Senate, District 13
Board Chair
Jason Flom
President, LAVA Records
John Grisham
Author
Calvin Johnson
Former Innocence Project
client and exoneree;
Supervisor, Metropolitan Atlanta
Rapid Transit Authority
Dr. Eric S. Lander
Director, Broad Institute of MIT and
Harvard Professor of Biology, MIT
Hon. Janet Reno
Former U.S. Attorney General
Matthew Rothman
Managing Director and Global Head
of Quantitative Equity Strategies,
Barclays Capital
Stephen Schulte
Founding Partner and Of Counsel,
Schulte Roth & Zabel, LLP
Bonnie Steingart
Partner, Fried, Frank, Harris,
Shriver & Jacobson LLP
Andrew H. Tananbaum
President and CEO,
Capital Business Credit, LLC
Jack Taylor
Head of High Yield Debt,
Managing Director,
Prudential Real Estate
Board Treasurer
Paul R.Verkuil
Of Counsel,
Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP
Rachel Warren
M.K. Enterprises, Inc.
CONTENTS
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.................................................................................................3
2. HISTORY AND OVERVIEW OF EYEWITNESS MISIDENTIFICATION ..................................6
3. PROBLEMS WITH TRADITIONAL EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION PROCEDURES .............10
4. HOW TO PREVENT MISIDENTIFICATION .....................................................................16
5. REFORMS AT WORK ..................................................................................................22
ENDNOTES.....................................................................................................................26
APPENDIX A:
Wrongful Conviction Cases Later Overturned Through DNA Testing
Which Involved Eyewitness Misidentification....................................................................28
APPENDIX B:
Model Legislation: An Act to Improve The Accuracy of Eyewitness Identifications................33
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Eyewitness identification is among the most

prevalent and persuasive evidence used in
courtrooms. Eyewitness testimony that directly
implicates the defendant is compelling evidence
in any trial, but it is not error-proof. Jurors may
not realize that confident, trustworthy witnesses
can be mistaken. A single witnesss identification
can be enough to obtain a conviction.
Eyewitness identification also plays a key role
in shaping investigations. In the immediate aftermath of a crime, an erroneous identification can
derail police investigations by putting focus on
an innocent person while the actual perpetrator
is still on the streets. Once a witness identifies
the suspect to police, whether or not that person
actually committed the crime, investigators may
stop looking for other suspects.
Over 175 people have been wrongfully convicted
based, in part, on eyewitness misidentification and
later proven innocent through DNA testing. The
total number of wrongful convictions involving
eyewitness misidentifications exceeds this figure,
given the widespread use of eyewitness testimony
and the limited number of cases in which DNA
evidence is available for post-conviction testing.
Experts estimate that physical evidence that can
be subjected to DNA testing exists in just 5-10%
of all criminal cases.1 Even among that small
fraction of cases, many will never have the benefit
of DNA testing because the evidence has been
lost or destroyed. DNA exonerations dont just
show a piece of the problem they are a microcosm of the criminal justice system.
Decades of empirical, peer-reviewed social science
research reaffirms what DNA exonerations have
proven to be true: human memory is fallible.2
Memory is not fixed, it can be influenced and
altered. After the crime and throughout the
criminal investigation, the witness attempts to
piece together what happened. His memory is
evidence and must be handled as carefully as
the crime scene itself to avoid forever altering it.
The Innocence Project identifies the common
causes of wrongful convictions across DNA
exoneration cases and has found eyewitness
misidentification to be the leading cause.
Innocence Project research shows:
Over 230 people, serving an average of
12 years in prison, have been exonerated
through DNA testing in the United States,
and 75% of those wrongful convictions
(179 individual cases as of this writing)
involved eyewitness misidentification.
In 38% of the misidentification cases,
multiple eyewitnesses misidentified the
same innocent person.
Over 250 witnesses misidentified
innocent suspects.
Fifty-three percent of the misidentification
cases, where race is known, involved crossracial misidentifications.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Eyewitness misidentification as the leading cause of wrongful conviction compared to other causes
(based on the first 239 DNA exonerations)
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Eyewitness
Misidentification
Unvalidated
or Improper
Forensic Science

eyewitness testimony was the central evidence
used against the defendant (without other
corroborating evidence like confessions,
forensic science or informant testimony).
the real perpetrator was identified through
DNA evidence.
In at least 48% of the misidentification cases
where a real perpetrator was later identified
through DNA testing, that perpetrator went
on to commit (and was convicted of) additional violent crimes (rape, murder, attempted
murder, etc.), after an innocent person was
serving time in prison for his previous crime.
THE INNOCENCE PROJECT
False
Confession
Informant
Testimony
Many of these misidentifications could have been

prevented, many wrongful convictions averted,
and many additional crimes avoided if police
had used more reliable lineup procedures.
In recognition of this, procedural reforms have
been developed by leading eyewitness psychologists and successfully implemented by criminal
justice professionals. These reforms have a strong
scientific foundation and have been embraced
by leading national justice organizations including the National Institute of Justice and the
American Bar Association.3 They include:
Double-blind presentation: photos or lineup
members should be presented by an administrator who does not know who the suspect is.
Lineup composition: Fillers (the non-suspects

included in a lineup) should resemble the
eyewitnesss description of the perpetrator and
the suspect should not stand out. Also, a lineup
should not contain more than one suspect.
Witness instructions: The person viewing a
lineup should be told that the perpetrator may
not be in the lineup and that the investigation
will continue regardless of whether an identification is made.
Confidence statements: At the time of the
identification, the eyewitness should provide
a statement in her own words indicating her
level of confidence in the identification.
Recording: Identification procedures
should be videotaped.
Sequential presentation (optional): Lineup
members are presented one-by-one (by a
blind administrator) instead of side by side.
Several states, cities and towns have already
adopted the reforms and found them to be
cost-effective and easily implemented. The
benefits are extensive and include reinforcing
the integrity of reliable identifications as well
as reducing the rate of misidentifications.
Despite positive feedback from police departments

where the reforms have been implemented and
mounting evidence of the reforms effectiveness,
the majority of jurisdictions have maintained the
status quo. There are no consistent standards for
identification procedures from state to state or
even from one police department to the next.
In fact, many police departments do not have
written procedures for conducting identifications,
so there is often inconsistency even within individual police departments. Now is the time for
change. Misidentifications benefit no one: not
the innocent defendants who face incarceration
for crimes they didnt commit, not the victims
who are denied justice, not the police officers
working to catch the real perpetrator, and not
the public whose safety is jeopardized when real
perpetrators remain at large.
This report provides a historical overview of how
eyewitness misidentification came to be recognized as a leading cause of wrongful conviction,
it examines the shortcomings of traditional
eyewitness identification procedures, and it
describes how simple improvements to procedures can alleviate the problem, with examples
of cities and states across the country that have
successfully implemented procedural reforms.
Its incumbent on us that we

establish procedures that make
them [police lineups] more reliable,
that law enforcement can count on.
If you identify the wrong person,
youre leaving a criminal out
there free and youre potentially
convicting an innocent person.
North Carolina State Rep. Deborah Ross,
The Herald-Sun, April 30, 2007
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
HISTORY AND OVERVIEW OF

EYEWITNESS MISIDENTIFICATION
On December 19, 1974, thousands of viewers

watched a woman being mugged on a New York
City television newscast. In a 13-second video
clip, viewers saw a man grab a womans purse,
knock her down and then run face forward
toward the camera. After the clip, viewers were
shown a lineup of six men who resembled the
attacker and a phone number to call to identify
which lineup member (if any) was the real perpetrator. Answering the phones were psychology
professor Robert Buckhout and his students,
who recorded the results as part of a staged
psychological study on eyewitness identification.
People tend to think of the ability

to recognize a face as a natural
ability. But a criminal situation
is totally different than what
people generally experience.
Professor Gary Wells: The Innocence Project in Print,
Winter 2008
Buckhout published the devastating results

under the title, Nearly 2,000 Witnesses Can Be
Wrong: He concluded that only 14% of viewers
made a correct positive identification, about the
same amount that would have gotten it right by
simply guessing.4 In terms of the sheer number
of eyewitnesses involved, the experiment was
groundbreaking. But, in fact, the results were
nothing new. Hundreds of witnesses in scores of

other eyewitness identification experiments had
been getting it wrong for decades.
Hugo Munsterberg, a German-American psychologist, first wrote about the fallibility of witness
memory a century ago in On the Witness Stand.
Munsterberg described a fight staged in a criminology classroom in order to test the students
ability to recall the event. One student shouted
an accusation at another who then retaliated.
The professor tried to intervene, and a gun went
off. At that moment, the professor explained the
experiment and asked all the students to write
an exact account of what happened.
Mistakes were found in every account of the
incident, and witnesses were just as likely to get
the important details wrong as they were to
get them right. Munsterberg reported: Words
were put into the mouths of men who had been
silent spectators during the whole short episode;
actions were attributed to the chief participants
of which not the slightest trace existed; and
essential parts of the tragic-comedy were
completely eliminated from the memory of
a number of witnesses.5
Psychological research over the past century has
consistently shown a high error rate in eyewitness
identifications. In 1932, Yale Law Professor
Edwin Borchard cited eyewitness misidentification as the leading cause of wrongful convictions
in his book, Convicting the Innocent.6 Sixty

years later, DNA exoneration cases proved that
Borchard and the psychologists were right.
Today, the data subset has multiplied, and

evidence from over 175 cases shows that eyewitnesses get it wrong. But why do eyewitnesses get
it wrong? And what can be done about it?
DNA Exonerations Further Reveal the

Prevalence of Eyewitness Misidentification
Why Eyewitnesses Get It Wrong
DNA exonerations supported what scientists

and academics had been saying for decades.
The cases represented a new, compelling data
subset to support existing research about
eyewitness identification. After all, these werent
subjects in scientific experiments; they were
people with firsthand experience of injustice.
To understand the factors affecting eyewitness

identification, it helps to use the example of
a particular crime and its investigation. Larry
Fullers case exemplifies a range of factors that
can compromise eyewitness identification. Fuller
was wrongfully convicted of a Dallas rape based,
in part, on eyewitness misidentification.
The first post-conviction DNA exoneration

occurred in 1989, but it would be years before
post-conviction DNA testing was widely available.
In 1992, the Innocence Project, founded by
Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld, began representing prisoners who could be proven innocent
through DNA testing. The demand for representation was enormous, and with the help of law
students from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School
of Law, the Innocence Project set out to fill the
need. By the end of 1995, 28 people had been
exonerated through DNA testing.
Case example: Larry Fuller

Sentence Served: 19.5 years
Conviction: Aggravated rape
The growing, undeniable evidence of wrongful

convictions spurred a new wave of criminal
justice research. In 1996, U.S. Attorney General
Janet Reno commissioned a National Institute
of Justice (NIJ) research report, Convicted by
Juries, Exonerated by Science, to analyze the
causes of the 28 cases of wrongful conviction.7
The only contributing cause common to all
cases was eyewitness misidentification. Clearly,
the witnesses in all the cases had been wrong.
In April 1981, a woman woke up at 6 a.m. to find

a man with a knife on her bed. It was 45 minutes
before sunrise on a foggy day, and the only light
in the room (other than any light from outside
before dawn) came from a digital alarm clock.
She tried to grab the knife away from the assailant,
but he cut her on the hand, the neck and the
back and then raped her. He got up and asked
the victim if she had any money and when she
said no, he fled. The entire incident lasted only
a matter of minutes.
The victim initially told police that she could not
provide a description of the perpetrator because
of the limited lighting. However, two days after
the rape, police showed the victim six photos at
her home. Fullers photo was among the six she
was shown. The victim said that he looks a lot
like the guy, but could not positively identify
him. The investigating police officer issued a
report recommending that the investigation be
HISTORY AND OVERVIEW OF EYEWITNESS MISIDENTIFIC ATION
suspended, noting that the victim was unsure

of the suspect at this time. The investigation
continued, however, and police remained
focused on Fuller.
A police officer went to Fullers house and took
three Polaroid photographs of him so that the
victim could see a recent photo of Fuller. He then
went to the victims home to show her a second
photo array. Fullers photo was the only one that
was repeated in the second photo array.
The Polaroid, taken exactly one week after the
attack, showed Fuller with a heavy distinct beard.
The victim became alarmed that Fuller had a full
beard, since she had said her attacker did not have
facial hair. Placing her fingers over the bottom
part of the photo, to block half of Fullers face,
she then positively identified him, and he was
arrested. In August 1981, Fuller had a two-day
trial in which the prosecution said the victim had
never wavered in identifying him. After deliberating for 35 minutes, the jury convicted him.
All those years ago, (a Burlington

detective) was doing his job by the
book but when I asked him if I
did OK and he told me yes, then
I subconsciously tried to pick the
same person out of the physical
lineup. The standard way eyewitness evidence was collected had
failed me, and because of that,
Id failed, too.
Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, a North Carolina rape
victim who misidentified Ronald Cotton as her attacker.
Cotton was exonerated by DNA testing in 1995.
Picking Cotton, St. Martins Press, 2009
Because of how the crime occurred, this identification was compromised before the investigation
even began. The lack of light in the room prevented the victim from getting a clear view of the
assailant. The perpetrator had a knife. Studies
have shown that the presence of a weapon increases stress levels and decreases the likelihood
of a reliable identification.8
Research also shows that people are less able to
recognize faces of a different race than their own
due to a phenomenon known as own-race bias.9
In this case, the victim was Caucasian and the
perpetrator was African-American. In 53% of
wrongful convictions cases involving eyewitness
misidentification (that were later overturned
through DNA testing), the witness and the
perpetrator were of different races. These cases
strongly suggest that people of color are more
likely to be wrongfully convicted based on
cross-racial misidentification than Caucasians.
Cross-racial misidentifications in the DNA
exoneration cases involve an African-American
or Latino defendant 99% of the time, and a
Caucasian defendant only 1% of the time.
All of these factors the limited lighting, the
presence of a weapon, the cross-race identification are event-related variables. While the
criminal justice system should take these factors
into account, and must educate jurors about the
scientific research surrounding them, they are
not factors that law enforcement can control.
Its still possible that a witness might be able to
recognize an assailant in spite of these eventrelated variables and make a correct identification. However, in this case, law enforcement
further compromised the identification with its
single-minded pursuit of Fuller.
Race of the defendant, of those known,

in cross-racial misidentifications
(based on 78 defendants in cross-racial misidentification cases
in the first 239 DNA exonerations)
90%
African-American
9%
Latino
1%
Caucasian
Race of the eyewitness, of those known,

in cross-racial misidentifications
(based on 78 eyewitnesses in cross-racial misidentification cases

92%
Latino
1%
Other
Because the victim viewed Larry Fullers photo

in the first photo array, she was already familiar
with his face when she saw it again in the second
photo array. Regardless of the fact that Fuller
had a full beard, she recognized him, and therefore identified him as the perpetrator. These
procedure-based variables interfered with her
original memory by suggesting that Fuller was
the perpetrator. Rather than helping to uncover
her original memory, police supplanted it with
a new one.
Although the event-based problems could not
have been prevented, the procedure-based
problems could have. Sections four and five of
this report will explore how police can improve
lineup procedures to avoid these types of problems and reduce the rate of misidentifications.
But first, a closer examination of the problems.
Caucasian
6%
Factors involving law enforcements interactions

with the witness, including the lineup procedures
and any questions, suggestions and inferences
that are made are procedure-based variables. 10
From the moment an eyewitness interacts with
the criminal justice system, her memory (which
is a form of evidence), is at risk, even from the
well-intentioned questions of law enforcement
officers. Research shows that memory is not like a
video recorder. We neither record events exactly
as we see them, nor recall them like a tape being
replayed. Instead, each new bit of information
helps to construct the memory, which can be
manipulated and transformed with even the
most subtle cues. Once altered, the original
memory cannot be restored.11
In cases with multiple eyewitnesses, only the witness of a different race

was counted. There were no known cases in which eyewitnesses
of multiple different races misidentified the same innocent defendant.
HISTORY AND OVERVIEW OF EYEWITNESS MISIDENTIFIC ATION
PROBLEMS WITH TRADITIONAL

EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION PROCEDURES
The Innocence Project identifies common

problems across DNA exoneration cases and has
consistently found that eyewitness misidentification contributes to more wrongful convictions
later overturned through DNA testing than
any other cause. Specific complications with
eyewitness identification can be tracked through
the individual DNA exoneration cases as well.
While complications caused by event-related
variables (low lighting, disguised perpetrators,
etc.) contribute to misidentifications, the
Innocence Projects focus is on procedurerelated variables, which can be improved
through law enforcement practices.
What happened to me was horrible

and it caused me a lot of pain, but
its tiny compared to what he went
through. I was allowed to move on,
but he woke up every morning in
that prison.
Ann Meng, Virginia rape victim who misidentified Julius
Ruffin as her attacker. Ruffin was exonerated through DNA
testing in 2003: O, The Oprah Magazine, October 2007
10
1. Composition of the lineup may be suggestive

A lineup is either a photo array or a physical
lineup, which most often consists of five or six
members. In a proper lineup, only one of the
lineup members will be the police suspect, and
the others will be fillers. These fillers may come
from a nearby jail, they may be other police officers
in plain clothes, or, in some cases, they may be
civilians. If a filler is selected from a lineup that
person will not be prosecuted. In a balanced
lineup, all the fillers will resemble the witnesss
description of the suspect and the suspect will not
stand out in any suggestive way. If the lineup
composition unfairly suggests a particular choice
for example, the suspect towers head and shoulders above the fillers or is the only one with
facial hair or is the only one wearing a hat
the witness is more likely to be influenced in
making a selection.
In DNA exoneration cases, examples of suggestive lineups resulting in wrongful convictions
include: a photo array in which the suspects
photo was the only one in color, a photo array
in which the suspect and only one other man
were shirtless (and the perpetrator had been
described as shirtless), and a physical lineup
in which the suspect was the only one wearing an
orange prison jumpsuit. Any detail that identifies
the lineup member as the police suspect (like the
orange jumpsuit), or as more closely matching
the description of the perpetrator, will be an
obvious cue to the witness to pick that person out.
Case Example: Antonio Beaver

Sentence Served: 10 years
Conviction: First-degree robbery
In 1996, a woman in St. Louis was attacked with
a screwdriver by a man who stole her purse and
car. She described her attacker as a clean-shaven
African-American man wearing a baseball cap.
She said the man was about 5 10 and had a gap
between his teeth. About a week after the crime,
a detective arrested Antonio Beaver because he
thought Beaver resembled the composite sketch.
Beaver appeared in a physical lineup with three
other men. Beaver and only one other man were
wearing baseball caps and Beaver was the only
one who had a gap in his teeth. The victim
identified Beaver. In 1997 he was convicted and
sentenced to 18 years in prison. Years later,
DNA testing was conducted on bloodspots left
inside the car by the perpetrator. The biological
evidence didnt match Beaver, and he was
exonerated in 2007.
Since Beaver was placed in a lineup with only three
other men, the odds that he would be chosen
were already high. The fact that only two of the
lineup members wore caps further increased the
likelihood that he would be chosen. Finally, the
gap in his teeth plus the presence of the cap
made it almost certain that he would be chosen.
I thought surely I wouldve been

cleared when they said the guy was
58 because Ive never been 58
in my life. Ive always been tall as
I can remember; I stand 64.
2. Cues from the lineup administrator may

influence the identification
In most criminal investigations, the officer who
administers the lineup has already established
rapport with the eyewitness, has followed the case
closely and most likely has already begun to develop some ideas about who the culprit might be.
The witness, who has a strong interest in seeing
justice done and in making the right decision,
may look to the officer for guidance or affirmation. Likewise, the administrator will naturally
feel empathy for the witness, who is often also
the victim, and may consciously or unconsciously
provide cues to assist them. Examples include
something as direct as a leading question or suggestion, like Take another look at number four,
to seemingly innocuous body language cues.
Its often difficult to determine after the fact if
the lineup administrator has influenced the
eyewitnesss identification either intentionally or
unintentionally. However, in some wrongful convictions cases it was clearly a factor. For example,
if the lineup itself appears to be fair and unbiased,
yet multiple eyewitnesses are all identifying the
same innocent person as the suspect, then witnesses may be responding to cues given by the
lineup administrator. Wrongful convictions have
resulted from as many as 10 witnesses misidentifying the same innocent defendant. Any kind
of coaching or feedback to the witness, even by
well-intentioned officers, could compromise
the reliability of the identification.
James Waller, exonerated through DNA testing

after 10 years in prison and 13 years on parole:
Innocence Project interview, Fall 2007.
PROBLEMS WITH TRADITIONAL EYEWITNESS IDENTIFIC ATION PROCEDURES
11
Case Example: Thomas McGowan

Sentence Served: 23 years
Conviction: Burglary of a habitation,
aggravated sexual assault
A rape victim in Dallas was shown a photo array.
After looking at the photo of Thomas McGowan,
she placed it aside, indicating that she thought
it was her assailant. The detective assigned to the
case then told her, You have to be sure, yes or
no. The crime victim recalled the detectives
instructions as follows: He said if I was going to
say it was somebody, if I was going to say it was
that picture, I had to be sure. He said I couldnt
think it was him. He said I had to make a positive
ID. I had to say yes or no. After hearing the
officers instructions, the victim said the man in
the photo was definitely the man who attacked
her. McGowan was proven innocent through
DNA testing in 2008.
Number of witnesses misidentifying

the same innocent defendant
(based on 175 eyewitness misidentification cases
12
62%
1 Witness
25%
2 Witnesses
13%
3+ Witnesses
The victims identification of McGowan was

the central evidence against him. By pushing the
witness into certainty, the officer administering
the lineup also apparently confirmed that she
was selecting the suspect. Had the victim paused
on one of the filler, or non-suspect, photographs
it is unlikely the detective would have been so
forceful in asking the victim to be certain.
In fact, there is no reason why the victim should
have to be 100% certain in her identification.
The investigation should continue regardless.
3. Witnesses may misunderstand the role

of the identification procedure in the
investigative process
Most people have never had to participate in an
eyewitness identification procedure. So for most
eyewitnesses, its a new, and probably stressful,
experience. Everyone involved wants the same
outcome apprehension of the guilty party and
elimination of any innocent suspects. However,
witnesses will not have enough experience with
the criminal justice system to understand how
to make the most accurate identification. The
witness may fear that failing to identify the
suspect will mean the end of the investigation
or that the perpetrator will go free and commit
additional crimes. The stakes are high.
The witness may, rightfully, assume that the
police have identified a suspect and may hope
to be able to identify that suspect. Yet, identifying
the suspect is not the witnesss task; instead, it
is to identify the perpetrator. Therefore, the
witness should focus on comparing his memory
to each individual represented.
Research shows that eyewitnesses tend to identify
the person who, they believe, looks most like
the perpetrator compared to the other members
of the lineup. Researchers have termed the

phenomenon relative judgment.12 Like a
multiple choice test without an option for
none of the above, witnesses might not
understand that not selecting anyone is still
a viable choice. When witnesses are told that
they dont have to make a selection and that the
investigation will continue regardless, they are
less likely to fall back on choosing the person
who looks most like the perpetrator relative
to the other members of the lineup.
4. Witnesses confidence in the identification is

susceptible to suggestion and subject to change
Studies have shown a surprising lack of correlation between the confidence of the witness and
the accuracy of his identification.13 In wrongful
convictions overturned by post-conviction DNA
testing, witnesses have testified that they were
100% positive of the identification, saying that
they would never forget that face despite
having identified the wrong person. How does
this happen? The answer may lie in the information the witness receives after the identification.
The lineup administrator may have affirmed the
identification Yes, thats who we thought it was.
Subtle affirmations from the administrator such
as a nod or saying, Okay, good, can also bolster
a witnesss confidence. Studies have shown that
witnesss confidence increases with positive feedback, even if the witness later denies that the
feedback had any effect on her level of certainty.14
This increased confidence can even alter the
witnesss accounting of events or her recollection
of the identification procedure itself. She may
remember being certain of the identification,
when, in fact, the record of the identification
procedure will show that she was hesitant and
uncertain.15
Perhaps the witness learned that her co-witness

also identified the same person or that the
person she identified had a prior criminal
record. The witness may also have been given
more than one opportunity to identify the
suspect; for example, in both a photo array and
a physical lineup. With each identification or
new bit of information, the witness becomes
more and more confident in the identification,
probably without even realizing it. By the time
of the trial, the witness takes the stand and
provides very convincing testimony that a jury
will often not question.
Case Example: Ronald Cotton
Conviction: Rape, Burglary
Ronald Cotton was misidentified in both a photo
array and a physical lineup by a rape victim in
North Carolina. After the photo array, investigators told the victim, You did great. She was
invited back to view a physical lineup in which
the only lineup member who had also been in
the photo array was Cotton. She identified him
a second time. The detective told her, We
thought that might be the guy. Its the same
person you picked from the photos. The victim,
Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, testified at two
trials about her absolute certainty that Cotton
was her assailant even after being presented
with a person at the second trial who it was later
discovered was the real perpetrator. Cotton was
sentenced to life plus 54 years and spent over
10 years in prison before his exoneration
through DNA testing in 1995.
Thompson-Cannino has since become an
advocate for eyewitness identification reform.
In 2009, she and Cotton published a book about
their experience, Picking Cotton. In the book,
she recalls how her false sense of confidence
13
increased over time. Ron was the only person

who had been in both the photo and the physical
lineups, making his face more recognizable to me.
And then the police told me that I had identified
the same person in the physical lineup whose
photo I had selected, so by the time I went into
court, everything added up for me: I was defiantly
confident that Ronald Cotton was the one.16
5. Beyond lineups: how eyewitness

misidentifications happen in show-ups
and composites
The lineup is the most common type of identification procedure, but other types of procedures
do exist, and these may also result in misidentifications.
Show-ups
Real Perpetrators later identified through DNA testing
in eyewitness misidentification cases
(based on 64 of 179 eyewitness misidentification cases
where the real perpetrator was later identified through DNA testing)
A show-up is a procedure in which the eyewitness is presented with a single suspect to see
if he will identify this person as the perpetrator
of the crime. A show-up can be useful to law
enforcement when a suspect matching the
description of the perpetrator is spotted in
the vicinity of the crime. In common practice,
show-ups take place within two hours of the
crime. Show-ups are not an ideal procedure
because they are inherently suggestive. The
witness views one person who she can ascertain
immediately is the suspect. This person is often
surrounded by law enforcement and could be
in handcuffs. An innocent person in this situation is more likely to be misidentified than in a
traditional lineup, and this risk is even greater
if the innocent person is wearing similar
clothing as the perpetrator.17
Case Example: Eduardo Velasquez
Conviction: Aggravated rape, assault
and battery with a dangerous weapon,
indecent assault and battery
Real Perpetrator identified

through DNA testing
Real Perpetrator committed
additional violent crimes
(and was convicted) after
an innocent person was
wrongfully convicted of
the previous crime
14
= 36%
= 48%
(of those known)
Law enforcement officers saw Eduardo Velasquez

on the street in Chicopee, Massachusetts, and
thought that he resembled the description of an
assailant wanted in connection with a sexual
assault that had occurred that same night. The
officers asked him if he would go with them for
an identification procedure, and he consented.
They drove Velasquez to a convent, where the

victim had fled after the assault. Velasquez stood
on the porch while an officer shone a flashlight
on his face. The victim viewed him through the
curtained glass and screened front doors of the
convent standing behind two police officers and
peering between their shoulders. The victim
was 10 to 12 feet from him. She made a tentative
identification, but after hearing his voice and
inspecting his gloves, which were passed to her
through the door, she said she was sure. Velasquez
was exonerated through DNA testing in 2001.
In this case, the victims view of Velasquez was
highly obscured by the light source, the distance,
the curtains and the screened doors. Moreover,
in a traditional lineup with a selection of lineup
members, there is the possibility that the witness
will make a mistake by choosing a non-suspect
filler. This selection process allows law enforcement to better test the witnesss memory. But in
a show-up, any selection the witness makes will
be considered by law enforcement as a correct
identification since there are no other lineup
members to rule out.
Composites
Composite sketches, or more recently, computerized composite-production systems, are commonly
used. These systems take the witnesss description
of the perpetrators individual facial features
to generate an image of the perpetrators face.
Composites are used when a suspect has yet to
be identified, and they are often poor likenesses
of the perpetrator. People remember faces holistically not broken up into individual features.18
The composite image breaks the features down
and then, like puzzle pieces, puts them back
together again.
The problem with composites goes beyond poor

representation. Studies have shown that the act
of creating a composite actually diminishes the
witnesss ability to later identify the perpetrator
from a lineup. Having the composite face freshly
in her mind, the witness is more likely to select
a person that resembles the composite, rather
than her original memory.19
Case example: Kirk Bloodsworth
Sentence Served: 8 years, two on death row
Conviction: First-degree murder,
sexual assault, rape
In 1993, Kirk Bloodsworth became the first
person to be exonerated through DNA testing
who had served time on death row. Bloodsworth
became a suspect in the 1984 rape and murder
of a nine-year-old Maryland girl when an anonymous tipster called police to say that Bloodsworth
resembled a composite picture. Police placed
his photo in a photo lineup and multiple eyewitnesses identified him. At trial, five witnesses
testified that they had seen Bloodsworth with
the victim. DNA evidence not only vindicated
Bloodsworth but also implicated the real perpetrator, Kimberly Ruffner. Ironically, Bloodsworth
looked more like the composite than Ruffner
did. Bloodsworth was the only one in the photo
lineup with hair that matched the composite.20
Witnesses unknowingly took characteristics of
the composite, like hair, and morphed that into
their original memory. Because Bloodsworth
shared more individual characteristics of the
composite sketch than the other lineup choices,
witnesses selected him. Their original memory
of Ruffner had become irrevocably altered.
15
HOW TO PREVENT MISIDENTIFICATION
In their 1996 commentary for the National

Institute of Justice report, Convicted by Juries,
Exonerated by Science, Innocence Project
Co-Directors Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck
explained that wrongful convictions overturned
through DNA testing represent just the tip of
a very deep and disturbing iceberg of cases,
since DNA testing is possible in just a fraction
of cases.21 In order to conduct DNA testing, some
type of biological evidence must be available:
blood, semen, hair, saliva. The types of crimes
that involve DNA evidence are typically violent
murders and rapes not robberies, burglaries
or other crimes. Yet, theres no reason to believe
that eyewitness misidentifications dont occur
in these other types of crimes as well. When
post-conviction DNA testing is not an option,
innocent defendants who have been wrongfully
convicted may never have the chance to prove
their innocence. The best way to address the
problem is to reform the system so that misidentifications dont happen in the first place.
The advent of DNA exonerations renewed
interest in employing psychological research
to inform eyewitness identification practice.
Criminal justice professionals, lawmakers and
advocates turned their attention to police lineup
procedures. Lineup procedures are commonly
used nationwide, but practices often vary from
one police department to the next. No nationwide set of legal rules of procedure exist, and in
16
fact, many law enforcement offices do not have

any written guidelines for eyewitness identification procedures.
In 1999, the National Institute of Justice
published a working guide for law enforcement
based on the recommendations of the Technical Working Group for Eyewitness Evidence.22
The group was assembled to establish recommendations for identification procedures and
included psychology professors as well as chiefs
of police, defense attorneys, prosecutors and
others. The guide represented a major effort
to unite what the psychologists had learned
about memory with the practical needs of law
enforcement to use eyewitness evidence as an
investigative tool.
Since its publication, a number of bar associations, police groups and state commissions
have conducted their own consideration of these
reforms. In 2004, the American Bar Association
issued its Best Practices for Promoting Accuracy
of Eyewitness Identification Procedures, and
resolved that federal, state and local governments should be urged to adopt a series of
principles incorporating scientific advances in
research into their identification practices.23
In 2006, the International Association of Chiefs
of Police published its Training Key on Eyewitness Identification, which concludes that of all
investigative procedures employed by police in
criminal cases, probably none is less reliable

than the eyewitness identification. Erroneous
identifications create more injustice and cause
more suffering to innocent persons than perhaps
any other aspect of police work. Proper precautions must be followed by officers if they are
to use eyewitness identifications effectively
and accurately.24
The momentum for systemic reform reached
state policymakers as well, and key recommendations were adopted by jurisdictions around the
nation. In 2001, New Jersey became the first state
in the nation to adopt the eyewitness identification reforms endorsed by the Innocence Project.
In 2005, the Wisconsin Attorney Generals Office
followed suit and issued a similar set of policies
for statewide use. Most recently, in 2008, North
Carolina enacted perhaps the most comprehensive piece of eyewitness identification reform
legislation in the nation. Jurisdictions across
the country, from Minneapolis, Minnesota,
to Denver, Colorado, have also voluntarily
implemented the recommended reforms.
These procedural reforms do not address all the

possible complications with eyewitness identification, including event-related factors like limited
opportunity to view the perpetrator, cross-racial
identifications, the presence of a weapon, etc.
For those cases, scientists specializing in eyewitness identification can be called as expert
witnesses to explain to the jury what scientific
research shows about the impact of event-related
factors on eyewitness identifications.
The following reforms are procedure-based
improvements which can be made by law
enforcement to enhance identification accuracy.
They are based on 30 years of comprehensive
social science research as well as the recommendations of police, prosecutors, judges and
national justice organizations, including the
National Institute of Justice and the American
Bar Association.
Eyewitness misidentification as the central cause

(based on 179 eyewitness misidentification cases in the first 239 DNA exonerations)
50%
just eyewitness
misidentification
48%
8%
with unvalidated or
improper forensic science
with false confession

or admission
8%
with informant testimony
The percentages will not add up to 100 because more than one cause may contribute to a wrongful conviction in any given case.
HOW TO PREVENT MISIDENTIFIC ATION
17
1. Composition of the lineup

From its origins in mid-19th century England,
the lineup was developed to be fair and to follow
certain basic guidelines. As an alternative to
suggestive in-court identification procedures,
the identity of the suspect in lineup procedures
would not be revealed to the witness. Just as in
lineups today, a sufficient number of fillers were
presented to the witness and assembled so that
no one lineup member would stand out.25 Since
then, research has identified a number of other
specific suggestions to reduce suggestibility and
increase accuracy in the lineup:26
There should be only one suspect included
in the lineup.
In addition to the suspected perpetrator,
at least five fillers should be included in a
photo array and at least four fillers should
be included in a physical lineup.
Fillers should be selected that resemble the
description of the perpetrator provided by the
witness, including the witnesss description of
significant features (i.e. face, weight, and build)
and any unique or unusual features (i.e. scar,
tattoo, etc). However, they must look different
enough to be discernible from each other.
If the witness previously viewed a photo array
or physical lineup in connection with the
identification of another person suspected
of involvement in the offense, the fillers in the
photo array or live lineup in which the suspect
participates should be different from the fillers
used in any prior identification procedures.
In the case of a photo array, the photograph of
the suspect should be contemporary, resemble
his or her appearance at the time of the
offense, and not unduly stand out when
compared with the photos of the fillers.
18
If there are multiple witnesses, the suspect

should be placed in a different position in
the live lineup and/or photo array for each
witness. Witnesses should be segregated
before, during, and after every lineup
procedure and instructed not to discuss
the procedure with each other.
During an identification procedure, no writings or information concerning any previous
arrest, indictment or conviction of the suspect,
or any information connecting the suspect
with the offense, should be visible or made
known to the witness.
2. Blind administration
Blind administration is based on a basic tenet
of scientific research: Test subjects are influenced
by the expectations of those who perform the
tests or in the case of an identification procedure, witnesses are influenced by the expectation
of the lineup administrator.27 Therefore, the
person conducting the lineup should not know
who is a suspect and who is a filler. When the
administrator doesnt know who the suspect is,
she cant lead the witness towards that person
or steer the witness away from the other lineup
members, even subconsciously. Also, the witness
cant look to the administrator for guidance or
affirmation, which could taint the identification
and artificially boost the witnesss confidence
in his selection.
In some police departments, finding an officer
who is not involved in the case to conduct the
lineup blind presents a special challenge. The
jurisdiction may be small and there may not be
any officers available who arent familiar with the
case and the suspect. For these jurisdictions, law
enforcement agencies have found a way to allow
the detective on the case to conduct the lineup
blinded by using the folder system.
The folder system is a simple, cost-effective way

to allow for blind administration even when the
only officer available is someone involved with
the case.28 Using one suspect photo, five filler
photos and ten folders, the officer encloses each
photograph in a separate folder (leaving four
folders empty) and then shuffles the folders
before giving them to the witness. The officer
positions herself in such a way that she cannot
see inside the folders when the witness opens
them. This way, the officer cant know which
lineup member the witness is viewing at any
given time. The officer should also tell the witness
that she doesnt know which folder contains the
suspect. The four extra folders will not contain
any photos and will serve as dummy folders so
that the witness doesnt know which folder holds
the last photo.
The folder system assumes that lineup members
are viewed sequentially, rather than simultaneously. See page 21 for more information about
sequential presentation. All other recommendations for lineups should be used in conjunction
with sequential presentation.
Although no criminal justice system

is perfect and mistakes do occur,
even with the most well-intentioned
efforts of law enforcement, enacting
these eyewitness identification
reforms would significantly improve
the quality of prosecutions in our
state. The consequences of failing
to do so are too grave.
Georgia State Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield,
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution January 25, 2007
3. Witness instruction
Providing instructions to witnesses helps them
understand the role of the identification procedure in the investigative process. It is also helps
decrease the pressure witnesses may feel to make
a selection, which has been shown to contribute
to misidentifications. Paramount in protecting
the innocent is the instruction that the perpetrator
may or may not be present in the photo array,
physical lineup or show-up. Studies have shown
that when witnesses are warned that the perpetrator may not be present they are less likely to
choose an innocent suspect.29 Witnesses should
also be assured that the investigation will continue
even if they dont make a selection. Instructions
can prevent witnesses from simply identifying the
lineup member that looks most like the perpetrator, and they can prevent witnesses from feeling
pressured to make a selection.
The instructions recommended by the Innocence
Project are based on social science research and
have been endorsed in whole or in part by the
National Institute of Justice, the Wisconsin
Department of Justice and the New Jersey
Attorney Generals office. These instructions
should be given prior to the identification
procedure in physical lineups, show-ups, or
photo arrays:
Describe the photo array to the witness only
as a collection of photographs.
Instruct the witness that the person who
committed the crime may or may not be
present in the identification procedure.
Assure the witness that regardless of whether
he makes an identification, the police will
continue to investigate the case.
19
Instruct the witness that the procedure

requires the investigator to ask the eyewitness
to state, in her own words, how certain she
is of any identification.
Advise the witness that the administrator
does not know who the suspect is.
Direct the witness not to discuss the
identification procedure or its results with
other witnesses involved in the case and
avoid contact with the media.
Its just a reality that eyewitness

identifications are made under
situations of incredible duress,
when people are trying to recall
what someone looked like, and
they can be more or less accurate.
So what were trying to do with
these guidelines is to give law
enforcement a way in which we
think we can at least narrow the
risk that a mistake will be made.
Former New Jersey Attorney General John J. Farmer:
The New York Times, July 21, 2001
4. Confidence statements
Decades of solid empirical evidence shows that
juries assume confident eyewitnesses are reliable
eyewitnesses.30 Social scientists know better.
Gary Wells explains: If you pick someone out of
a lineup, you begin rehearsing that persons face.
You start thinking back to the crime scene and
thinking of the person you picked out of the
lineup. You begin to boost your own memory
without realizing it.31 Even the process of
20
preparing for a trial and cross-examination has

been shown to enhance witnesss confidence.32
Juries hear witnesses certainty at trial, but often
dont hear about their hesitancy during the
identification procedure.
A witness may say, That looks like the guy, or
I think thats her, which is not the same as
making a positive identification. Whatever the
witnesss exact words, the lineup administrator
should ask for and document a clear statement
from the witness about his or her level of confidence immediately upon identifying the suspect.
Also, the witness should not be provided with any
information about the selection until after the
confidence statement has been documented,
though even then feedback is discouraged. This
simple reform is critical to giving jurors a complete understanding of the eyewitness evidence.
5. Electronic recording of the identification

procedure
Identification procedures are a crucial part of
any investigation, and any aspect of the procedure could be a critical issue at trial. The precise
communications, both verbal and non-verbal,
made by both the eyewitness and administrator
are important to juror understanding of the
identifications accuracy. Therefore, law enforcement must keep track of exactly what transpired.
The best way to document the procedure is by
video recording. Creating an electronic record
of the identification procedure aids law enforcement and prosecutors, since a fair and just
identification procedure that is preserved for the
record can withstand challenges raised at trial.
Video records of well-implemented identification
procedures, lineups and show-ups, can also be
used to train other law enforcement officers.
A video record can help demonstrate the proper
technique for filler selection, blind administration, the provision of instructions and other
best practices.
Finally, the knowledge that these types of procedures are being recorded boosts public confidence in the criminal justice process. Simply
put, creating an electronic record of eyewitness
identification procedures provides everyone with
the best evidence of what specifically transpired.
Ideally, the lineup or show-up will be electronically recorded using video equipment. If thats
impossible, the lineup administrator should
make an audio recording. If neither a video
nor audio record is possible, the lineup administrator should document, in writing, the reasons
why and provide a detailed written record of the
identification procedure. Regardless of the type
of record, the entire identification procedure
should be recorded for each witness, beginning
when the witness enters the identification room
(or other venue) and ending when the witness
has completed the procedure and left the
identification room.
6. Sequential presentation (optional)

In a typical photo array or physical lineup, the
lineup members are presented simultaneously
all at once. This format increases the tendency
for witnesses to make a relative judgment, comparing each lineup member to the rest and
ultimately choosing the one that most resembles
the perpetrator. A sequential presentation each
lineup member presented one at a time helps
counter this tendency and encourages the witness
to compare each individual to his own memory.
When paired with a blind administrator, this
reform has been proven to greatly minimize the
likelihood of misidentifications.33 When sequential presentations are conducted without a blind

administrator, however, researchers caution that
they may create an increased risk of misidentification.34 A large body of peer-reviewed research
and the real-world experience of police departments nationwide corroborate the value of
blind-sequential lineups. Section five provides
information about jurisdictions that have
successfully implemented the sequential reform.
However, research has also shown that sequential
presentations lead to fewer correct identifications.35 The reduction in correct identifications
is not nearly as significant as the reduction in
incorrect identifications. Still, some are hesitant
to employ sequential procedures. The Innocence
Project endorses the sequential reform but has
refrained from including it in the current
eyewitness identification reform package so that
questions surrounding sequential presentation
do not stall the adoption of the other eyewitness
identification reforms. Given the tremendous
value of the other reforms discussed (both individually and together), the Innocence Project
suggests that the reform package be considered
separately from sequential presentation.
Meanwhile, in collaboration with specific
jurisdictions, the Innocence Project supports
field studies of sequential and simultaneous
lineup procedures that use solid scientific
methodology. Hopefully, the research will
provide sound data and resolve questions about
sequential versus simultaneous lineups. The
Innocence Project can provide more information about sequential lineups, including studies,
protocol, law enforcement references and
other information upon request.
21
REFORMS AT WORK
DNA exonerations have led eyewitness identification reform into the 21st century. While concerns
about misidentifications had been raised by social
science researchers years earlier, lawmakers were
slow to respond until DNA exonerations brought
the problem to the publics awareness.
In 2001, New Jersey became the first state to
officially adopt the reforms recommended by the
National Institute of Justice (NIJ), including eyewitness instructions, proper lineup composition,
confidence statements and documenting the
identification procedure. In addition, New Jerseys
Attorney General mandated the use of blind
administration and sequential presentation of
lineup members. This reform package, endorsed
by the Innocence Project, became known as blindsequential. The state adopted these reforms
soon after the exoneration of McKinley Cromedy,
whose wrongful conviction was based almost
entirely on eyewitness identification evidence.
Of the police officers I trained,

the vast majority said that they had
never received formal training in
eyewitness identification procedures
and that their departments do not
have eyewitness evidence policies.
Lieutenant Kenneth Patenaude:
Public Law, Policy, and Ethics Journal, 2006
22
In 2005, the Wisconsin Attorney Generals decision to recommend blind-sequential procedures

came after the high-profile exoneration of a man
who was wrongfully convicted based, in part, on
eyewitness misidentification. The reforms are not
mandatory in Wisconsin, yet hundreds of law enforcement agencies statewide have adopted them.
Several cases highlighting the criminal justice
systems shortcomings motivated the state of
North Carolina to adopt the reform package
in 2008. The state has exonerated five people
through DNA testing whose cases involved
eyewitness misidentification most recently,
Dwayne Allen Dail who served 18 years of a life
sentence. The North Carolina statute has been
the most comprehensive to date. It mandates
the blind-sequential procedure, proper filler
selection, comprehensive witness instructions,
confidence statements; provides for training
of law enforcement officers; and offers possible
legal remedies in cases where the law enforcement agency failed to comply with these policies.
These three states offer the broadest statewide
policies, but other states have also taken action.
Study committees to recommend guidelines for
eyewitness identification practices have been
created in Georgia, Vermont and West Virginia.
West Virginia also adopted several key reforms.
Georgias study committee found a lack of
statewide standards and, based on the committees
Timeline of Eyewitness Identification Reform

1999
The National Institute of Justice publishes Eyewitness Evidence: A Guide for

Law Enforcement, based on the recommendations of the Technical Working
Group for Eyewitness Evidence.
2001
New Jersey becomes the first state in the nation to adopt comprehensive
eyewitness identification reform with the blind-sequential reform package.
2004
American Bar Association issues Best Practices for Promoting Accuracy of

Eyewitness Identification Procedures.
2005
Wisconsin Attorney Generals Office recommends use of blind-sequential

identification procedures and mandates that law enforcement agencies adopt
written policies on eyewitness identification.
2007
Vermont creates a task force to explore eyewitness identification reforms and

issue recommendations. West Virginia mandates that law enforcement agencies
follow specific policies for eyewitness identification procedures and creates a task
force to study and identify additional best practices for eyewitness identification.
Maryland mandates that all of its law enforcement agencies adopt written policies
for eyewitness identification procedures that comply with National Institute of
Justice standards.
2008
North Carolina passes the broadest eyewitness identification law to date by

mandating blind-sequential policies, providing for training of law enforcement
officers, and also offering possible legal remedies in cases where the law enforcement
agency failed to comply with these policies. Georgia implements statewide training
program for officers on identification procedures based on the recommendations of
the Georgia study committee created in 2007. The Commission on the Accreditation
of Law Enforcement Agencies adopts eyewitness identification standards, which
require that agencies seeking accreditation create written procedures for conducting
eyewitness lineup and show-up procedures.
2009
The Dallas Police Department announces that it will implement blind-sequential

procedures. Dallas County has had more DNA exonerations than any other county
in the nation and most states. Fourteen people whose wrongful convictions involved
eyewitness misidentification in Dallas County have been proven innocent through
DNA testing. The Dallas Police Department joins a growing number of jurisdictions
nationwide that are voluntarily adopting blind-sequential eyewitness identification
procedures.
REFORMS AT WORK
23
recommendations, the state decided to implement statewide training for officers on identification procedures. (A 2007 study by the Georgia
Innocence Project found that 82% of law enforcement agencies had no policies for eyewitness identification procedures.)36 Maryland
mandated that all of its law enforcement agencies adopt written policies for eyewitness identification practices that are in compliance with
NIJ standards.
Smaller jurisdictions counties, cities and
towns are also addressing eyewitness misidentification by voluntarily implementing the
reforms. The Dallas Police Department announced in January 2009 that it will implement
blind-sequential procedures. Fourteen people
whose wrongful convictions involved eyewitness
misidentification have been exonerated through
DNA testing in Dallas County.
Implementing the Reforms

The in-the-field experiences of jurisdictions
across the country in states such as North
Carolina and New Jersey; cities like Denver
and Minneapolis; and in small towns such as
Northampton, Massachusetts, have shown that
blind-sequential procedures can be adapted in a
variety of settings urban, suburban, small-town
and rural. The experiences of these jurisdictions
resolutely demonstrate the benefits and feasibility of adopting eyewitness identification reforms.
Law enforcement agencies have cited a number
of advantages: increased confidence in the accuracy of the identification, uniformity of procedures,
consistent training program for new officers about
eyewitness evidence, and ultimately, eyewitness
evidence that holds up better in court.
24
Lieutenant Kenneth Patenaude, a former member

of the NIJs Technical Working Group for Eyewitness Evidence, trains investigators, attorneys and
judges about best practices for eyewitness identification procedures. In an article titled Police
Identification Procedures: A Time for Change
Patenaude writes, Of the police officers I trained,
the vast majority said that they had never received
formal training in eyewitness identification procedures and that their departments do not have
eyewitness evidence policies.37 Patenaude introduced blind-sequential procedures to his own
department in Northampton, Massachusetts,
and found that the investigators became more
confident in the evidence and more comfortable
with the procedures than they had been under
the old policies.38
Ramsey County, Minnesota, which includes
sections of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan
area, implemented blind-sequential procedures
in 2006 after a year-long pilot project showed
that the reforms are effective. Initially, the Ramsey County officers had concerns. They feared
that using an independent, or blind, administrator might delay criminal investigations, so the
pilot project included an alternative blinded
method, (such as the folder system), in which
the investigator does not know which photo the
witness is viewing at any given time and informs
the witness of this fact. At the end of the trial
year, most investigators said they preferred using
a blind administrator and rarely needed the
alternative method. Officers also feared that
the new procedures would limit positive identifications, but they found that, in practice, the
fear was unfounded.39
Ramsey County officials write in Police Chief

magazine, After one year, the results were clear:
investigators who used this method found it
not only workable but no more difficult to apply
than the traditional method. There were no
associated administrative difficulties or additional overtime costs. However, there was an
unexpected benefit: most investigators involved
in the pilot came to prefer the new method
and felt more confident in the eyewitness
identifications that resulted.40
Darrel Stephens, former Chief of the CharlotteMecklenburg Police Department in North
Carolina, helped institute the blind-sequential
reforms statewide in 2008. Stephens says,
The investigators, as theyve talked about and
worked on these different procedures and understood the research, have become much better
detectives. Theyre able to come to court and say
this is the procedure we used, and heres why we
used it, and here are the steps that we took the
eyewitness through.41
Towards a Nationwide Movement

Eyewitness identification reform has come a long
way in the past decade, since the NIJ released its
recommendations in 1999. The states, counties,
cities and towns that have adopted procedural
reforms have demonstrated to the nation that
they can increase the accuracy of eyewitness
evidence easily and at low cost. While the reforms
have faced resistance from some lawmakers an
eyewitness identification reform bill has passed
the California Legislature three times only to
be vetoed by the Governor repeatedly, and bills
in Kentucky and New Mexico that received
broad, bipartisan support were not cleared after
consideration two years in a row the Innocence

Project continues working closely with legislators
nationwide to pass meaningful eyewitness
identification reform.
The Innocence Project is also dedicated to
working with police, prosecutors and judges to
help them understand how eyewitness identification procedures can be made more accurate and
reliable, as evidenced by scientific research and
in-the-field, practical experience. Police and
prosecutors can use the reforms to improve the
reliability of criminal investigations, strengthen
cases against the guilty and reduce misidentification of innocent people. Judges can educate
juries about the risk of misidentification when
procedures have not been conducted properly.
In order to prevent wrongful convictions based
on eyewitness misidentification, every area of
the criminal justice system must work together.
Eyewitnesses provide indispensable evidence
in many police investigations, leading to the
apprehension and conviction of countless actual
perpetrators of crime. But when they make
mistakes, the consequences can be drastic.
Eyewitness misidentification can set in motion
a chain of irrevocable errors from the police
precinct to the courtroom deterring police
officers from discovering the real perpetrator,
raising criminal charges against an innocent
person, and compelling the jury toward a guilty
verdict. It is the criminal justice systems responsibility to help eyewitnesses make the most
accurate identification possible. Eyewitnesses,
law enforcement and the public at large, will
benefit from identification procedures that
are designed according to scientific research
and conducted consistently nationwide.
REFORMS AT WORK
25
ENDNOTES
1. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Department of Justice Oversight: Funding Forensic Sciences--DNA and Beyond,
108th Cong, 1st sess., 2003, 22.
Quoted in Kelly M. Pyrek, Consortium Lobbies Capitol Hill on Behalf of Forensic Science Community,
Forensic Nurse, September 2005.
2. James Doyle, True Witness: Cops, Courts, Science and the Battle Against Misidentification
(New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2005).
Barry Scheck, Peter Neufeld and Jim Dwyer, Actual Innocence: When Justice Goes Wrong and How to Make It Right
(New York: New American Library, 2003).
3. U.S. Dept of Justice, Natl Institute of Justice, Eyewitness Evidence: A Guide for Law Enforcement,
Technical Working Group for Eyewitness Evidence, 1999, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/puns-sum/178240.htm.
American Bar Association, Criminal Justice Section, Report to the House of Delegates: Resolution Adopting
the American Bar Association Statement of Best Practices for Promoting the Accuracy of Eyewitness Identification
Procedures, 2004, http://www.abanet.org/leadership/2004/annual/111c.doc.
4. Robert Buckhout, Nearly 2,000 Witnesses Can Be Wrong, Bulletin of Psychonomic Society 16 (1980): 309.
5. Hugo Munsterberg, On the Witness Stand: Essays on Psychology and Crime (New York: Fred B. Rothman & Co, 1981),
www.psychclassics.yorku.ca/Munster/Witness/.
6. Edwin Borchard, Convicting the Innocent: Sixty-Five Actual Errors of Criminal Justice
(New Haven: Garden City Pub., 1932).
7. Edward Connors et al., U.S. Dept of Justice, Natl Institute of Justice Convicted by Juries, Exonerated by Science:
Case Studies in the Use of DNA Evidence to Establish Innocence After Trial, 1996.
8. C.J. Stanny and T.C. Johnson, Effects of Stress Induced by a Simulated Shooting on Recall by Police and Citizen
Witnesses, American Journal of Psychology 113, 359-386.
9. Christian Meissner et al., Thirty Years of Investigating the Own-Race Bias in Memory of Faces,
Psychology, Public Policy and Law 7 (2001): 270-275.
10. Gary L. Wells, Applied Eyewitness Testimony Research: System Variables and Estimator Variables,
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 36 (1978): 1546-1557.
11. James Doyle, True Witness: Cops, Courts, Science and the Battle Against Misidentification, 91.
12. Gary L. Wells, The Psychology of Lineup Identifications, Journal of Applied Social Psychology 14, (1983): 89-103.
13. Gary L. Wells and Amy L. Bradfield Good, You Identified the Suspect: Feedback to Eyewitnesses Distorts
Their Reports of the Witnessing Experience. Journal of Applied Psychology 83 (1998): 361.
14. Ibid., 373.
15. Gary L. Wells and Amy L. Bradfield, Distortions in Eyewitnesses Recollections: Can the PostidentificationFeedback Effect Be Moderated? Psychological Science 10 (1999): 138.
16. Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, Ronald Cotton and Erin Torneo, Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption
(New York: St. Martins Press, 2009), 271.
26
17. A.D. Yarmey, M.J. Yarmey, and A.L. Yarmey, Accuracy of Eyewitness Identifications in Showups and Lineups,
Law and Human Behavior 20 (1996): 459-477.
18. Lisa E. Hasel and Gary L. Wells, Catching the Bad Guy: Morphing Composite Faces Helps,
Law and Human Behavior 31 (2007): 194.
19. Gary L. Wells and Lisa E. Hasel, Facial Composite Production by Eyewitnesses,
Current Directions in Psychological Science 16 (2007): 6.
20. Ibid.
21. Edward Connors et al., U.S. Dept of Justice, Natl Institute of Justice Convicted by Juries, Exonerated by Science:
Case Studies in the Use of DNA Evidence to Establish Innocence After Trial (1996): xxviii.
22. U.S. Dept of Justice, Natl Institute of Justice, Eyewitness Evidence: A Guide for Law Enforcement, Technical
Working Group for Eyewitness Evidence, 1999, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/puns-sum/178240.htm.
23. American Bar Association, Criminal Justice Section, Report to the House of Delegates: Resolution Adopting the
American Bar Association Statement of Best Practices for Promoting the Accuracy of Eyewitness Identification Procedures, 2004, http://www.abanet.org/leadership/2004/annual/111c.doc.
24. The International Association of Chiefs of Police, Training Key on Eyewitness Identification (2006): 5.
25. Roy S. Malpass et al., Lineup Construction and Lineup Fairness, Handbook of Eyewitness Psychology:
Memory for People 2 (2007):155.
26. Issues in the Measurement of Lineup Fairness, eds. R.C.L. Lindsay and R.S. Malpass, special issue,
Applied Cognitive Psychology 13S (1999).
27. R. Rosenthal and D.B. Rubin, Interpersonal expectancy effects: The first 345 studies,
Behavioral and Brain Sciences 3 (1978): 377-386.
28. Wisconsin Department of Justice, Bureau of Training and Standards for Criminal Justice, Model Policy and
Procedure for Eyewitness Identification, 2005, http://www.doj.state.wi.us/dles/tns/eyewitnesspublic.pdf.
29. Gary L. Wells et al., Eyewitness Identification Procedures: Recommendations for Lineups and Photospreads,
Law and Human Behavior 22 (1998): 23.
30. Ibid., 15.
31. In Their Own Words: Q & A with Gary Wells, Professor of Psychology at Iowa State University and Eyewitness
Identification Expert, Innocence Project in Print, Winter 2007, 17.
32. Gary L. Wells and Amy L. Bradfield, Good, You Identified the Suspect, 361.
33. Gary L. Wells et al., Eyewitness Identification, 19.
34. Ibid., 31.
35. Nancy M. Steblay et al., Eyewitness Accuracy Rates in Sequential and Simultaneous Lineup Presentations:
A Meta-Analytic Comparison, Law and Human Behavior 25 (2001): 468.
36. Georgia Innocence Project, 2007 Georgia Innocence Project Law Enforcement Survey,
http://www.ga-innocenceproject.org/images/Eyewitness %20ID%20Report %202007.pdf.
37. Ken Patenaude, Police Identification Procedures: A Time for Change,
Public Law, Policy, and Ethics Journal 4 (2006): 416.
38. Ibid., 418.
39. Susan Gaertner and John Harrington, Successful Eyewitness Identification Reform: Ramsey Countys Blind Sequential Lineup Protocol, Police Chief Magazine, 2009, www.policechiefmagazine.org.
40. Ibid.
41. In Their Own Words: Q & A with Police Chief Darrel Stephens, Innocence Project in Print, Summer 2008, 17.
ENDNOTES
27
APPENDIX A
Wrongful Convictions Cases Later Overturned Through DNA Testing
Which Involved Eyewitness Misidentification
NAME
STATE
CONVICTION YEAR
EXONERATION YEAR
Abdal, Habib Wahir
NY
1983
1999
Adams, Kenneth
IL
1978
1996
Alejandro, Gilbert
TX
1990
1994
Alexander, Richard
IN
1998
2001
Anderson, Marvin
VA
1982
2002
Atkins, Herman
CA
1988
2000
Avery, Steven
WI
1985
2003
Barnes, Steven
NY
1989
2009
Bauer, Chester
MT
1983
1997
Beaver, Antonio
MO
1997
2007
Bibbins, Gene
LA
1987
2003
Blair, Michael
TX
1994
2008
Bloodsworth, Kirk
MD
1985
1993
Booker, Donte L.
OH
1987
2005
Boquete, Orlando
FL
1983
2006
Bostic, Larry
FL
1989
2007
Bravo, Mark Diaz
CA
1990
1994
Briscoe, Johnny
MO
1983
2006
Brison, Dale
PA
1991
1994
Bromgard, Jimmy Ray
MT
1987
2002
Brown, Danny
OH
1982
2001
Brown, Dennis
LA
1985
2005
Bryson, David Johns
OK
1983
2003
Bullock, Ronnie
IL
1984
1994
Buntin, Harold
IN
1986
2005
Burnette, Victor
VA
1979
2009
Butler, A.B.
TX
1983
2000
Byrd, Kevin
TX
1985
1997
Cage, Dean
IL
1996
2008
Callace, Leonard
NY
1987
1992
Capozzi, Anthony
NY
1987
2007
Chalmers, Terry
NY
1987
1995
28
NAME
STATE
CONVICTION YEAR
EXONERATION YEAR
Charles, Clyde
LA
1982
1999
Charles, Ulysses Rodriguez
MA
1984
2001
Chatman, Charles
TX
1981
2008
Clark, Robert
GA
1982
2005
Coco, Allen
LA
1997
2006
Cole, Timothy
TX
1986
2009
Cotton, Ronald
NC
1985, 1987
1995
Cowans, Stephan
MA
1998
2004
Cromedy, McKinley
NJ
1994
1999
Crotzer, Alan
FL
1981
2006
Dabbs, Charles
NY
1984
1991
Dail, Dwayne Allen
NC
1989
2007
Davidson, Willie
VA
1981
2005
Davis, Cody
FL
2006
2007
Davis, Dewey
WV
1987
1995
Davis, Gerald
WV
1986
1995
Daye, Frederick
CA
1984
1994
Dedge, Wilton
FL
1982, 1984
2004
Diaz, Luis
FL
1980
2005
Dillon, William
FL
1981
2008
Dixon, John
NJ
1991
2001
Dominguez, Alejandro
IL
1990
2002
Doswell, Thomas
PA
1986
2005
Dotson, Gary
IL
1979
1989
Durham, Timothy
OK
1993
1997
Echols, Douglas
GA
1987
2002
Elkins, Clarence
OH
1999
2005
Erby, Lonnie
MO
1986
2003
Evans, Michael
IL
1977
2003
Fappiano, Scott
NY
1985
2006
Fears, Joseph Jr.
OH
1984
2009
Fountain, Wiley
TX
1986
2003
Fuller, Larry
TX
1981
2007
Giles, James Curtis
TX
1983
2007
Godschalk, Bruce
PA
1987
2002
Gonzalez, Hector
NY
1996
2002
Good, Donald Wayne
TX
1984
2004
Goodman, Bruce Dallas
UT
1986
2004
Gossett, Andrew
TX
2000
2007
Gray, David A.
IL
1978
1999
Gray, Paula
IL
1978
2002
Green, Anthony Michael
OH
1988
2001
APPENDIX A
29
NAME
STATE
CONVICTION YEAR
EXONERATION YEAR
Green, Edward
DC
1989
1990
Green, Kevin
CA
1980
1996
Gregory, William
KY
1993
2000
Harris, William
WV
1987
1995
Harrison, Clarence
GA
1987
2004
Hatchett, Nathaniel
MI
1998
2008
Hayes, Travis
LA
1998
2007
Hicks, Anthony
WI
1991
1997
Holdren, Larry
WV
1984
2000
Holland, Dana
IL
1995
2003
Honaker, Edward
VA
1985
1994
Hunt, Darryl
NC
1985
2004
Jackson, Willie
LA
1989
2006
Jean, Lesly
NC
1982
2001
Jimerson, Verneal
IL
1985
1996
Johnson, Albert
CA
1992
2002
Johnson, Arthur
MS
1993
2008
Johnson, Calvin
GA
1983
1999
Johnson, Larry
MO
1984
2002
Johnson, Richard
IL
1992
1996
Johnson, Rickie
LA
1983
2008
Jones, Joe
KS
1986
1992
Jones, Ronald
IL
1989
1999
Kotler, Kerry
NY
1982
1992
Lavernia, Carlos
TX
1985
2000
Lindsey, Johnnie
TX
1983, 1985
2009
Lyons, Marcus
IL
1988
2007
Mahan, Dale
AL
1986
1998
Mahan, Ronnie
AL
1986
1998
Maher, Dennis
MA
1984
2003
Matthews, Ryan
LA
1999
2004
Mayes, Larry
IN
1982
2001
McClendon, Robert
OH
1991
2008
McGee, Arvin
OK
1989
2002
McGowan, Thomas
TX
1985, 1986
2008
McMillan, Clark
TN
1980
2002
McSherry, Leonard
CA
1988
2001
Mercer, Michael
NY
1992
2003
Miller, Billy Wayne
TX
1984
2006
Miller, Jerry
IL
1982
2007
Miller, Neil
MA
1990
2000
30
NAME
STATE
CONVICTION YEAR
EXONERATION YEAR
Mitchell, Marvin
MA
1990
1997
Mitchell, Perry
SC
1984
1998
Moon, Brandon
TX
1988
2005
Moto, Vincent
PA
1987
1996
Nesmith, Willie
PA
1982
2000
Newton, Alan
NY
1985
2006
Ochoa, James
CA
2005
2006
ODonnell, James
NY
1998
2000
Ortiz, Victor
NY
1984
1996
Pendleton, Marlon
IL
1996
2006
Phillips, Steven
TX
1982, 1983
2008
Pierce, Jeffrey
OK
1986
2001
Piszczek, Brian
OH
1991
1994
Pope, David Shawn
TX
1986
2001
Powell, Anthony
MA
1992
2004
Rachell, Ricardo
TX
2003
2009
Rainge, Willie
IL
1978
1996
Reynolds, Donald
IL
1988
1997
Robinson, Anthony
TX
1987
2000
Rodriguez, George
TX
1987
2005
Rose, Peter
CA
1995
2005
Ruffin, Julius
VA
1982
2003
Salazar, Ben
TX
1992
1997
Sarsfield, Eric
MA
1987
2000
Scott, Samuel
GA
1987
2002
Scruggs, Dwayne
IN
1986
1993
Shephard, David
NJ
1984
1995
Smith, Billy James
TX
1987
2006
Smith, Frank Lee
FL
1986
2000
Smith, Walter
OH
1986
1996
Snyder, Walter
VA
1986
1993
Sutherlin, David Brian
MN
1985
2002
Sutton, Josiah
TX
1999
2004
Taylor, Ronald Gene
TX
1995
2008
Terry, Paul
IL
1977
2003
Thomas, Victor Larue
TX
1986
2002
Thurman, Phillip Leon
VA
1985
2005
Tillman, James C.
CT
1989
2006
Toney, Steven
MO
1983
1996
Turner, Keith E.
TX
1983
2005
Velasquez, Eduardo
MA
1988
2001
APPENDIX A
31
NAME
Villasana, Armand
STATE
CONVICTION YEAR
MO
1999
EXONERATION YEAR
2000
Waller, James
TX
1983
2007
Waller, Patrick
TX
1992
2008
Wallis, Gregory
TX
1989
2007
Wardell, Billy
IL
1988
1997
Waters, Leo
NC
1982
2005
Webb, Mark
TX
1987
2001
Webb, Thomas
OK
1983
1996
Webb, Troy
VA
1989
1996
Webster, Bernard
MD
1983
2002
White, John Jerome
GA
1980
2007
Whitfield, Arthur Lee
VA
1982
2004
Whitley, Drew
PA
1989
2006
Williams, Dennis
IL
1978
1996
Williams, Michael Anthony
LA
1981
2005
Williams, Willie Pete
GA
1985
2007
Willis, Calvin
LA
1982
2003
Willis, John
IL
1992, 1993
1999
Woodall, Glen
WV
1987
1992
Woods, Anthony D.
MO
1984
2005
Wyniemko, Kenneth
MI
1994
2003
Yarris, Nicholas
PA
1982
2003
Youngblood, Larry
AZ
1985
2000
32
APPENDIX B
Model Legislation, 2009 State Legislative Sessions
An Act to Improve the Accuracy of Eyewitness Identifications
APPENDIX B
33
Updated: May, 2009
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University
MODEL LEGISLATION, 2009 STATE LEGISLATIVE SESSIONS

AN ACT TO IMPROVE THE ACCURACY OF EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATIONS
SECTION 1. LEGISLATIVE INTENT
The legislature finds that:
A. The goal of a police investigation is to apprehend the person or persons responsible for the
commission of a crime;
B. Mistaken eyewitness identification has been shown to have contributed to the wrongful
conviction in more than 75% of the nations 239 exonerations;
C. Over the past 30 years, a large body of peer-reviewed, scientific research and practice has
emerged showing that simple systemic changes in administering eyewitness identification
procedures can greatly improve the accuracy of those identifications;
D. Policies and procedures to improve the accuracy of eyewitness identifications such as those
recommended by the U.S. National Institute of Justice, the American Bar Association, the New
Jersey Office of the Attorney General, the Wisconsin Office of the Attorney General, the
California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice, and the North Carolina Actual
Innocence Commission are readily available;
E. More accurate eyewitness identifications increase the ability of police and prosecutors to
convict the guilty and protect the innocent;
F. The integrity of [States] criminal justice process is enhanced by adherence to best practices
in evidence gathering; and
G. [State] will benefit from the improvement of the accuracy of eyewitness identifications.
Barry C. Scheck, Esq. and Peter J. Neufeld, Esq., Directors Maddy deLone, Esq., Executive Director
100 Fifth Avenue, 3rd Floor New York, NY 10011 Tel: 212/364-5340 Fax: 212/364-5341
Innocence Project, Inc.

Page 2
SECTION 2: DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this Act:
A. Administrator means the person conducting the photo or live lineup;
B. Suspect means the person believed by law enforcement to be the possible perpetrator of the
crime;
C. Blind means the administrator does not know the identity of the suspect;
D. Blinded means the administrator may know who the suspect is, but does not know which
lineup member is being viewed by the eyewitness;
E. Eyewitness means a person who observes another person at or near the scene of an offense;
F. Filler means either a person or a photograph of a person who is not suspected of an offense
and is included in an identification procedure;
G. Identification procedure means a live lineup, a photo lineup, or a showup.
H. Live lineup means an identification procedure in which a group of persons, including the
suspected perpetrator of an offense and other persons not suspected of the offense, is displayed to
an eyewitness for the purpose of determining whether the eyewitness identifies the suspect as the
perpetrator;
I. Photo lineup means an identification procedure in which an array of photographs, including
a photograph of the suspected perpetrator of an offense and additional photographs of other
persons not suspected of the offense, is displayed to an eyewitness either in hard copy form or
via computer for the purpose of determining whether the eyewitness identifies the suspect as the
perpetrator; and
J. Showup means an identification procedure in which an eyewitness is presented with a
single suspect for the purpose of determining whether the eyewitness identifies this individual as
the perpetrator.

Page 3
SECTION 3. EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION PROCEDURES

Any criminal justice entity conducting eyewitness identification procedures shall adopt specific
procedures for conducting photo and live lineups that comply with the following requirements:
A. Prior to a photo or live lineup, law enforcement shall record as complete a description as
possible of the perpetrator provided by the eyewitness, in the eyewitnesss own words. This
statement shall also include information regarding the conditions under which the eyewitness
observed the perpetrator including location, time, distance, obstructions, lighting, weather
conditions, and other impairments, including but not limited to alcohol, drugs, stress, and
visual/auditory disabilities. The eyewitness shall be also be asked if he needs glasses or contact
lenses and whether he was wearing them at the time of the offense. The administrator shall note
whether the eyewitness was wearing glasses or contact lenses at the time of the identification
procedure.
B. Unless impracticable, a blind or blinded administrator shall conduct the live or photo lineup;
C. When it is impracticable for a blind administrator to conduct the eyewitness identification
procedure, the investigator shall state in writing the reason therefore;
D. The eyewitness shall be instructed, without other eyewitnesses present, prior to any live or
photo lineup that:
1. The perpetrator may or may not be among the persons in the identification procedure
or, in the case of a showup, may or may not be the person that is presented to the
eyewitness;
2. The administrator does not know who the perpetrator is;
3. The eyewitness should not feel compelled to make an identification;
4. The investigation will continue whether or not an identification is made;

Page 4
5. The procedure requires the administrator to ask the eyewitness to state, in his own
words, how certain he is of any identification; and
6. The eyewitness is not to discuss the identification procedure or its results with other
eyewitnesses involved in the case and should not speak with the media;
E. In a photo lineup, the photograph of the suspect shall be contemporary and shall resemble his
or her appearance at the time of the offense;
F. In a photo lineup, there shall be no characteristics of the photographs themselves or the
background context in which they are placed which shall make any of the photographs unduly
stand out;
G. A photo or live lineup shall be composed so that the fillers generally resemble the
eyewitnesss description of the perpetrator, while ensuring that the suspect does not unduly stand
out from the fillers;
H. In a photo or live lineup, fillers shall possess the following characteristics:
1. All fillers selected shall resemble the eyewitnesss description of the perpetrator in
significant features (i.e., face, weight, build, skin tone, etc.), including any unique or
unusual features (i.e., scar, tattoo, etc.);
2. At least five fillers shall be included in a photo lineup, in addition to the suspect;
3. At least four fillers shall be included in a live lineup, in addition to the suspect; and
4. If the eyewitness has previously viewed a photo lineup or live lineup in connection
with the identification of another person suspected of involvement in the offense, the
fillers in the lineup in which the instant suspect participates shall be different from the
fillers used in any prior lineups;
I. If there are multiple eyewitnesses:

Page 5
1. Each eyewitness shall view photo or live lineups separately;

2. The suspect shall be placed in a different position in the live lineup and/or photo
lineup for each eyewitness; and
3. The eyewitnesses shall not be permitted to communicate with each other until all
identification procedures have been completed;
J. In an identification procedure, no writings or information concerning the instant or any
previous arrest, indictment or conviction of the suspect shall be visible or made known to the
eyewitness;
K. In a live lineup, any identifying actions, such as speech, gestures or other movements, shall
be performed by all lineup participants;
L. In a live lineup, all lineup participants must be out of view of the eyewitness prior to the
identification procedure;
M. When there are multiple suspects, each identification procedure shall include only one
suspect;
N. Nothing shall be said to the eyewitness regarding the suspects position in the photo or live
lineup;
O. Nothing shall be said to the eyewitness that might influence the eyewitnesss identification of
any particular lineup member;
P. If the eyewitness makes an identification, the administrator shall seek and document a clear
statement from the eyewitness, at the time of the identification and in the eyewitnesss own
words, as to the eyewitnesss confidence level that the person identified in a given identification
procedure is the perpetrator;

Page 6
Q. If the eyewitness identifies a person as the perpetrator, the eyewitness shall not be provided
any information concerning such person before the administrator obtains the eyewitnesss
confidence statement about the selection;
R. A record of the identification procedure shall be made that includes all identification and
non-identification results obtained during the identification procedures, signed by the
eyewitnesses;
S. Efforts shall be made to perform a live or photo lineup instead of a showup.
1. Showups shall only be performed using a live suspect and in exigent circumstances
that require the immediate display of a suspect to an eyewitness.
2. In the event of the administration of a showup procedure:
a. A full and detailed description of the perpetrator shall be provided by the
eyewitness before the eyewitness observes the suspect. This statement shall also
include information regarding the conditions under which the eyewitness
observed the perpetrator including location, time, distance, obstructions, lighting,
weather conditions, and other impairments, including but not limited to alcohol,
drugs, stress, and visual/auditory disabilities. The eyewitness shall be also be
asked if he needs glasses or contact lenses and whether he was wearing them at
the time of the offense. The administrator shall note whether the eyewitness was
wearing glasses or contact lenses at the time of the identification procedure.
b. The eyewitness shall be transported to a neutral, non-law enforcement location
where the suspect is being detained for the purposes of a showup procedure.
c. Eyewitnesses shall be provided with instructions prior to the showup,
including:

Page 7
i. The perpetrator may or may not be among the persons in the

identification procedure or, in the case of a showup, may or may not be the
person that is presented to the eyewitness;
ii. The eyewitness should not feel compelled to make an identification;
iii. The investigation will continue whether or not an identification is
made;
iv. The procedure requires the administrator to ask the eyewitness to state,
in his own words, how certain he is of any identification; and
v. The eyewitness is not to discuss the identification procedure or its
results with other eyewitnesses involved in the case and should not speak
with the media;
d. Measures shall be taken by investigators at the showup, including the
administrator of the showup, to reduce potentially damaging or prejudicial
inferences that may be drawn by the eyewitness, including:
i. Refraining from suggesting, through statements or non-verbal conduct,
that the suspect is or may be the perpetrator of the crime;
ii. Removing the suspect from a squad car; and
iii. When practicable, removing handcuffs from the suspect;
e. If there are multiple eyewitnesses, only one eyewitness at a time shall
participate in the showup procedure:
i. Only one of the eyewitnesses shall be present at the location of the
showup procedure;
ii. If a positive identification is made, and an arrest is justified, additional
eyewitnesses shall be shown live or photo lineups; and

Page 8
f. If there are multiple suspects, these suspects shall be separated and subjected
to separate showup procedures.
g. If the eyewitness makes an identification, the administrator shall seek and
document a clear statement from the eyewitness, at the time of the
identification and in the eyewitnesss own words, as to the eyewitnesss
confidence level that the person identified in a given identification procedure
is the perpetrator.
T. Unless impracticable, a video record of the identification procedure shall be made that
includes the following information:
1. All identification and non-identification results obtained during the identification
procedures, signed by the eyewitnesses, including the eyewitnesss confidence
statements;
2. The names of all persons present at the identification procedure;
3. The date and time of the identification procedure;
4. In a photo or live lineup, any eyewitness identification(s) of (a) filler(s); and
5. In a photo or live lineup, the names of the lineup members and other relevant
identifying information, and the sources of all photographs or persons used in the lineup;
U. If a video record of the lineup is impracticable, the officer conducting the lineup shall
document the reason therefore, and an audio record of the identification procedure shall be made
which includes the items specified in Section 3, clause T, subclauses 1-5 of this Act. The audio
record shall be supplemented by all of the photographs used in a photo lineup, and photographs
of all of the individuals used in a live lineup or showup; and

Page 9
V. If both a video and audio record of the lineup are impracticable, the officer conducting the
lineup shall document in writing the reason therefore, and a written record of the lineup shall be
made which includes the items specified in Section 3, clause T, subclauses 1-5 of this Act. The
written record shall be supplemented by all of the photographs used in a photo lineup, and
photographs of all of the individuals used in a live lineup or showup.
SECTION 4. REMEDIES FOR NONCOMPLIANCE

For any photo or live lineup, or showup procedure that was administered after the date upon
which Section 3 of this Act took effect:
A. Evidence of a failure to comply with any of the provisions of this statute shall be considered
by trial courts in adjudicating motions to suppress eyewitness identification;
B. Evidence of a failure to comply with any of the provisions of this statute shall be admissible
in support of claims of eyewitness misidentification as long as such evidence is otherwise
admissible; and
C. When evidence of a failure to comply with any of the provisions of this statute has been
presented at trial, the jury shall be instructed that it may consider credible evidence of
noncompliance in determining the reliability of eyewitness identifications.
SECTION 5. TRAINING OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS

The Department of Public Safety shall create, administer and conduct training programs for law
enforcement officers and recruits regarding the methods, technical aspects and scientific findings
regarding the basis of the eyewitness identification practices and procedures referenced in this
Act.

Page 10
SECTION 6. EFFECTIVE DATE
This Act shall take effect on [date].

The Innocence Project was founded in 1992 by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld at the
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University to assist prisoners who could be proven
innocent through DNA testing. To date, over 230 people in the United States have been exonerated
by DNA testing, including 17 who served time on death row. These people served an average of
12 years in prison before exoneration and release. The Innocence Projects full-time staff attorneys
and Cardozo clinic students provide direct representation or critical assistance in most of these cases.
The Innocence Projects groundbreaking use of DNA technology to free innocent people has
provided irrefutable proof that wrongful convictions are not isolated or rare events but instead arise
from systemic defects. Now an independent nonprofit organization closely affiliated with Cardozo
School of Law at Yeshiva University, the Innocence Projects mission is nothing less than to free the
staggering numbers of innocent people who remain incarcerated and to bring substantive reform
to the system responsible for their unjust imprisonment.
34

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Eyewitness ID Report

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REEVALUATING

AND HOW TO REDUCE THE CHANCE OF A MISIDENTIFICATION

BENJAMIN N. CARDOZO SCHOOL OF LAW, YESHIVA UNIVERSITY

Eyewitness identification is among the most

In 50% of the misidentification cases,

THE INNOCENCE PROJECT

Many of these misidentifications could have been

Lineup composition: Fillers (the non-suspects

Despite positive feedback from police departments

Its incumbent on us that we

HISTORY AND OVERVIEW OF

On December 19, 1974, thousands of viewers

People tend to think of the ability

Buckhout published the devastating results

THE INNOCENCE PROJECT

nothing new. Hundreds of witnesses in scores of

in his book, Convicting the Innocent.6 Sixty

Today, the data subset has multiplied, and

DNA Exonerations Further Reveal the

Why Eyewitnesses Get It Wrong

DNA exonerations supported what scientists

To understand the factors affecting eyewitness

The first post-conviction DNA exoneration

Case example: Larry Fuller

The growing, undeniable evidence of wrongful

In April 1981, a woman woke up at 6 a.m. to find

HISTORY AND OVERVIEW OF EYEWITNESS MISIDENTIFIC ATION

suspended, noting that the victim was unsure

All those years ago, (a Burlington

THE INNOCENCE PROJECT

Race of the defendant, of those known,

Race of the eyewitness, of those known,

(based on 78 eyewitnesses in cross-racial misidentification cases

Because the victim viewed Larry Fullers photo

Factors involving law enforcements interactions

In cases with multiple eyewitnesses, only the witness of a different race

HISTORY AND OVERVIEW OF EYEWITNESS MISIDENTIFIC ATION

PROBLEMS WITH TRADITIONAL

The Innocence Project identifies common

What happened to me was horrible

THE INNOCENCE PROJECT

1. Composition of the lineup may be suggestive

Case Example: Antonio Beaver

I thought surely I wouldve been

2. Cues from the lineup administrator may

James Waller, exonerated through DNA testing

PROBLEMS WITH TRADITIONAL EYEWITNESS IDENTIFIC ATION PROCEDURES

Case Example: Thomas McGowan

Number of witnesses misidentifying

THE INNOCENCE PROJECT

The victims identification of McGowan was

3. Witnesses may misunderstand the role

of the lineup. Researchers have termed the

4. Witnesses confidence in the identification is

Perhaps the witness learned that her co-witness

PROBLEMS WITH TRADITIONAL EYEWITNESS IDENTIFIC ATION PROCEDURES

increased over time. Ron was the only person

5. Beyond lineups: how eyewitness

Real Perpetrator identified