Push for Justice: Boston makes sweeping moves to stop wrongful imprisonments
Triggered by a shocking string of high-profile cases in which innocent men were wrongfully imprisoned for rape and murder, Suffolk County prosecutors and Boston police will tomorrow unveil a sweeping overhaul in their handling of eyewitness identifications of suspects. A Herald/Fox 25 investigative report in May documented the cases of at least 21 Massachusetts men - mostly minorities -who had spent needless years in prison for brutal crimes such as rape or murder they didn't commit. Under the proposed reforms, witnesses will now be shown a suspect's photograph or view a suspect in a lineup one at a time, instead of grouping the photos together or having the suspects file out in a lineup together. An officer completely unconnected to the criminal case with no knowledge of the true suspect will now handle all of the witness's identifications, the report is expected to state. [more]
- Mass-Since 1997 NINE Black Men have been released due to Wrongful Convictions [more]