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Eyewitness ID, corroborating jailhouse informants clear Senate

Two positive, if incrementalist pieces of legislation passed the Texas Senate yesterday related to preventing false convictions:SB 117 by Ellis requiring law enforcement agencies to adopt written policies related to eyewitness identification procedures, andSB 1681 by Hinojosa requiring corroboration for jailhouse informant testimony in order to secure a conviction. Sen. Ellis' bill, in particular, is a much stronger piece of legislation than the Senate passed last session on the same topic, perhaps bolstered by the large number of exonerated men since then. Faulty eyewitness identifications are the leading cause of false convictions among DNA exonerees, and the Court of Criminal Appeals' Criminal Justice Integrity Unit told the Lege eyewitness ID reform should have the "highest priority of any efforts in the area of wrongful convictions...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on April 17, 2009 (boomark / email).