Eyewitness trumps alibi!
Dallas County is scheduled to release another person based on DNA evidence. The individual is the 19th person released since Dallas County started reviewing cases, and has been in jail for 26 years.
Unfortunately, this story is a familiar one. The victim identified the defendant, and that was all the evidence that was needed. The identification was questionable, since a lineup was mailed to the victim, and two of the pictures were of persons without a shirt, which was the description provided. Obviously, that was not enough to convince a jury.
It is also a familiar story of investigation. Not only did they conduct a questionable identification procedure, they also refused to look into what appeared to be solid alibi evidence. The defendant was ablet o produce a time card showing he was working at the time, and his employer testified for him.
it amazes me that even with all the exonerations, eyewitness testimony is still viewed as almost infallible. Jurors rarely question the identification made by a victim, especially when they point out the person. Even when they are told about the problems with such identifications, they still are not willing to reject it. There are no telling how many people are in prison because of bad identifications. The vast majority of those will have to stay there, because there is no physical evidence that will exonerate them.
We have to come up with a better way to handle these cases. Presenting expert testimony is a start; jury instructions may also help. The best way to deal with the problem though is to avoided it the first. Investigators need to stop blindly accepting eyewitness identifications, and look into evidence to the contrary. After all, that is what investigating is all about.
