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'Show up' tactic can taint witness IDs

Following up on its coverage of eyewitness ID flaws in Dallas DNA exonerations, the Dallas News today brings us an analysis of the use of "show ups" to identify suspects - where suspects simply take a witness to a single suspect who's already in custody and ask "is he the guy?" Reported the News ("Police use show-ups to quickly nab suspects - and sometimes choose wrong," Oct. 13):Almost a decade has elapsed since the U.S. Justice Department recommended stricter limits on the use of "showups," as the practice is known in police circles. More than 40 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court deemed them dangerously suggestive and discouraged their use.Yet showups have been cited as a critical flaw in at least 20 percent of the 220 DNA exonerations nationwide...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on October 13, 2008 (boomark / email).