Archive for March 2, 2008
Eyewitness ID reform bill introduced in judiciary committee
Mar 2nd
Fantastic news today. A new bill has been introduced to reform ID procedures in CT.
The bill provides for most of the recommended changes to ID procedures during lineups. I have reproduced the bill in its entirety below. Spread the word:
(b) Not later than January 1, 2009, each municipal police department and the Department of Public Safety shall adopt procedures for the conducting of photo lineups and live lineups that comply with the following requirements:
(1) When practicable, the person conducting the identification procedure shall be a person who is not aware of which person in the photo lineup or live lineup is suspected as the perpetrator of the offense;
(2) The photo lineup and live lineup identification procedures shall be conducted in sequence so that the eyewitness is shown each photograph or each person one at a time rather than viewing the photographs or the persons simultaneously;
(3) The eyewitness shall be instructed prior to the identification procedure:
(A) That the perpetrator may not be among the persons in the photo lineup or the live lineup;
(B) That the eyewitness should not feel compelled to make an identification;
(C) That each photograph or person will be viewed one at a time;
(D) That the photographs or persons will be displayed in random order;
(E) That the eyewitness should take as much time as needed in making a decision about each photograph or person before moving to the next one; and
(F) That all photographs or persons will be shown to the eyewitness, even if an identification is made before all have been viewed;
(4) The photo lineup or live lineup shall be composed so that the fillers generally fit the description of the person suspected as the perpetrator and, in the case of a photo lineup, so that the photograph of the person suspected as the perpetrator resembles his or her appearance at the time of the offense and does not unduly stand out;
(5) 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 person suspected as the perpetrator participates shall be different from the fillers used in any prior lineups;
(6) At least five fillers shall be included in the photo lineup and at least four fillers shall be included in the live lineup, in addition to the person suspected as the perpetrator;
(7) In a photo lineup, no writings or information concerning any previous arrest of the person suspected as the perpetrator shall be visible to the eyewitness;
(8) In a live lineup, any identification actions, such as speaking or making gestures or other movements, shall be performed by all lineup participants;
(9) In a live lineup, all lineup participants shall be out of the view of the eyewitness at the beginning of the identification procedure;
(10) The person suspected as the perpetrator shall be the only suspected perpetrator included in the identification procedure;
(11) Nothing shall be said to the eyewitness regarding the position in the photo lineup or the live lineup of the person suspected as the perpetrator, except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (D) of subdivision (3) of this subsection;
(12) Nothing shall be said to the eyewitness that might influence the eyewitness’s selection of the person suspected as the perpetrator;
(13) If the eyewitness identifies a person as the perpetrator, the eyewitness shall not be provided any information concerning such person prior to obtaining the eyewitness’s statement that he or she is certain of the selection; and
(14) A written record of the identification procedure shall be made that includes the following information:
(A) All identification and nonidentification results obtained during the identification procedure, signed by the eyewitness, including the eyewitness’s own words regarding how certain he or she is of the selection;
(B) The names of all persons present at the identification procedure;
(C) The date and time of the identification procedure;
(D) The order in which the photographs or persons were displayed to the eyewitness;
(E) In a photo lineup, the photographs themselves;
(F) In a photo lineup, identification information and the sources of all photographs used; and
(G) In a live lineup, identification information on all persons who participated in the lineup.
One can only hope that this passes.
HT: CTLP
Re-entry: Whose problem is it?
Mar 2nd
Over the past week or so, a fight of sorts has broken out between New Haven mayor John DeStefano and Governor Rell. It started with a meeting in New Haven about prisoner re-entry, with town residents complaining that DOC “dumped” inmates into New Haven who then had nowhere to go. Then there were three murders in New Haven, prompting Mayor DeStefano emphatically called for some help.
“The probation system needs to deal with these kids,” said DeStefano in a press conference Tuesday afternoon. Two of the three shootings Monday night involved armed teenagers, violent offenders increasingly fearless of The Law, who put officers’ lives at risk.
DeStefano said the evening brought him to a boiling point of frustration with the state for dumping 25 to 30 prisoners on the city’s doorstep each week with no social services. “You cannot keep dumping people in our communities,” DeStefano charged.The most troubling common thread, said DeStefano, was the criminal history of all parties involved. The dumping of prisoners in New Haven has already prompted the city to open a fourth homeless shelter. DeStefano railed against the state for “failing to engage” ex-offenders with case management programs, social services and “positive choices” after prison. Earlier this month, the city lobbied Hartford for $1 million for a pilot program to provide case management for people leaving prison, the mayor said. With tones of clear frustration, he said the city has been asking for one and a half years for a prison reentry system. The state needs to step up,” DeStefano said. “Do we have to, Godforbid, have an officer killed here?” He asked. “What is it going to take to solve this problem?”
Pretty strong stuff there. Yesterday, Governor Rell responded with some strong words of her own. Among them, she not-so-gently reminded DeStefano of New Haven’s cop troubles. Then she said this:
You are apparently unaware that of the number of inmates incarcerated today, a total of 12 percent report a New Haven residence. (Indeed, if I were in an ironic frame of mind, perhaps I might complain about the City of New Haven “dumping” its problems with drugs, violence, theft and other crimes on the State of Connecticut.)
You also appear to be unaware that nearly $5.5 million was spent in 2007 on residential and non-residential services for former prisoners in New Haven, or that the Office of Parole and Community Services, operated by the Department of Correction, has 23 parole officers, two substance abuse counselors and two case managers dedicated to New Haven.
That first sentence is so offensive, I don’t know where to start. So I’m not going to. Let’s take a look at the second paragraph – specifically the amount spent on re-entry.
The state spends close to $665 million on corrections a year. Isn’t that amazing? That’s not six hundred thousand…that’s 665 million. That would put corrections spending between the GDPs of Djibouti and Liberia. In the 2006 budget, out of the general fund, appropriations for corrections was $589 million. There was an appropriation for something called “community support services”, which was given $27 million. Don’t know exactly what that entails, but I’m assuming it has something to do with re-entry. Which is barely 4% of the budget.
And we wonder why cities aren’t happy and re-entry is a problem. To answer the question: It is our problem. All of us. Just as crime is and just as rehabilitation should be.
We need to spend more on getting inmates ready to re-enter society and start living amongst us again. When will we learn?
Sunday stupidity: Crash edition
Mar 2nd
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmJdQWuVqmM[/youtube]
A warning to informers/snitches
Mar 2nd
If you can figure it out.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggjoSmSp4XU[/youtube]
Actually, if you do figure it out, let me know. I’ve been listening to this song for over 15 years now and I have no clue what he’s saying. That’s what happens when a Canadian does reggae.
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