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Bill Seeks To Create New Procedures For Eyewitness Identification

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Law enforcement would have to follow new guidelines while conducting suspect lineups under a bill proposed in the General Assembly. The legislation would tweak police procedure to try and prevent a witnesses’ memory of a suspect or incident from being “contaminated” by suggestion.

Jennifer Thompson, a rape survivor who misidentified her perpetrator in 1984, says it’s easy to misremember events. “We don’t record things the way we think we record them. Our brains are so malleable, they’re so prone to suggestion. It isn’t hard to plant false information into a person’s memory. We do it all the time, either innocently or intentionally,” Thompson said.

Amshula Jayaram, state policy advocate with the National Innocence Project, says the policies would help ensure better accuracy in the investigation process. “It’s a human process, if the officer knows that the third photo is the suspect they might raise their eyebrows, they might give some little expression change that is not even intentional but will corrupt the process,” Jayaram said.

The bill would require an officer conducting a suspect lineup to not know who the suspect is. Police would also be required to make sure members of a lineup look alike so the suspect doesn’t stand out.

The Kentucky League of Cities says such policies should be left up to local governments.

Ryland Barton is the Managing Editor for Collaboratives for Kentucky Public Radio, a group of public radio stations including WKMS, WFPL in Louisville, WEKU in Richmond and WKYU in Bowling Green. A native of Lexington, Ryland most recently served as the Capitol Reporter for Kentucky Public Radio. He has covered politics and state government for NPR member stations KWBU in Waco and KUT in Austin.
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