Lessons Not Learned - The Innocence Project

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InFoRMAnTs AnD snITCHes In more than 15% of cases of wrongful conviction overturned by DNA testing nationwide, an informant or jailhouse snitch testified against the defendant. In New York, at least four of the 23 exoneration cases involved informants or snitches. Often, statements from people with incentives to testify – particularly incentives that are not disclosed to the jury – are the central evidence in convicting an innocent person. DNA exonerations have shown that snitches lie on the stand. To many, this news isn’t a surprise. Testifying falsely in exchange for an incentive – either money or a sentence reduction – is often the last resort for a desperate inmate. For someone who is not in prison already, but who wants to avoid being charged with a crime, providing snitch testimony may be the only option. In some cases, snitches or informants come forward voluntarily, often seeking deals or special treatment. But sometimes law enforcement officials seek out snitches and give them extensive background on cases — essentially feeding them the information they need to provide false testimony. Often, juries are not told that informants are testifying with incentives. New York wrongful convictions caused, in part, by snitches or informants include: • John Restivo, Dennis Halstead and John Kogut were wrongfully convicted of killing a 16-year-old girl in Nassau County in 1984. The testimony of several incentivized snitches, along with Kogut’s false confession and erroneous forensic evidence, led to the men’s convictions. Several witnesses testified against Restivo, Halstead or Kogut in exchange for reduced sentences. Others were threatened by police that they would be charged in this crime if they didn’t testify against the defendants. Some of these snitches later recanted their testimony, admitting they lied on the stand. The men were convicted of murder and rape in two separate trials. After serving more than 16 years in prison, they were exonerated in 2005 after DNA testing on semen from the crime scene revealed the profile of a single unknown male and excluded the three defendants. 24 THe InnoCenCe PRoJeCT
THe LeARnInG THe LeARnInG LeGIsLATIVe ReMeDIes THAT CAn RePAIR neW YoRK’s JUsTICe sYsTeM There are those who claim that the eventual exoneration of innocent people proves the system works. If that were true, then justice is not being dispensed by police, prosecutors, defense lawyers or courts – but by law students, journalism students and a few concerned lawyers, organizations and citizens. In most of the 23 New York cases, prosecutors resisted defendants’ attempts to obtain new evidence postconviction, and courts denied appeals from people claiming they were innocent. The DNA exonerations do not solve the problem – they prove its existence and illuminate the need for reform. Learning the lessons of DNA exonerations will increase the accuracy of our criminal justice system to protect the innocent and help identify the guilty – and ultimately, enhance the public safety. In recent years, New York lawmakers have had opportunities to put the lessons of DNA exonerations into practice and implement critical improvements in the state’s system of justice, but these reforms ultimately stalled. While dozens of other states – including California, Texas, North Carolina, Maryland, Vermont and West Virginia – have passed legislation to address wrongful convictions, New York has not. Several initiatives were introduced in the state legislature last year, 25
Page 1 and 2: Lessons n o t learned neW YoRK sTAT
Page 3 and 4: exeCUTIVe sUMMARY Throughout New Yo
Page 5 and 6: Despite the large number of DNA exo
Page 7 and 8: 23 CAses AnD THeIR ConseqUenCes: A
Page 9 and 10: 8 Hector Gonzalez - Brooklyn Convic
Page 11 and 12: 18 Doug Warney - Rochester Convicte
Page 13 and 14: TRYInG To ReBUILD THeIR LIVes All o
Page 15 and 16: ReAL PeRPeTRAToRs CoMMIT ADDITIonAL
Page 17 and 18: THe Lessons THe Lessons CAUses oF W
Page 19 and 20: THe Lessons • The victim identifi
Page 21 and 22: THe Lessons • County rape in 1987
Page 23: THe Lessons • victed of the 1989
Page 27 and 28: THe LeARnInG Allow All of the Wrong
Page 29 and 30: THe LeARnInG cessful, New York shou
Page 31 and 32: THe LeARnInG Convictions, composed
Page 33 and 34: FInDInGs oF THe CoMMIssIon The comm
Page 35 and 36: ReCoMMenDATIons oF THe CoMMIssIon A
Page 37 and 38: ConCLUsIon time to research for evi
Page 39 and 40: APPenDIx A APPenDIx A FULL PRoFILes
Page 41 and 42: APPenDIx A ecution for DNA testing
Page 43 and 44: APPenDIx A process. On July 18, 199
Page 45 and 46: APPenDIx A The initial description
Page 47 and 48: APPenDIx A and if it was still avai
Page 49 and 50: APPenDIx A The following year, all
Page 51 and 52: APPenDIx A Eventually, the evidence
Page 53 and 54: APPenDIx A On December 19, 2002, on
Page 55 and 56: APPenDIx A On the night of April 19
Page 57 and 58: APPenDIx A His chance to test the e
Page 59 and 60: APPenDIx A defenses. Prosecutors al
Page 61 and 62: APPenDIx A suggested she had been r
Page 63 and 64: APPenDIx A from the defendants pres
Page 65 and 66: APPenDIx A brother’s moving busin
Page 67 and 68: APPenDIx A days or weeks. The bandi
Page 69 and 70: APPenDIx A While the case was being
Page 71 and 72: APPenDIx A watching television, he
Page 73 and 74: APPenDIx A The Office of the Chief
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APPenDIx A Deskovic’s alleged con
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APPenDIx A consistent” with Brown
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APPenDIx B APPenDIx B RePoRT on THe
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RePoRT on ConVICTIon oF JeFFReY Des
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RePoRT on ConVICTIon oF JeFFReY Des
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scientific evidence exonerated him.
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It is, of course, theoretically pos
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· · a murder that he did not comm
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wholly unsupported by anything poli
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investigative reports strongly sugg
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interrogations of Deskovic on Janua
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a confession. 44 During part of thi
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emained steadfast. Finally, on Janu
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Deskovic’s knowledge of Correa’
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As it was, the Grand Jury was denie
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he was aware, as the jury was not,
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On this record, the trial judge may
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without his attorney. 112 There is
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Court’s Mid-trial Loss of Evidenc
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arrested. District Attorney DiFiore
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occasions a voice tape recorder was
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The Innocence Project was founded i
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Lessons Not Learned - The Innocence Project

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