Work of the Innocence Project Challenges Reliability of Eyewitness IDs

Of the first 250 DNA exonerations achieved, 190 involved eyewitnesses who were wrong.

Many of those witnesses were as certain as they were wrong. “There is absolutely no question in my mind,” said one. Another was “120 percent” sure. A third said, “That is one face I will never forget.” A fourth allowed for a glimmer of doubt: “This is the man, or it is his twin brother.”

In November, the Supreme Court will return to the question of what the Constitution has to say about the use of eyewitness evidence. We should be grateful to the unrelenting efforts of The Innocence Project which has led the way in documenting the failure of eyewitness identification