PUBLISHER'S NOTE: In response to the stunning number of exonerations enabled by DNA evidence, one of the most common explanations has been that all too often police and prosecutors are tempted to use devious, dangerous techniques in the absence of scientific evidence which can neatly provide a conviction. (A wrongful conviction at that. HL); One of these techniques - in addition to rigging the statement and identification processes - is by 'buying' the evidence of prison informants, commonly referred to as ‘jailhouse snitches." unfettered use of snitches. Top-notch investigative journalists Pamela Colloff and Mike White have dived deeply into the dangers posed by jailhouse snitches - from the USA to New Zealand - and their work has been evidenced by multiple posts on this Blog. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog. ------------------------------------------------------------ GRAPHIC: : "30 Years of Jailhouse Snitch Scandals," by reporters (Reporters Katie Zavadski and Moiz Syed), published by ProPublica on December 4, 2019. (Katie Zavadski is ProPublica’s research editor. She oversees the research team, works on the Trump, Inc. podcast and runs ProPublica’s Emerging Reporters program. Moiz Syed is a journalist, designer and developer on ProPublica's news apps team, covering the federal government. Previously he worked at The Intercept as a data journalist.) | ||
1989
scandal
Prolific
jailhouse informant Leslie Vernon White appears on “60 Minutes” and
demonstrates on camera how he fabricates testimony. The previous year,
the Los Angeles Times had written about
White demonstrating to law enforcement how he could manufacture
testimony, prompting legal groups in California to call for a grand jury
to investigate. Defense attorneys compiled a list of over 200 cases in the preceding 10 years in which jailhouse informants testified.
exonerations Between
1980 and 1989, 49 people nationwide are wrongfully convicted of murder
in cases in which jailhouse informants played a role, according to the
National Registry of Exonerations. The registry only logs individuals
who have been exonerated, making this likely only a fraction of the overall number of people who have been wrongly convicted in such cases.
1990
scandal
A California grand jury report
blasts the use of jailhouse informants by prosecutors and police. It
calls for sweeping reforms, including the creation of a centralized
database of informants that would list any benefits they received, the
number of times they testified and all favorable actions taken on their
behalf. The reforms are not implemented. exonerationsBetween
1990 and 1999, 53 people are wrongfully convicted of murder in cases in
which jailhouse informants played a role, according to the National
Registry of Exonerations.1999
Among the Released
scandal
The dangers of jailhouse informant testimony are highlighted
as part of a Chicago Tribune series on Illinois’ death penalty.
Reporters spotlight jailhouse informant Tommy Dye, a known liar whose
testimony helped put an ex-Chicago police officer on death row. The
officer was later exonerated when Dye refused to testify
at a retrial. The Tribune found that at least 46 inmates were on
Illinois’ death row because of cases that involved jailhouse informant
testimony.2000
reform
An Oklahoma appeals court institutes
new rules for jailhouse informant testimony that require prosecutors to
disclose key facts before trial: an informant’s full criminal history,
any promises made in exchange for the testimony, other cases in which
the informant testified and any recantations the informant has made. The
court also mandated jury instructions on how to weigh the reliability
of informant testimony.
exonerations Between
2000 and 2009, 30 people are wrongfully convicted of murder in cases in
which jailhouse informants played a role, according to the National
Registry of Exonerations.
2003
reform
Illinois adopts
vast death penalty reform laws, including one requiring pretrial
reliability hearings for jailhouse informants testifying in death
penalty cases. The reforms only apply to death penalty cases, allowing
informants to testify wihtout such hearings in other serious cases.
Among the Released
2004
scandal
The Center on Wrongful Convictions at the Northwestern University School of Law releases a report titled “The Snitch System,”
which documents the toll of false informant testimony. The report
claims that cases involving informants — many of them jailhouse snitches
— were responsible for 45.9% of death penalty exonerations since the
punishment was reinstated in the 1970s.
scandal Cameron
Todd Willingham is executed in Texas for the 1991 deaths of his three
young children, who perished in a house fire. Jailhouse informant Johnny
Webb, who testified that Willingham confessed to him, later recants his testimony.
Among the Released
2008
Among the Released
2010
exonerations
Since
2010, at least five people have been wrongfully convicted of murder in
cases in which jailhouse informants played a role, according to the
National Registry of Exonerations. Fewer wrongful convictions have
surfaced in this decade compared with previous ones because it can take
years, and even decades, for wrongful convictions to come to light.
Experts say this number will likely grow in the years to come.2011
reform
California
passes a law that says that the uncorroborated testimony of a jailhouse
informant can't be used against a defendant at trial. A court later weakens these protections by saying accomplices and informants may corroborate each others’ accounts.2012
scandal
The Florida Innocence Commission recommends
providing jurors with instructions on how to weigh the reliability of
informant testimony and other reforms, such as clarifying disclosure
rules.
Among the Released
2014
Among the Released
scandal
A public defender in a high-profile murder case
in Orange County, California, claims that his client’s constitutional
rights were violated through the use of a long-standing jailhouse
informant program. Orange County’s top prosecutors and law-enforcement
officials are implicated, and according to a pending ACLU lawsuit
against the county district attorney’s office and sheriff’s department,
as many as 140 cases may be affected. Other murder cases are retried as a result.
reform
The Florida Supreme Court requires
prosecutors to disclose a summary of jailhouse informants’ criminal
histories; any previous history as an informant; and the compensation
they expect to receive.2016
Among the Released
2017
scandal
An Orange County, California, grand jury asserts
that the existence of an organized informant program run by the DA’s
office and sheriff’s department “does not stand up to factual
validation.” While it acknowledges wrongdoing in individual cases, its
report dismisses claims that there was any sort of organized jailhouse
informant program in place.
reform Texas passes a law requiring
prosecutors to track informant testimony and disclose any benefits the
informants received, such as compensation and sentence reductions.
2018
Among the Released
reform
Illinois passes a law requiring
pretrial reliability hearings for jailhouse informants testifying in
murder, arson and sexual assault cases. It also includes other
disclosure requirements.2019
scandal
The California Attorney General’s Office closes its investigation into the Orange County jailhouse informant scandal. No one is publicly disciplined.
reform Nebraska enacts
legislation mandating that defense attorneys be notified of an
informant's criminal history, any benefits they will receive, any past
history as an informant and any recantations.
reform Twenty-nine
years after a Los Angeles County grand jury recommended the creation of
a centralized database to track jailhouse informants, Connecticut — not
California — passes such a law.
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