Wednesday, September 8, 2021

Kevin Strickland: Kansas City: Missouri: Mayor says Kevin Strickland's wrongful conviction (Jackson County prosecutors now say he is innocent) wouldn't have happened if the force's new eyewitness policy had been in place, The Kansas City Star (Reporter Luke Nozicka) reports..."When the police board discussed the policy in June, Mayor Quinton Lucas said creating a policy would hopefully make sure convictions like that of Kevin Strickland — who Jackson County prosecutors now say is innocent — “never happen again.” In Strickland’s case, the lone eyewitness to the 1978 triple murder for which he was convicted said she could only identify two of the four suspects that night. She identified Strickland the next day after she described a shotgun-wielding suspect to her sister’s boyfriend, who then suggested that suspect might be Strickland. She later recanted and wanted Strickland freed, prosecutors say."


PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "The policy, which went into effect this month, states it is aimed at “protecting the innocent from misidentification in every way possible,” while also working as a tool for detectives. It requires that all eyewitness identifications be recorded “whenever possible” in their entirety with audio or video. It also means if detectives turned off the camera, they would have to say why and alert a supervisor. When showing a witness a photo array, detectives will now be required to say that the person of interest “may or may not be present” in the images. The witness would then be asked to describe their “level of certainty” about the identification in their own words. Detectives will not use facial composites under the policy. Using a sketch artist requires approval by a commander. Faulty eyewitness identifications have contributed to about 70% of the more than 360 wrongful convictions reversed by DNA across the U.S., according to the Innocence Project. That percentage is even higher in Missouri."


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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "Tricia Rojo Bushnell, executive director of the Midwest Innocence Project, congratulated and thanked the department, particularly Capt. Everett Babcock, for implementing the policy. Babcock “spearheaded” the project, police said. “This is making sure that this evidence is reliable,” Rojo Bushnell said. “So not only does this protect defendants, it protects victims from having to be cross-examined or asked later about an identification that may have been mistaken when it’s not their fault but that the process created.” It also protects officers and prosecutors, Rojo Bushnell said. She hopes other law enforcement agencies follow suit."


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STORY: "In effort to prevent wrong arrests, Kansas City Police change the way they use eye witnesses," by Reporter Luke Nozicka, published by the Kansas City Star on August 26, 2021.


SUB-HEADING: "Kansas City Police Board considers proposal to reform eyewitness policies."


GIST: "The Kansas City Police Department has implemented eyewitness identification procedures that it says will help prevent misidentifications and wrongful convictions.


Members of the police board that oversees the department, in June, talked about reforming the way detectives use victims and eyewitnesses during criminal investigations.


 On Thursday, the force said it has made the new policy a reality.


There had previously been nothing in department policy governing eyewitness identification. Each unit within the force conducted those procedures differently. Detectives learned from each other, but there wasn’t any set standard.


The policy, which went into effect this month, states it is aimed at “protecting the innocent from misidentification in every way possible,” while also working as a tool for detectives.


It requires that all eyewitness identifications be recorded “whenever possible” in their entirety with audio or video. It also means if detectives turned off the camera, they would have to say why and alert a supervisor.


When showing a witness a photo array, detectives will now be required to say that the person of interest “may or may not be present” in the images. The witness would then be asked to describe their “level of certainty” about the identification in their own words.


Detectives will not use facial composites under the policy. Using a sketch artist requires approval by a commander.


Faulty eyewitness identifications have contributed to about 70% of the more than 360 wrongful convictions reversed by DNA across the U.S., according to the Innocence Project. That percentage is even higher in Missouri.


The department consulted innocence lawyers while creating the policy and allowed an attorney with the Midwest Innocence Project to attend its training with detectives.


In a news release, police said the department “always wants to make sure that justice is served in criminal cases and this new policy is going to help ensure just that.”



Missouri does not mandate that police have an eyewitness policy that meets reliability standards, as 28 other states do.


In a statement, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office said it was pleased to see the department’s efforts to improve its practices.

“Requiring that someone who doesn’t know the suspect show photos to a victim or witness for identification is a key improvement,” spokesman Mike Mansur said.


When the police board discussed the policy in June, Mayor Quinton Lucas said creating a policy would hopefully make sure convictions like that of Kevin Strickland — who Jackson County prosecutors now say is innocent — “never happen again.”

In Strickland’s case, the lone eyewitness to the 1978 triple murder for which he was convicted said she could only identify two of the four suspects that night. She identified Strickland the next day after she described a shotgun-wielding suspect to her sister’s boyfriend, who then suggested that suspect might be Strickland. She later recanted and wanted Strickland freed, prosecutors say."


The entire story can be read at:



PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic"  section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com.  Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
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FINAL WORD:  (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases):  "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions.   They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they’ve exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;