The Wrong Man

by Patrick Appel

Kathryn Schulz interviews Innocence Project co-founder Peter Neufeld:

About 30 or 40 years ago, the Supreme Court acknowledged that eyewitnessidentification is problematic and can lead to wrongful convictions. Thetrouble is, it instructed lower courts to determine the validity ofeyewitness testimony based on a lot of factors that are irrelevant,like the certainty of the witness. But the certainty you express [incourt:] a year and half later has nothing to do with how certain...