Indiana has a chance to prevent wrongful convictions
For 25 years, Leon Benson remained locked up in an Indiana state prison — including 11 in solitary confinement — for a murder he didn't commit while his young children grew up without a father and the real killer remained at large.
Half his life was stolen largely because of a case of mistaken identity in the 1998 execution-style shooting of a 25-year-old white man in Indianapolis. Benson, who is Black, did not meet the vague description of a dark-skinned, clean-shaven man provided by a white woman after witnessing the slaying from 150 feet away in the dark.
Despite his light skin and facial hair, Benson was later erroneously identified by the woman as the shooter in a police lineup — which could have been prevented if the proper eyewitness identification procedures had been in place.
As the director of the Notre Dame Exoneration Justice Clinic, I've represented clients like Benson, who had their liberty stolen from them due to a wrongful conviction. Mistaken eyewitness identifications have been a contributing factor in approximately 3,600 (or 70%) wrongful convictions in the U.S. overturned by post-conviction DNA evidence.
When we look more granularly in Indiana, more than a third of wrongful convictions – 36% – involved a mistaken eyewitness identification. So far, this equates to innocent Hoosiers, including Benson, losing a combined 245 years of freedom for crimes they did not commit.
As EJC director and throughout my career as a federal and state prosecutor, I've seen firsthand how erroneous identifications occur. Eyewitnesses sometimes see things incorrectly in suboptimal circumstances or have lapses in memory. Unscientific police procedures can also play a role, improperly pressuring or influencing witnesses into identifying a suspect in a police lineup or photo spread, or inadvertently implying through comments or body language about someone's guilt.
Indiana lawmakers can pass legislation that improves eyewitness identification procedures, joining 30 other jurisdictions nationwide that have put into place guardrails to protect the innocent and ensure that the actual perpetrator is held accountable.
Senators Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, and Sue Glick, R-LaGrange, have authored legislation establishing standard procedures for conducting police lineups and photo spreads. These procedures, which are corroborated by over 30 years of peer-reviewed research and recognized by groups like the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, the National Academy of Sciences, and the U.S. Department of Justice, include:
Double-blind administration of a lineup where neither the witness nor the person administering the lineup, usually a law enforcement officer, knows the identity of the suspect, effectively preventing any unintentional cues or biases from influencing the witness's identification decision.
Witness instructions that include telling the witness the perpetrator may not be present in the lineup, that they are not required to identify a suspect and the investigation will continue with or without an identification.
Proper fillers, meaning non-suspect photos and lineup participants are selected based on their resemblance to the description of the suspect provided by the witness. The suspect should not noticeably stand out from among others in the lineup.
Witness confidence statements should be made immediately following the lineup that articulates the witness' level of confidence in the identification.
These are not only good practices; they are necessary and easy-to-implement procedures that will go a long way toward protecting innocent people and minimizing wrongful convictions.
Had these procedures been in place, there's little doubt that Benson would not have been deprived of decades of his freedom. His conviction primarily relied on erroneous eyewitness identification that violated the Core Four principles. Thankfully, Benson was exonerated in 2023 after the Marion County Conviction Integrity Unit reviewed his case and discovered not only evidence of his innocence, but also the identity of the real perpetrator.
Now, Indiana must do the right thing so no other Hoosier will ever lose a day of their freedom due to mistaken identity. Wouldn't it be better if we could prevent wrongful convictions such as these from happening in the first place rather than robbing anyone of precious time?
Jimmy Gurulé is the Director of the Exoneration Justice Clinic and Professor of Law at Notre Dame. A career prosecutor, he also previously served as under secretary for enforcement in the U.S. Treasury Department during the George W. Bush administration.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Leon Benson's wrongful conviction should not be repeated | Opinion
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Miami Herald
an hour ago
- Miami Herald
Popular gas station could catch a break as feds move to drop lawsuit
A few very popular gas stations have loyal followings in various parts of the United States. Wawa and 7-Eleven are two of them, and Sheetz is the third. While 7-Eleven is primarily known for its Slurpees and Wawa for its subs and sandwiches, Sheetz offers a variety of made-to-order food, a coffee shop with Sheetz Brothers Coffee, and (in some locations) even a beer cave. The gas station is also generally open 24/7 in most areas, so you know you can count on Sheetz at any hour. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter Sheetz has, however, been facing some legal problems lately. Specifically, the gas station was being sued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The lawsuit against the company was initiated in April of 2024 under the Biden Administration and has proceeded through the court system. Now, however, Sheetz may catch a break. That's because on Friday, federal authorities moved to drop the case. Sheetz was being sued by the Biden EEOC for racial discrimination. Specifically, the case was based on a legal theory called disparate impact. Under this legal theory, a company can be held liable for discrimination if it puts a facially neutral policy in place that has a disproportionately negative or disqualifying effect on a protected group. In this particular case, the policy that Sheetz put in place was a prohibition against hiring anyone who failed a criminal background check. The EEOC under President Biden found this policy to be discriminatory against multiracial job applicants, as well as against Black and Native American applicants. The agency determined this after finding that 14.5% of Black job applicants failed the screening and were denied employment, while Native Americans were denied at a rate of 13%, and 13.5% of multiracial job seekers were unable to gain employment with the gas station. Related: DoorDash accused of purposely misleading its customers "Federal law mandates that employment practices causing a disparate impact because of race or other protected classifications must be shown by the employer to be necessary to ensure the safe and efficient performance of the particular jobs at issue," Debra M. Lawrence, an attorney for the EECO, said in a statement at the time. Lawrence added that even when the company proved the rule was necessary, "the practice remains unlawful if there is an alternative practice available that is comparably effective in achieving the employer's goals but causes less discriminatory effect." The EEOC moved last Friday to drop the case against Sheetz, filing its motion in a federal court in Pennsylvania. The agency cited new executive orders put in place by the Trump Administration directing the agency to deprioritize the use of disparate impact discrimination when deciding which anti-discrimination cases to pursue. Related: Beloved Mexican restaurant closing iconic location after 63 years Dropping the case is part of the administration's broader effort to change how civil rights claims are handled - this includes going after Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives, terminating EEOC workers, and redirecting agency heads to implement his agenda. It does not necessarily mean the lawsuit against Sheetz will be unable to proceed at all, as a Black worker terminated from his job at a Pennsylvania Sheetz filed a motion in federal court Thursday to intervene in the case and move forward with a class action lawsuit, independently of the EEOC. In its motion, the EEOC also asked the court to delay dismissal of the lawsuit for 60 days to allow potential plaintiffs to intervene. Still, without the federal government pursuing the case, Sheetz may stand a better chance of resolving outstanding claims quickly through settlement or fighting accusations of wrongdoing made by private plaintiffs. More Restaurants: Beloved Mexican restaurant closing iconic location after 63 yearsMajor restaurant chain quietly closes several locationsIconic restaurant closing its doors after 32 years It's undoubtedly better not to have the full power of a government agency against you when you're being sued, so the EEOC's motion to dismiss likely comes as a welcome relief to the popular gas station. Related: Veteran fund manager unveils eye-popping S&P 500 forecast The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.


Forbes
5 hours ago
- Forbes
Widespread Interactions With Criminal Justice System Cast Long Shadow On Retirement Savings
A lot of people get arrested and convicted in the United States. Those interactions with the criminal justice system cast long finacial shadows. This is true for retirement savings as well as calculations based on recently released Federal Reserve data show. People who have been arrested and convicted end up with lower retirement savings than people who have not been taken into custody. A recent Federal Reserve survey on people's economic situation includes a series of questions on whether people have been taken into police custody, convicted and served time. The same survey, the Fed's Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED) also asks questions about retirement savings. Interactions with the criminal justice system are fairly widespread. It is necessary to combine data years to make sure that sample sizes are large enough. In 2023 and 2024, 13.7% of adults said that they had been taken into custody in the past, 6.0% said that they had been convicted and 1.8% of people indicated that they served time. The respective shares of people are higher for Black and Latino people than for White people, with 17.3% of African-Americans and 17.9% of Latinos in 2023 and 2024 saying that they had been taken into custody, but only 12.5% of White adults said that this was the case. A lot of these racial differences are not explained by differences in criminal behavior, but rather, are the result of structural biases against Black and Latino adults. These interactions with the criminal justice system make it more difficult for people to save for retirement. For one, those who have a criminal record will face more labor market obstacles than those without a criminal record. They will work in less stable jobs and receive lower wages. This means that they will have a harder time qualifying for retirement benefits and have less money to put away towards retirement. In addition, people who have been arrested and convicted will have legal fees, but also face other economic challenges, for instance, in renting a house or apartment. They face higher costs, impeding their retirement savings and necessitating more liquidity in their retirement savings, for example, by withdrawing money pre-retirement or taking out loans on their retirement accounts. All of these factors could make it less likely that people have retirement accounts to begin with and more likely that the savings in those accounts grow more slowly. Earlier data already showed differences in retirement savings by interactions with the criminal justice system. Specifically, 48.4% of people that did not have a family member in prison or jail had any retirement savings in 2019, while this was the case for only 37.7% of people with an incarcerated family member. Recent Federal Reserve data for 2023 and 2024 provide additional details on the link between interactions with the criminal justice system and retirement savings. The data allow for a separation of respondents into three distinct groups: Those who were taken into police custody and were convicted, those who were taken into police custody, but were not convicted, and those who were not taken into police custody. The SHED also includes a number of key measures for retirement savings. It is, for example, possible to create one indicator whether people have any retirement benefit – a 401(k) type account, an IRA or a DB pension. It is also possible to create another indicator whether people increased the liquidity in their retirement savings by borrowing from their retirement accounts, withdrawing money from a retirement account or reducing their retirement account contributions. These actions all slow the growth of retirement savings as people need more liquidity. People who had any interactions with the retirement system fare worse in terms of retirement savings (see Figure below). The share of people who worked for somebody else and who were at least 25 years old with a retirement benefit is lower among those who were convicted (65.6%) than was the case for people who were taken into custody, but who were not convicted (76.5%), which was in turn much lower than the share of working people who were never taken into custody (84.5%). Having been convicted, regardless of whether the person served time or not, reduces the chance of having a retirement benefit by almost 19 percentage points, compared to somebody, who had never been taken into custody. And, those who were convicted also need more liquidity in their retirement accounts (see Figure above). In particular, 25.6% of those working for somebody else who were at least 25 years old and who had a retirement account also took out a pension loan, withdrew money before retirement or lowered their retirement plan contributions in 2023 and 2024. The respective shares for the other two groups were 16.2% and 16.0%. Having been convicted thus also goes along with a greater need for liquidity in retirement accounts, which could slow the growth of retirement savings. A substantial share of Americans are arrested and convicted. Convictions can cast a long financial shadow over people's lives. This includes negative correlations between arrests and convictions, on the one hand, and retirement savings, on the other hand. Those who have been arrested and convicted are much less likely to have any retirement plan, for instance. Financial insecurity follows criminal convictions for some time.


Boston Globe
9 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Trump's latest manufactured crisis has Los Angeles in its grip
Advertisement And it's hard to imagine them voting to trample local local enforcement. Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up But then this administration has been just spoiling for a confrontation — especially in Los Angeles, with presidential advisers like And the president threw gasoline on the fire. Even as more demonstrators took to the streets, Advertisement Now there is no excuse for violence on the streets of any American city — and burning Waymo robot-driven cabs is hardly a good image for those with legitimate concerns about tactics used by immigration forces. The initial demonstrations were touched off by immigration raids at a garment factory and But throughout the weekend there was also no evidence that state and local police were incapable of dealing with the situation without the unasked-for federal intervention. In fact, some These are not the LA riots of 1992 in the wake of the verdict acquitting police officers of beating a Black man, Rodney King. Some Trump has long been the master of the manufactured crisis — the kind he has repeatedly used to justify broad use of executive powers. The president had barely finished taking the oath of office, when he declared a crisis at the border, requiring an Then there was the declaration of an equally nonexistent In April, with the Advertisement But by calling out the National Guard in California, on his own initiative and under false pretenses, Trump has entered new and more dangerous territory. 'The people who are causing the problems are bad people, they are insurrectionists,' Trump The president has not yet invoked the Insurrection Act but instead is using a section of the US Code on Armed Services ( That certainly explains Trump's escalating rhetoric and that of his administration, but it is an allegation that at the end of the day would have to be proven in court. 'Federal law enforcement officers were attacked by violent radicals and illegal criminals waving foreign flags because Governor Newsom was too weak to protect the city,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt Those 'foreign flags' were evidence not of an 'invasion' but for many Mexican-Americans in LA, But for this administration there is no detail that can't be used to distort the truth. 'Let me be clear: There is no invasion. There is no rebellion,' Advertisement Sure, Trump has long had it in for California, threatening to But the truly horrifying thing about Trump's current move is that it could happen to each and every state in the nation — or, more likely, to each and every Democratic state, especially when truth is so irrelevant to the Trump administration and facts are so fungible. The other danger is that having normalized the deployment of troops during manufactured crises, Trump will feel empowered to use them in even more forceful or aggressive ways if and when the nation faces actual crises. California's political leaders will not be fighting this battle on behalf of the rule of law alone. It's our fight too, and it won't be the last. Editorials represent the views of the Boston Globe Editorial Board. Follow us