Latest news with #LeonBenson
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Yahoo
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
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Yahoo
Indiana lawmakers want to add 'common sense' approach to police lineups
For 25 years, Leon Benson remained behind bars after the execution-style killing of a Plainfield man. His fate changed in March 2023 when investigators retraced Benson's case and no longer believed police or prosecutors had the right man. Investigators had relied on a vague description from an eyewitness in the shooting, officials determined, and court records pointed to another man as the perpetrator, one whom at least two eyewitnesses spotted pulling the trigger on Kasey Schoen. But the records state Indianapolis police never shared that information with prosecutors or Benson's defense. A judge soon exonerated Benson from his 1999 sentence, 10 years of which he served in solitary confinement as his young children grew up. Tuesday, Benson stood in front of Indiana lawmakers as a free man to support a bill making its way through the General Assembly that aims to decrease wrongful convictions by tightening state law surrounding how eyewitnesses identify suspects. "An ounce of prevention is better than a ton of cure," Benson said. Senate Bill 141, if passed, would create guidelines for how police should conduct lineups for eyewitnesses of a crime to point out a suspect. More: Murder. A conviction. An exoneration. Was evidence of another suspect ignored — or hidden? Under the bill, lineups would change in the following ways: The lineup administrator cannot know which individual is the suspect to prevent unintentional suggestions or clues about who it may be. Investigators must tell the eyewitness that a suspect may or may not be in a lineup before the investigation, that witnesses are not required to make an identification and that police will continue to investigate whether they identify a suspect or not. To fill out the lineup, police must use non-suspects who resemble the witness's description of the perpetrator so a suspect does not stand out. Police must document the eyewitness's level of confidence following the lineup by asking them to provide a statement in their own words. The changes, advocates and Benson said, would align Indiana with 30 other states that have established similar safeguards – ones they say target the most common ways erroneous identifications occur. "Eyewitnesses are relied upon by law enforcement and expected to identify perpetrators by memory but that is incredibly malleable," said Winnie Ye, a state policy advocate for the Innocence Project, a nonprofit that seeks to exonerate wrongfully convicted people. Since 1989, Indiana has seen at least 47 people wrongfully incarcerated, a third of which officials estimate is due to mistaken eyewitness identification, according to the National Registry of Exonerations, the most comprehensive list of wrongful convictions in the country. Supporters backing the bill include the Indiana Public Defender Council, the Innocence Project and the Notre Dame Exoneration Justice Clinic, which helps investigate and overturn wrongful convictions. "(This bill) provides some very common-sense measures that will substantially reduce the risk of wrongful convictions in Indiana,' said Professor Jimmy Gurulé, director of the Notre Dame Exoneration Justice Clinic and former federal prosecutor. The bill also stipulates police cannot conduct a lineup if investigators used facial recognition technology to identify a suspect, unless they show another basis to believe the alleged perpetrator committed the crime. The bill passed in a 9-0 vote during its second reading Tuesday in the Indiana Senate's committee on Corrections and Criminal Law, receiving bipartisan support and praise. 'Protecting the constitutional rights of Hoosiers is paramount,' said Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, who authored the bill alongside Sen. Susan Glick, R-LaGrange. Sen. Rodney Pol, D-Chesterton, co-authored the proposal. IndyStar reporter Kristine Phillips contributed to this report. Contact IndyStar reporter Sarah Nelson at This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana police lineups often unreliable. Bill hopes to change that
