Numerous studies confirm that the principal cause of wrongful convictions of innocent persons is mistaken eyewitness identification. According to the Innocence Project, approximately 75 percent of the 170 DNA exonerations in the United States to date involved convictions based upon erroneous eyewitness testimony.
Concern about the need for reform in Connecticut was first raised by the Conn. Commission on the Death Penalty in its report to the General Assembly in 2003. The Commission recommended that identification procedures include: an admonition to the witness that the perpetrator may not be present in a photo array or line-up; display of subjects sequentially, rather than as a group; and, use of an examiner who is not aware of who the actual suspect is. These latter techniques are commonly described as "sequential" and "double-blind."
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