Prompt Cast
The Flaws and Biases of Police Lineups
TLDR This podcast episode explores the history and purpose of police lineups, highlighting the potential issues and biases associated with them. Eyewitness testimony and police lineups are flawed, leading to wrongful convictions, and strategies such as simultaneous and sequential lineups are debated for their effectiveness.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The podcast episode titled "How Police Lineups Work" discusses the history and purpose of police lineups, as well as the potential issues and biases associated with them.
05:13
The podcast episode discusses the history of the Olympics and how the World's Fair influenced the location of the games.
09:59
Jerry Miller was wrongfully convicted of robbery, kidnapping, and rape based on flawed eyewitness testimony, but was later exonerated through DNA evidence after spending 24 years in prison.
15:32
Eyewitness testimony and police lineups are flawed, with 75% of the first 183 exonerations in the US being due to wrongful convictions based on eyewitness testimony and police lineups.
20:26
Eyewitness testimony is problematic because people tend to focus on weapons rather than the person holding the weapon, and eyewitness testimony across different races or ethnicities is known to be unreliable.
25:58
There are different types of police lineups, including simultaneous and sequential lineups, and it is best if the administrator of the lineup does not know who the suspect is to avoid leading the witness.
30:53
A study in Illinois found that a double blind sequential lineup produces worse results than a simultaneous non-double blind lineup, but the methodology of the study has been questioned and it is unclear which lineup method is actually more effective.
36:03
One of the standards for a lineup is to have one suspect per lineup, but implementing this in the field can be challenging and different from lab studies.
41:42
Different strategies can be used to create a lineup that matches the eyewitness description of the perpetrator, such as dressing the lineup participants in a similar manner, but it's important to avoid making the suspect stand out.
46:00
Police sometimes use homeless people, drug addicts, and even other police officers as fillers in lineups, and while these lineups may not be of the highest quality, they are often used for investigatory purposes rather than confirmatory ones.
50:26
Police lineups are often flawed because the eyewitnesses assume that the person in custody must be guilty, leading to misidentifications and wrongful convictions.
Categories:
Society & Culture
