John White

● Defense argued victim made mistaken identification.

• Eyewitness
• Forensic Evidence

• Hair

• Invalid

The analyst testified that the questioned hair and the defendants hair “shows sufficient similarity to say or conclude that the hairs were of the same origin.”

• Intraracial Identificaiton
• Victim

• Composite drawing
• Lineup
• Photo array

Yes ● Suggestive Remarks – detective told victim he had caught somebody ● Repeated photo – defendant’s was only person in live line-up whose photo victim had seen in array

“He said he had caught somebody. He wanted to know — they wanted me to go see — to a lineup.” Officer explained that because he thought photo did not look like the defendant, he conducted a live line-up.

Yes ● Initially uncertain ● Discrepancy in description –age, facial hair – mustache, speech

Officer recalled that victim said “Well, on this photograph, on John White, I know I’ve seen him before and I’m almost positive that he’s the person that raped me.” Victim was not wearing glasses during attack, did not describe a mustache, but rather called the attacker “clean shaven.” Sheriff recalled the victim having described a person who was “in his late 20s, medium height, round face, no moustache.” On age, having described the attacker as a “black man” but at trial as a “kid,” she testified “I don’t know age too much. I said he could be around twenty, maybe in his late thirties, I wouldn’t know.”