| First Name | Stephan |
| Last Name | Cowans |
| Year of Conviction | 1998 |
| Year of Exoneration | 2004 |
| State of Conviction | Massachusetts |
| Trial, Bench Trial, or Guilty Plea | Trial |
| Type of Crime | Armed Assault |
| Death Sentence | No |
| Gender of Exoneree | Male |
| Race of exoneree | Black |
| Juvenile | No |
| Type of Innocence Defense |
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| Description / Quotes from Testimony Concerning Defense | ● Three witnesses testified that perpetrator had close-cut hair cut, which defendant did not have at the time of the crime. |
| Did the defendant testify at trial? | No |
| Types of evidence at trial |
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| Type of Forensic Evidence |
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| Types of Flawed Forensics |
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| Reason why invalid | (2) Failure to exclude |
| Brief Quote / Description of Testimony | See Part II.E. for a discussion of this case. The evidence was presented to the jury in a misleading manner and Boston Police auditors reached the unanimous conclusion that Officer LeBlanc realized prior to trial that Cowans was excluded but nevertheless did not present that fact in his trial testimony. |
| Identity of eyewitness |
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| Multiple eyewitnesses | 4 |
| Lineup Procedures |
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| Suggestive Procedures | No – But Cowans was repeated from the photo array to the line-up And members of line-up were in their mid-to-late twenties, while witnesses described a shooter aged 19- 20 or so. |
| Unreliable Identification? | Yes ● Initially uncertain – several witnesses uncertain about identification |
| Quotes from testimony #2 | Victim when viewing photo array could not make identification; “I stated that I believed that was the person who shot me but I’d like to see him in person.” Several eyewitnesses did not make an identification during the photo array, or the lineup |
| Highest level reached | Appeal |
| Claims Raised During All Appeals and Postconviction |
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| Harmless Error Rulings |
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| Citations to judicial opinions | Commonwealth v. Cowans, 756 N.E.2d 622 (Mass. App. Ct. 2001) |