Aborn Lands Deskovic Endorsement, Unveils Plan to Limit Wrongful Convictions
NEW YORK-Richard Aborn, candidate for Manhattan DA and a member of the NYS Bar Task Force on Wrongful Convictions, today rolled out an extensive policy platform to reduce wrongful convictions and ensure greater transparency in the criminal justice system. A steadfast opponent of the death penalty, Aborn was endorsed at the event by Jeffrey Deskovic, a nationally recognized advocate for social justice, who was exonerated by DNA evidence after spending 16 years in prison for a rape and murder he did not commit.
“Sending the wrong man to prison is a prosecutor’s nightmare. When mistakes are made, the consequences are devastating, not only to the defendant, but to the community, in which the real offender continues to live free. There are progressive and effectives steps we can take to strengthen a culture of accountability, and ensure that our criminal justice system prosecutes offenders but never at the expense of the innocent,” said Aborn.
As a member of the New York State Bar Association Task Force on Wrongful Convictions, Aborn reviewed dozens of cases and collaborated on the task force’s April report, which concluded that witness misidentification is the leading factor responsible for wrongful convictions. In addition, errors by police or prosecutors contributed to more than half the wrongful conviction cases reviewed by the panel.
“I’m supporting Richard Aborn for Manhattan DA because we need a progressive district attorney who will apply judicious and effective policies toward reducing the horrifying reality of wrongful conviction. Richard Aborn’s record and bold vision for reform is exactly the kind of leadership New Yorkers need,” said Deskovic.
Commenting that Leslie Crocker Snyder often cites his case in explaining her position on the death penalty, Deskovic added:
“I’m pleased that my story inspired Judge Snyder to shift her position on the death penalty, but it’s troubling that her revelation on such an important issue, should come at such a politically expedient time. Snyder’s campaign year conversion into a long time advocate for the wrongfully convicted is simply misleading. She has not taken any serious actions on the issue whereas Aborn’s record speaks loud and clear.”
As a teenager, Deskovic was arrested and kept in police custody for seven and a half hours, where he received a several hour polygraph test over three sessions that police informed him he was failing. He was later convicted. Sixteen years later he was exonerated by DNA evidence. While Deskovic was in prison, the real offender remained free and committed another murder. Aborn noted that in New York City, half of the cases where individuals have been exonerated by DNA evidence since 2000 involved defendant confessions (like Deskovic’s). More than one-third of individuals who confessed but were subsequently exonerated by DNA evidence were 18 years old or younger and/or developmentally disabled.
Aborn added that a study of New York’s 24 DNA exoneration cases since 1991 found that, in 9 of the 10 cases where the actual perpetrator was later identified, these perpetrators had committed 5 additional murders, 7 rapes, 2 assaults and 1 robbery while the innocent person was in prison.
Finally, wrongful convictions have cost taxpayers millions of dollars. The average cost of incarcerating a wrongfully convicted person is $648,000. Significant costs accrue through the original criminal proceeding and subsequent appeals. In addition to these costs to the District Attorney’s office, public defender system and the courts, wrongfully convicted individuals who are exonerated are able to file a court action for damages. Some of these cases have resulted in awards ranging up to several million dollars.
As District Attorney Richard Aborn will adopt progressive and effective policies and programs designed to reduce the likelihood of wrongful convictions in New York City:
The Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR):
Like the United States Department of Justice’s Office of Professional Responsibility, this office will collect and investigate allegations of prosecutor misconduct. It will also conduct proactive reviews of cases and be a liaison with the Appellate Division Disciplinary Committees. But OPR will go further, working with the Training Director to organize trainings, create clearer guidelines, and put in place safeguards to prevent errors from occurring in the first place. Moreover, because “sunlight is the best of disinfectants,” OPR will increase the transparency and accountability of the District Attorney’s office by publishing regular reports on its actions on the District Attorney’s website.
As DA, Richard Aborn Will Work To:
□ Improve the integrity of identification procedures by using double-blind, sequential administration. In double-blind administration of line-ups and photo arrays, the administrator does not know the identity of the suspect. Sequential administration means that each stand-in is brought to the window one-by-one for viewing by the witness. Both of these procedures have been shown to help improve the reliability of identifications.
□ Require administrators to provide standard cautionary instructions to witnesses. Witnesses should clearly understand that the administrator of the line-up or photo array does not know who the suspect is, that the perpetrator may not be included in the line-up or photo array, that the witness is not required to make an identification and that the investigation can still continue even if an identification is not made.
Reduce False Confessions
Most confessions are truthful and are important and persuasive evidence in criminal cases. But in the pursuit of justice, police and prosecutors need to recognize that even absent coercion some defendants may falsely confess.
As DA, Richard Aborn will work to reduce the likelihood of false confessions
□ Require videotaping of the custodial interrogations of all suspects accused of violent felonies. In most cases, videotapes of the interrogation will strengthen the prosecution’s case against defendants who confess. It will also, however, allow prosecutors to fully review the circumstances around a confession and to weigh its validity.
□ Develop training on recognizing false confession. There are often signs that a confession may be false but, absent proper training and vigilance, these signs may go unnoticed. Police and prosecutors must be aware of and sensitive to these factors.
Improve the Use of Forensic Technology
Scientific advancements have led to the increased use of forensic evidence, particularly DNA, to exonerate wrongfully convicted individuals. But law enforcement has not always kept up with the advances of science.
According to the State Bar Association report, police officers sometimes fail to collect evidence or transfer key evidence for testing. And, because no effective cataloging system for evidence exists, key evidence can be lost or destroyed, as documented in a 2008 audit by the New York City Comptroller which found that nearly one-third of handguns and rifles turned into the police could not be immediately accounted for in a Manhattan property clerk’s office.
As DA, Richard Aborn will lead the effort to make New York State and New York County model jurisdictions in the use of forensic evidence in criminal proceedings.
□ Increase access to DNA. The Legislature should change state law to allow individuals reasonably claiming wrongful conviction to have access to DNA tests, regardless of whether the conviction was a result of a trial verdict or guilty plea. Such an expansion would reflect the reality that innocent suspects sometimes make false statements and confessions and should not be barred from exoneration because of this.
□ Give judges explicit authority to direct that crime scene evidence be compared with existing forensic databases. Upon reasonable request of an accused or convicted person, courts should have the power to order a comparison of DNA test results or other forensic evidence to existing samples. Doing so will help acquit the accused or exonerate the wrongfully convicted, and possibly identify the actual perpetrator.
□ Support funding to develop a comprehensive catalog of forensic evidence with state-of-the-art technology. A comprehensive cataloguing and retrieval system for forensic evidence, utilizing bar-coding or other state-of-the art technology, is needed. Such a system will allow police and prosecutors to more readily access evidence and prevent its loss.
□ Develop training modules regarding the handling and storage of evidence. The District Attorney’s office, working with the police and outside experts, will develop training modules to aid prosecutors in assessing the reliability of evidence.
Provide support for exonerated individuals.
As DA, Richard Aborn will strongly support policies and programs to provide support to the exonerated.
□ Provide immediate financial assistance upon exoneration. When an exonerated individual walks out of prison, they should be eligible for a standard financial assistance program to enable them to successfully return to the community. The amount of financial assistance should depend on the amount of time that the individual was wrongfully incarcerated.
□ Offer immediate support services to innocent persons upon release from prison. While inmantes leaving prison and returning to the community benefit from a range of support services upon release, little help is available for the wrongfully convicted. In addition to compensation, exonerated individuals should be eligible for the same post-release services for which individuals on parole are eligible, including housing, health, mental health, job training & other services.
□ Expunge criminal records related to wrongful convictions. Once proceedings concerning wrongful convictions have been concluded, criminal records related to the wrongful conviction, including those concerning any wrongful arrest, conviction and sentencing should be expunged, while still being made available to the defense and law enforcement.
