Amanda Wallwin
2:52:35
Thank you so much, and I will try to keep my remarks brief.
2:52:39
My name is Amanda Wallwin, and I'm a state policy advocate with the innocence project.
2:52:43
First, I wanna thank the public safety committee, especially chair salam, and all of the committee staff for taking on the question of how police invest again, if procedures can contribute to wrongful convictions in New York City.
2:52:55
This truly is an historic moment for the council and the innocence movement.
2:52:59
And at the innocence project, we don't take this opportunity lightly.
2:53:03
My testimony today will touch on a variety of ways that police investigations can lead to wrongful convictions, and I'll provide concrete solutions that NYPD and the city council can pursue to reduce wrongful convictions in New York City.
2:53:15
Although I will also note that council support of the Challenging Ruffle Convictions Act would be enormously helpful in getting this build done in Albany.
2:53:23
My written testimony delves into much more detail about each of these areas, and I'm happy to follow-up with more information and model policies for each of these issues as well.
2:53:32
According to the National Registry of Exonorations, there have been 40 wrongful convictions in New York City that involved false confessions, including convictions as recent as 2018.
2:53:42
NYPD's interrogation techniques based on what's described in the patrol guide and the detectives guide do not meet the standards that would qualify as best practices to avoid wrongful convictions.
2:53:51
And, in some case, directly contradict those standards.
2:53:55
NYPD touted their double blind photo of race today, but that's only one factor needed to conduct.
2:53:59
And eyewitness an eyewitness identification consistent with best practices, which I detailed in my written testimony.
2:54:06
Chair salam very we targeted the importance of DNA evidence in revealing wrongful convictions.
2:54:11
However, in order to use DNA evidence in an exoneration, that evidence must be preserved and it must be accessible.
2:54:18
NYPD must do a better job at evidence preservation.
2:54:22
22 states in the District of Columbia have preservation statutes meet the innocent's project's basic requirements, but New York is not one of them.
2:54:29
There's no reason, however, that New York City can't take the lead and enact a citywide statute that meets or exceeds these requirements.
2:54:37
With or without statutory change, NYPD ought to convene a task force to implement practices and procedures that will preserve and index all of
