Innocence Project Applauds Governor Cuomo for Proposing Legislative Reforms to Protect Against Wrongful Convictions

Proposal would mandate recording of certain interrogations, reforming of identification procedures

(New York, NY – Jan. 14, 2016) –Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s 2016 agenda includes a proposal to create legislation that would help prevent wrongful convictions based on false confessions and misidentification.  The Governor’s proposal would require the recording of custodial interrogations in certain cases and reform New York’s use of identification procedures.  In response, Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld, co-founders and co-directors of the Innocence Project, which is affiliated with Cardozo Law School, released the following statement:

“The Innocence Project is thrilled that Governor Cuomo has proposed amending New York law to address two of the largest causes of wrongful conviction — eyewitness misidentifications and false confessions — by requiring the recording of interrogations for certain criminal cases and reforming identification procedures.  The time to act is now and we are grateful to the Governor for his leadership in this area and look forward to working with him, the New York State Bar Association, and other stakeholders to see this effort through this year.”
Contact: Nick Moroni, (212) 364-5371,

nmoroni@innocenceproject.org