California bans uncorroborated testimony by jailhouse snitches
From A Public Defender - California has passed a bill that will
ban use of uncorroborated testimony from jailhouse informants that is used to convict criminal defendants.The state Assembly on Tuesday approved a bill by Sen. Gloria Romero, a Los Angeles Democrat, that would prohibit use of the unsupported testimony. The Senate passed the measure in May.
Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, said jailhouse informants frequently have an incentive to lie. He said Romero's bill would help prevent wrongful convictions.
Testimony from jailhouse snitches, bought and paid for by the prosecution with freedom, can easily result in wrongful convictions. As I've said before, "Anytime the state needs to shore up their case, they can go down to the jail and round up some people that are willing to testify. In any high profile case, people with a) charges pending against them and b) information about the case, come out of the woodwork."
Uncorroborated testimony from individuals who are testifying in exchange for deals from the prosecutor should never be admissible in a criminal trial. Now, I wonder if California prosecutors will be able to avoid the new law by buying testimony from two or more snitches (which they often do anyway), thereby providing the necessary corroboration?
