Clifford Jones - Mistaken Witness Identification

Jones, Clifford ; murder, sexual assault; NRE: mistaken witness identification

[970:509]; 1st Dept. 8/6/13; affirmed, but 3-2 decision

"[Jones] was convicted of the murder of one person and the rape of another person during a 1980 incident. Thirty years later, mitochondrial DNA testing of 3 of 18 hairs retrieved from a hat left at the scene by the perpetrator, and of fingernail scrapings from the murder victim indicated that neither the tested hairs nor the fingernail scrapings were [Jones's]. We find, however, that a new trial would not be warranted even if such evidence were accepted as proof that the hairs and scrapings originated from a person other than [Jones].

"The sole identifying witness was the rape victim. Although [Jones] points out a few weaknesses in the [prosecution's] case (such as the victim's drug use), her lineup and in-court identifications of [Jones] were unusually strong and reliable. She observed [the perpetrator] and conversed with him for about 15 minutes under good lighting conditions, at a time when [the perpetrator] had not yet displayed a weapon and the situation had not yet become stressful. She provided a detailed description that included the condition of [the perpetrator's] teeth (one tooth, she testified, was 'chipped and he had a gap between his teeth'). At the close of the [prosecution's] case, [Jones] was directed, over objection, to display his teeth to the jury. Tellingly, defense counsel made no mention of the teeth during his summation, but the prosecutor, in his closing argument, highlighted this pount, without objection from the defense. A police report in the record, dated June 2, 1980 (the date of the crime), states that the victim described the perpetrator as having 'spaces between his teeth [and] one tooth chipped in front.'

"Contrary to the dissent's deprecation of the rape victim's identification of [Jones], this was a very strong eyewitness identification case.* The victim interacted with the perpetrator for 15 minutes in a transaction that was initially nonviolent and consensual, and she observed the perpetrator's face at close quarters in broad daylight. Any discrepancies in the victim's descriptions of the perpetrator (for example, concerning his hairstyle or skin tone) were of the kind that ordinarily arise in criminal trials..."

[* And yet, the NRE lists this as a mistaken witness identification case.]

"[T]he source of the hairs could have been anyone who wore or handled that hat before the crimes were committed, or a person who handled the hat thereafter (including the civilian who turned it over to the police)..."

[from dissent, by Justice Freedman, joined by Justice Moskowitz:]

"I believe the motion court should have granted [Jones] further DNA testing and held an evidentiary hearing before determining his motion...In 1981, [Jones] was convicted in connection with a heinous criminal event. He served three decades in prison before being paroled. He has consistently maintained his innocence and desire to clear his name...[T]he [prosecution's] case against [Jones] relied solely on a single eyewitness identification some four months after the incident..."

"[Jones] was convicted of raping a woman, R., and stabbing to death a man in an apartment building on the afternoon of June 2, 1980. R., a heroin addict who had taken the drug earlier that day and was supporting herself as a prostitute, had entered the building with the assailant to find a place to engage in sexual activity. When police officers arrived at the scene after the assailant fled, R. described him to the officers as a brown-complexioned male wearing a baseball cap, with an Afro hairstyle, a chipped tooth, and a gap between his teeth. The blood-covered cap that the assailant wore was recovered from the ground floor of the building.

"R. was treated at a hospital, where a rape kit consisting of fluids and other physical evidence was prepared. When police officers questioned R. at the hospital, she at one point repeated that her assailant had an Afro hairstyle but at another point said he wore braids.

"On September 24, 1980 R. identified [Jones] from a photo array. On October 25, 1980, [Jones] voluntarily appeared at a precinct house and participated in a lineup. On that day, [Jones] wore neither an Afro hairstyle nor braids. R. identified him at the lineup. At a pretrial suppression hearing, R. acknowledged that she was under the influence of heroin when she made both identifications.

"The People were not able to introduce any physical evidence connecting [Jones] with the rape or murder...[N]one of the items introduced into evidence, which included the perpetrator's baseball cap, the bloody knife, blood scrapings, and the rape kit, connected [Jones] with the crimes.

"[A]nother witness to the crime was unable to identify [Jones] as the perpetrator."

2 N.Y.S.3d 215; Court of Appeals 12/16/14; summary denial of evidentiary hearing reversed

"[W]e...hold that the Appellate Division abused its discretion in summarily denying [Jones's] motion for an evidentiary hearing..."

"At trial, the only witness who was able to identify [Jones] as the perpetrator of the crimes was the rape victim, a woman who testified that she and the perpetrator, who had just met, entered an apartment building seeking a place in which to engage in sexual activity. When the woman had second thoughts and began walking away, the perpetrator put a knife to her throat and raped her. She followed the perpetrator down the stairs and observed him, with knife in hand, tussling with another man he encountered on the stairway. The perpetrator stabbed the man, searched his pockets and left the building."

NRE synopsis (by Maurice Possley):

"In September 2015, William Darrow, head of the conviction integrity unit, informed the court that the prosecution had agreed to vacate the convictions. On November 3, 2016, the prosecution dismissed the charges.

"In January 2017, Jones filed a federal civil rights lawsuit seeking compensation for his wrongful conviction. In 2018, the city of New York and state of New York settled his claims for a total of $12.6 million."