TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - A bill to put into law police lineup guidelines that Florida’s top law enforcement agency developed six years ago is headed to the desk of Gov. Rick Scott.
The House of Representatives voted 117-1 on Friday for a bill (SB 312) that would require law enforcement agencies to use the lineup standards to avoid eyewitness mistakes that could lead to wrongful convictions.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement encouraged agencies to adopt the standards, but agencies aren’t required to do so.
The current guidelines suggest lineups be conducted by an administrator who does not know the suspect in order to ensure impartiality. Also, witnesses should be told that suspects may or may not be in a photo or in-person lineup and that they are not required to make an identification.
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