Overview
- The Wayne County Sentinel Event Review Team released a 54-page report detailing 40 contributing factors and 25 recommendations to prevent similar errors.
- The review, coordinated by the University of Pennsylvania’s Quattrone Center, brought together prosecutors, Detroit police, defense attorneys, judges and innocence advocates over an 18-month analysis.
- Investigators found the conviction rested on a single eyewitness identification with no physical evidence, complicated by masked suspects, poor lighting, delayed statements and a photo-based ID.
- Prosecutor Kym Worthy said she will pursue wider, system-wide reviews of past cases, and Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison welcomed the external scrutiny.
- Families and advocates urged comparable reviews of cases tied to former detective Barbara Simon, citing lost files, pending lawsuits and a federal complaint that they say hinder full reexaminations.