Ohio passes innocence reforms Texas sacrficed on Voter ID altar

Ohio passed some of the innocence reforms that Texas legislators sacrificed on the altar of Voter ID legislation. According to Steven Weinberg at True/Slant:

The law, known as Senate Bill 77 within the 128th General Assembly session, runs 25 pages (at least as printed from my computer).

The most important provisions accomplish this:

*When police are trying to identify suspects, the photo identification procedures and live lineups must be conducted in a double-blind manner. That means the law enforcement officer conducting the procedure does not know the identity of the suspect.

*Police agencies should record all interrogations of suspects in certain types of cases from the start to the finish. Confessions that are part of the interrogation process would thus be recorded, too.

*DNA evidence from murders and sexual assault cases would be preserved far better than before.

*DNA testing of suspects can occur during the parole phase as well as the prison phase.

In a followup post, Weinberg laments that cases predating the reforms aren't being given a second look by prosecutors and judges who instead say they prioritize finality.