ollowing a series of flawed lineups, Thomas McGowan was charged with rape and burglary. The victim was first shown a live lineup that included McGowan, two other suspects, and three fillers. Experts have long known that the inclusion of multiple suspects in the same lineup greatly undermines the validity of the procedure. The victim did not identify anyone as her attacker in that initial lineup.
Police then showed the victim a photo lineup that also included a photo of McGowan. The victim hesitantly identified McGowan as her attacker. She later said the detective conducting the lineup told her that she “had to make a positive ID. I had to say yes or no.” The photo lineup was equally as problematic as the live lineup because four of the seven photos, including McGowan’s, were color originals. In addition, three of the color photos were marked “Richardson Police” and the other was marked “Garland Police.” The remaining black and white photos included one original and two photocopies. The lack of uniformity in the photos, combined with the multiple presentations of McGowan in photo and live lineups, tainted the identification and contributed to the witness’s mistaken identification of McGowan.
Thomas McGowan spent twenty-three years in prison due to suggestive identification procedures.
McGowan was eventually convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Post-conviction DNA testing excluded McGowan as the perpetrator and he was released April 16, 2008. A DNA state database search identified the true perpetrator, Kenneth Wayne Woodson, who is currently serving a thirty-year sentence for another Dallas rape committed the year after McGowan was arrested.
Because of the suggestive identification procedures that led to a mistaken eyewitness identification, Thomas McGowan spent twenty-three years in prison for a crime he did not commit.
