In yesterday's Update, we discussed the problem of wrongful convictions of sexual assault, and noted that Start By Believing doesn't really view wrongful convictions as a problem in our nation. 

Last year the National Registry of Exonerations did an excellent report on Government Misconduct (see excerpt from Table 7 of the report, above) -- revealing the ways that police investigators and prosecutors manipulate the evidence in order to increase the chances of a conviction.

• Overall, police misconduct contributed to a whopping 35% of all wrongful convictions. 

These manipulations involved:

1. Concealment of evidence
2. Fabrication of evidence
3. Witness tampering
4. Misconduct in interrogations, or
5. Making false statements at trial

Now compare these 5 types of manipulation with the Start By Believing recommendations, listed below. Decide for yourself whether the SBB recommendations are predisposing to the police manipulation of criminal evidence.

Sincerely,

Edward Bartlett

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Recommendations from Effective Report Writing: Using the Language of Non-Consensual Sex:

• Emphasize witness statements that “corroborate the victim’s account.” (page 6)
• Make the complainant “appear more innocent.” (page 14)
• Assure the investigative report uses the “language of non-consensual sex” (page 15)
• Make sure the incident does “not look like a consensual sexual experience” (pages 16-17)