The victim in McGowan’s case initially viewed a live lineup with three men who police thought might be suspects in the crime and three “fillers.” She did not identify any of the men as her attacker. Later, she was shown a photo array with seven photos – but there were effectively only three photos in the array, since two of them were photocopies of photographs, one was a black-and-white photo (all the others were in color), and one was marked “Garland Police Department” (while the remaining three were marked “Richardson Police Department,” which is where the crime took place). The victim said she “thought” the man in one of the three photos was her assailant, and the police officer administering the lineup told her “You have to be sure, yes or no.” When she testified in court, the victim recounted the officer’s instructions: “He said if I was going to say it was somebody, if I was going to say it was that picture, I had to be sure. He said I couldn’t think it was him. He said I had to make a positive ID. I had to say yes or no.” After hearing the officer’s instructions, the victim said the man in the photo – Thomas McGowan – was “definitely” the man who attacked her. The victim’s identification of McGowan was the central evidence against him.
And........
Before his arrest, McGowan graduated from Ryder High School in Wichita Falls, Texas. His photo was in the police system because of a minor traffic violation.
Unreal.