Case Examples

• Gordon Randy Steidl
• Ronald Kitchen
• Alprentiss Nash

Publications

• The Snitch system (pdf)
• Profile of a Snitch (pdf)

Legislation

• Illinois informant testimony statute (applies only to death penalty cases; the Illinois death penalty has been repealed)

Proposals to prevent wrongful convictions:

• Electronic recording of law enforcement discussions with witnesses.
• Electronic recording of jailhouse conversations between informants and suspects
• Strict enforcement of discovery rules, including disclosure of promises of leniency, cash, or anything else of value in exchange for witnesses’ cooperation.
• Pretrial hearings on the reliability of informant testimony.
• Amendment of the Illinois informant testimony statute to apply to all criminal prosecutions.

Online resources:

• Snitching.org