Opinion ID: 1853439
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Did the court err in allowing the in-court identification of appellant by the prosecuting witness over objection of counsel?

Text: Improper use of photographs by police officers may cause witnesses to be mistaken in identifying criminals. The danger increases, if a witness is shown pictures of several persons and among them is a photograph of a single individual which is emphasized or is shown in some particular manner. Simmons v. United States, 390 U.S. 377, 88 S.Ct. 967, 19 L.Ed.2d 1247 (1968). Appellant contends that Mrs. Stone could not identify him at trial as the person who robbed her three years earlier and that her memory was refreshed by viewing the photographs two weeks before trial. However, Mrs. Stone testified that she could identify appellant without having seen the pictures and there was no doubt in her mind that appellant was the robber. She went through the photographs at the police station and chose appellant's picture; no suggestion was made as to who the suspect was at the time the photographs were seen by her. Mrs. Stone testified she was only two feet away from appellant when the robbery occurred, and she could not forget him. There is ample evidence that Mrs. Stone's in-court identification was based upon independent facts and, under the totality of circumstances surrounding the confrontation, there was no error in permitting the in-court identification. Clubb v. State, 350 So.2d 693 (Miss. 1977); Stevenson v. State, 244 So.2d 30 (Miss. 1971).