Story Archive

Misshapen Identity

Eric Kenley was convicted and sentenced to 12–15 years in prison for his part in a pair of New York, N.Y., armed robberies. However, an appeals court granted him a new trial because the other men in the lineup he was identified in didn’t match him closely enough. According to the judges, “Although the fillers were large men, there was a very noticeable weight difference between defendant and the fillers.” Apparently it was difficult to find other 416-pound thugs for the lineup, so the other men were significantly lighter. “We do not mean to suggest that the police are obligated to find grossly overweight fillers when dealing with the situation presented here, and we recognize the difficulties that would be involved in doing so,” the decision reads. The judges suggested using some kind of covering to conceal the pronounced weight differences. (MS/New York Daily News) ...“Officer, I’m positive it was the man in the pink mumu.”