Drug Informant Admits to Lying

Radley Balko | July 24, 2007

Federal courts may have to revisit several drug cases in the Cleveland area after a paid government informant has admitted to lying under oath in several cases. One woman has already been released from a ten-year prison term, and charges against two others have been dropped. Another man, who was acquitted of charges based on the informant's testimony after spending eight months in prison while awaiting trial, is suing.

This is of course merely the latest scandal involving lazy drug cops who work with shady informants and don't look for corroborating evidence before making arrests (or, in the case of Kathryn Johnston and several dozen others, before kicking down doors).

The ACLU will soon be launching a national campaign about the use of informants. I think we'll also be reading soon about more scandals involving federal informants and drug snitches, particularly coming out of the federal prison system.