# Eye-blink ID - “Dying Declaration” Conviction **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 8, 2016, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-blink-id-dying-declaration-conviction/756865 "2016-06-08T21:11:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-blink-id-dying-declaration-conviction/756865/41 "2016-06-13T20:52:09Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > I think it goes to the perceived motivations involved. A person who is dying is presumed to have great motivation to tell the truth at that moment. A spouse who is vouching for her husband’s defense has a great motivation to corroborate his version of facts. Historically, the afterlife implications of lying at death were supremely serious, so (similar to the ultimate “statement against interest”) it is believed that no person is likely to lie in such a situation. > > It’s a risk, of course. A balance between a reliably true statement being helpful to an investigation of the truth and a person not being able to challenge its veracity. That’s why these should remain rare exceptions. That is the same rationale for all of the other hearsay exceptions, e.g. statement against interest. The idea is that nobody would say something that incriminates himself unless it was true. However, if it is testimonial, confrontation is required. Your rationale that the statement is reliable, so no need for cross-examination, is the same rationale that Crawford rejected from Ohio v. Roberts. I’m still not seeing why a dying declaration, under the circumstances given in the OP, is not covered under Crawford. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-blink-id-dying-declaration-conviction/756865/42 "2016-06-13T21:20:13Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > So what I want to know is… > Why is Jermaine Hailes in the photo array? Were there any other witnesses to the shooting? Does a witness put Hailes at or near the scene around that time? Did Hailes brag about the shooting? Did they find the gun or proceeds from the robbery on him? Don’t know the answers to all your questions, but [NBC Washington](http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Trial-Begins-in-Murder-of-Man-Who-Blinked-to-Identify-Shooter-381572841.html)’s coverage of the trial noted “A man who said he planned the robbery with Hailes identified him in court Wednesday as the shooter. He said he did not want to appear in court because he was afraid.” ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-blink-id-dying-declaration-conviction/756865/43 "2016-06-13T22:24:10Z")
> [@slash2k](#): > > Don’t know the answers to all your questions, but [NBC Washington](http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Trial-Begins-in-Murder-of-Man-Who-Blinked-to-Identify-Shooter-381572841.html)’s coverage of the trial noted “A man who said he planned the robbery with Hailes identified him in court Wednesday as the shooter. He said he did not want to appear in court because he was afraid.” Thanks **slash2k**. I looked at 10 sites, basically looking for this and not finding it. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2016, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-blink-id-dying-declaration-conviction/756865/44 "2016-06-20T02:20:07Z")
I don’t know if it makes a legal difference but for me it makes a moral one. Did the prosecution let the defense know they had this dying statement for the two years he was still alive? Did the defendant know he was being investigated or charged for the death in the two years he was still alive? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-blink-id-dying-declaration-conviction/756865.md?page=2)