Thank you Billy Rieman for sharing this actual news photo. This is the reason I would never convict someone based solely on witness identification. I've read too many stories of people spending decades in jail for heinous crimes, only to be cleared later through DNA evidence.
This reminds me of a true story: In the mid 1980's, Buffalo had a wackjob on the loose shooting black people at random for no reason. Due to the type of weapon he used, the media nicknamed him the "22-caliber killer." At the same time, we had a moron living across the street from us nicknamed "Mad Dog". From time to time, he would get drunk and stand out in front of his house in a KKK uniform screaming nonsensically about the end of the white race. (We still have the photos to prove it). He was a bald man in his 50's with a very distinctive look about him.
Law enforcement came out with a composite sketch of the suspect in the shootings and the Buffalo News published it, in an effort to find the killer. Everyone in the neighborhood was shocked, as the sketch clearly was identical to "Mad Dog." I wouldn't be surprised if his friends (if he had any) had him contact the police to tell them it wasn't him. A few weeks later, Buffalo police arrested Joseph Christopher, who looked nothing like the drawing, and convicted him of the murders. He was a military man stationed in Georgia and had bragged about the killings.
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