Our next Symposium will be:   
Our November Symposium will be the second Wednesday, November 13, 2019, from 6pm to 8:30 pm at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 700 S. Franklin Street, Denver.    
This will be an organizing discussion after our second full year: Where have we been and where do we want to go from here? Many have commented that we should be taking more action to address the challenges we have identified and discussed at our Symposium. Others have suggested that we plan additional events/field trips, etc. (like our attendance at the play "Black," sponsored by our members Chris and Nancy Cross in 2018, or visiting a Mosque, as suggested by our August 2019 speakers Don Toussaint and Qusair Mohamedbhai). Still others have mentioned that our race discussions could be expanded and diversified. And there have been comments that sometimes we have not recognized the sensitivities of all of our members in our discussions.
Please join us to share your input!
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If you will be joining us for dinner cost is $20 cash or check only.  Dinner is optional.  
​Please respond via SIGN UP GENIUS. THANKS!
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What’s a SHOWUP? A showup (field identification) is an identification procedure used when a suspect has been detained soon after the commission of an offense because he/she resembles the description of the perpetrator provided by an eyewitness. The eyewitness is then allowed to view the suspect so that a positive or negative identification can be made.
What’s wrong with SHOWUPS? • Showups are unreliable- The U.S. Supreme Court has said practice of showing suspects singly to persons for the purpose of identification, and not as part of a lineup, has been widely condemned." (Stovall v. Denno, 388 U.S. 293 (1967).) witness who committed the crime, could be more suggestive than presenting a single, in-custody Nothing, short of telling the person for identification. Further, regardless of what police officers say, an unsure witness might feel pressure to point the finger at the person on display.” • Showups can easily bias a witness- As a criminal defense attorney put it “ • • • • Wrongful Conviction- The Innocence Projects estimates that 70% exonerations through DNA involved erroneous eyewitness identifications. Of all eyewitness identification procedures (lineup, photo array+showups), showups are the least reliable. Racial bias- When the race of the victim and suspect differ, the occurrence of mistaken identifications increases. This is called the Cross Race Effect and is particularly significant when the suspect is black. This effect has been studied and validated many times Mass Incarceration- When showups are combined with the tendency for prosecutors to plea bargain, there is a likelihood of an innocent person taking the plea deal rather than plead their innocence in court believing the showup identification is irrefutable. Also, many clients do not have the financial resources to go to court.
​ Investigations of the crime stop- When a misidentification occurs, the crime is often considered solved leaving the actual perpetrator free to commit more crimes. Community Meeting
November 14, 6-7:30 p.m.
Shorter Community AME Church
3100 Richard Allen Court, Denver, CO 80205 Together Colorado is a non-partisan, multi-racial, multi-faith community organization comprised of 220 congregations, schools, clergy and faith leaders across the state and a member of Faith in Action with 1,000 religious congregations in more than 200 cities and towns through its 45 local and state federations. 

St. John's Lutheran Church
700 S. Franklin St. 
​Denver, CO 80209

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