Current:Home > BackTexas man says facial recognition led to his false arrest, imprisonment, rape in jail-InfoLens
Texas man says facial recognition led to his false arrest, imprisonment, rape in jail
View Date:2024-12-23 23:11:42
An innocent Texas man was arrested, jailed for nearly two weeks and sexually assaulted just before his release, all because facial recognition software mistakenly identified him as the suspect of a store robbery, a new lawsuit alleges.
When two men robbed a Sunglass Hut in Houston on Jan. 22, 2022, 61-year-old Harvey Murphy Jr. was in a jail cell 2,000 miles away in Sacramento, California, according to the lawsuit obtained by USA TODAY on Wednesday.
Using low-quality surveillance footage of the robbery, artificial intelligence software at the Sunglass Hut falsely identified Murphy as a suspect, which led to a warrant for his arrest, according to the lawsuit filed last week in Harris County District Courts in Houston.
Later when Murphy returned to his home state of Texas, he was arrested, and a witness to the robbery identified him as a suspect. Murphy was held in jail for nearly two weeks until officials realized his alibi proved it was physically impossible for him to be responsible for the robbery.
But in the hours just before his release from jail, "he goes into the bathroom, where he gets followed by three men, beaten, sexually assaulted and raped," Murphy's attorney, Daniel Dutko, told USA TODAY on Wednesday.
Murphy was later released from jail and the charges against him were immediately dismissed.
Murphy is seeking $10 million from New York-based Macy's and French eyewear company EssilorLuxottica, which owns Sunglass Hut.
California arrest made for solid alibi
Murphy was on probation for a history of non-violent burglaries in the 1980s and '90s, according to Dutko. He was pulled over, arrested and taken to jail in California for failing to report his whereabouts, an obligation under his probation.
If it wasn't for Murphy being in jail the day of the Texas robbery, then he would not have the rock solid alibi that proved is innocence, Dutko said. He added that Murphy said if he had "just been at home watching TV and not had an alibi, (he) would be in prison right now."
"When Macy's and Sunglass Hut comes and says, 'We have your guy with 100% certainty,' that's the big issue," Dutko said.
Dutko said the results of the AI possibly influenced the witness who identified Murphy as one of the robbers and that he has information suggesting the store's loss-prevention team spoke to her before the line-up. Plus, eyewitness accuracy is known to be far from perfect.
Macy's declined to comment on the lawsuit. EssilorLuxottica hasn't responded to USA TODAY's requests for comment.
Murphy traumatized by time in Texas jail
Murphy has since seen a psychologist and psychiatrist to be treated for the trauma he endured in jail, Dutko said.
"He can't sleep at night," he said. "He can't stop thinking about it."
In jail, the men held a shank up to Murphy's neck and threatened to kill him if he ever told anyone. Dutko said.
USA TODAY does not typically name victims of sexual assault, but Dutko said it was important to his client to come forward so what happened to him doesn't happen again.
"'This can't keep happening. (If) I have to suffer the inconvenience of people knowing that it was me that got raped, but it stops this in the future, I'll do it,'" Murphy said, according to Dutko.
Lawsuit highlights dangers of facial recognition misuse
The lawsuit said that companies should not rely on AI technology to identify suspects.
"Any one of us could be improperly charged with a crime and jailed based on error-prone facial recognition software," the lawsuit says. "The companies that use this kind of software know it has a high rate of false positives, but they still use it to positively identify alleged criminals."
The lawsuit also alleges that EssilorLuxottica's facial recognition technology has a high accuracy rate only under ideal surveillance circumstances, including consistent lighting, positioning and no objects obstructing its view.
veryGood! (83975)
Related
- World leaders aim to shape Earth's future at COP29 climate change summit
- Popular global TikToks of 2022: Bad Bunny leads the fluffle!
- 5 more people hanged in Iran after U.N. warns of frighteningly high number of executions
- This Blurring Powder Foundation Covers My Pores & Redness in Seconds— It's Also Currently on Sale
- UFC 309: Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic fight card, odds, how to watch, date
- Citing security concerns, Canada bans TikTok on government devices
- 3 amateur codebreakers set out to decrypt old letters. They uncovered royal history
- MLB The Show 23 Review: Negro Leagues storylines are a tribute to baseball legends
- Mother of Man Found Dead in Tanning Bed at Planet Fitness Gym Details His Final Moments
- Could de-extincting the dodo help struggling species?
Ranking
- Song Jae-lim, Moon Embracing the Sun Actor, Dead at 39
- Cryptocurrency turmoil affects crypto miners
- How Saturday Night Live's Chloe Fineman Became Friends with Anna Delvey IRL
- Gotta wear 'em all: How Gucci ended up in Pokémon GO
- Eva Longoria Shares She and Her Family Have Moved Out of the United States
- Beyoncé dances with giant robot arms on opening night of Renaissance World Tour
- Pregnant Rumer Willis' Sister Scout Is Desperately Excited to Become an Aunt
- Pope Francis calls on Italy to boost birth rates as Europe weathers a demographic winter
Recommendation
-
Pie, meet donuts: Krispy Kreme releases Thanksgiving pie flavor ahead of holidays
-
Dad of 12 Nick Cannon Regrets Not Having a Baby With Christina Milian
-
What's the fairest way to share cosmic views from Hubble and James Webb telescopes?
-
Iris Apatow Praises Dreamboat Boyfriend Henry Haber in Birthday Tribute
-
Asian sesame salad sold in Wegmans supermarkets recalled over egg allergy warning
-
Radio Host Jeffrey Vandergrift Found Dead One Month After Going Missing
-
Radio Host Jeffrey Vandergrift Found Dead One Month After Going Missing
-
Most of us are still worried about AI — but will corporate America listen?