NPR

$100,000 To Snitch? Perks For Jailhouse Informants Come Under Scrutiny

A key piece of evidence used to convict Bruce Lisker was testimony from a savvy jailhouse informant, whom he met after being moved out of juvenile detention. Lisker's conviction was overturned 26 years later.

Nobody likes a snitch. But if you're in jail, informing on fellow inmates can pay.

Legislators in at least four states are now trying to make sure that rewarding jailhouse informants — with cash, perks or deals for freedom — isn't leading to wrongful convictions.

Bruce Lisker knows how convictions can go wrong. He was only 17 when he discovered his mother murdered in her suburban Los Angeles home.

"I lost my mom and nothing would ever be the same. And I had no idea how not the same it would ever be,"

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