TalkLeft links up a new policy paper (pdf) from the Justice Project on jailhouse informants, AKA what the word "snitches" used to mean back when the word sort of made sense, kind of.
Jailhouse Snitch Testimony, A Policy Review
...The use of jailhouse snitch testimony has been widely used throughout the American criminal justice system. Unfortunately jailhouse snitches are often utilized by prosecutors despite their testimony being widely regarded as the least reliable form of evidence in the criminal justice system. A 2005 study of 111 death row exonerees found that 51 were wrongly sentenced to death in part due to testimony of witnesses with incentive to lie...
