Inaccurate Eyewitness Testimony

Words: 1547
Pages: 7
Open Document
Imagine you are accused of committing a crime that you vehemently deny ever committing, and one eyewitness’ convincing testimony is all it takes for you to spend time behind bars. This scenario has unfortunately been the case for many individuals who have been wrongfully accused and convicted of crimes they did not commit. This is not to say that some defendants have not been accurately picked out for crimes committed, but there is staggering data showing that many have been inaccurately accused of crimes they are later charged with committing. Eyewitness testimony is one of the most researched topics within autobiographical memory (Matlin, 2009). Decades of research has gone into the topic and an overarching degree shows the inaccuracies, …show more content…
This paper will explore how several cognitive concepts affect the accuracy of eyewitness testimony when focusing on the example of a woman who claims to have witnessed, from 100 feet away, and pointed out the defendant of a three to four second crime involving a diamond necklace being stolen, and how these cognitive concepts would be explained from an expert witness to lay …show more content…
As I hope to be an expert witness one day, it is important to be able to accurately relate these concepts to a case in order to assist jurors, or lay people, to understand the topic at hand and its potential uncertainty. If I were presented with the case described in the prompt for this essay I would state to the jury that the witnesses report may be greatly flawed, inaccurate, and unreliable. I would go into the research and state that the topic of eyewitness testimony is one of the most researched topics and many great findings have come from this research. I would discuss that based on the distance of the witness to the crime and the fact that she was in a grocery store when it occurred, she essentially did not have direct vision to the crime and most probably had many potential obstructions that could have played a role in her misinterpretation of what she saw. It would be important to stress that the witness estimated she only was exposed to the crime for about 3 to 4 seconds and that with such a short exposure and high emotional or adrenaline provoking event the possibility that she misinterpreted the information based on her existing schemas is high. That is, her short exposure to the event and her belief that one of the individuals shown to her had to be the defendant could have triggered biases that unintentionally affected her
Show More

Related Documents: Inaccurate Eyewitness Testimony

Eyewitness Research Paper

Eyewitness Testimony Eyewitness testimony is defined as, “an area of research that investigates the accuracy of memory following an accident, crime, or other significant event, and the types of errors that are commonly made in such situations.” Much emphasis is placed on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony as often-inaccurate eyewitness testimony can have serious consequences leading to wrong convictions. Eyewitness testimony is a powerful tool within any field, particularly that…

Words 2534 - Pages 11

Wrongful Convictions

ways in which innocent people can be wrongfully convicted. They may be convinced of committing a crime by an interrogator who unknowingly and unintentionally leaks information. There is an eyewitness who can be unsure of who they picked in a photo lineup and can be positively reinforced which can lead to eyewitness misidentification. First, people can be convinced into confessing to a crime the did not commit. Even though no one would or could imagine themselves confessing to a crime they didn’t commit…

Words 802 - Pages 4

Eyewitness Testimony Essay

Eyewitness testimonies rely on our memory and cognitive ability as humans. These testimonies can be crucial during court cases, and could result in conviction. It is important that the testimony is accurate and reliable. For this reason, many people question whether or not a child should be able to testify as an eyewitness. There are multiple views with varying answers to this issue. One answer to this question is that children should not be able to testify as eye witnesses for any reason. Many people…

Words 734 - Pages 3

Forensic Psychology Essay

Forensic Psychology: Eyewitness Testimony Eyewitness testimony is a legal term which generally refers to an account given by people who were present at a crime scene, describing their perception of happened during the incident of the crime. Eyewitness misidentification is the leading cause of wrongful convictions in the United States (Scheck et al., 2007). DNA evidence has been used to exonerate nearly 200 individuals who were wrongfully convicted and of those (Scheck et al., 2007), approximately…

Words 1305 - Pages 6

Calvin Johnson's Mistaken Identification

convictions later overturned due to DNA testing (American Psychology Association). This has been used to help free the wrongly convicted. Even though eyewitness testimonies are important and valuable to a case, and the sentencing of the accused, they have been proven to be heavily affected by anxiety, stress and memory loss. Groundbreaking research of eyewitness memory over the past three…

Words 617 - Pages 3

Essay about Eyewitness Identification and Culprit Lineup

Chapter 5 – Eyewitness Testimony Eyewitness testimony: the role of memory: A large part of eyewitness testimony rests on memory. For example if you are perceiving and paying attention when you look at a strangers face and notice big, busy eyebrows then to some extent the strangers face and eyebrows have been encoded. The encoded information then passes into your short-term holding facility, known as short-term memory (this has a limited capacity). It is important to remember that not every…

Words 3933 - Pages 16

Eyewitness Testimony Case

has been disproving death row cases founded on eyewitness testimony. In their findings, 73% of their 235 overturned convictions were based on faulty eyewitness testimony (Innocence Project, 2012). Most of these inaccurate identifications are caused unknowingly or unconsciously. In eyewitness testimony, mistakes are frequently made. This creates a larger dilemma, since it is one of the most persuasive elements in a trial. Focusing on eyewitness testimony in criminal trials, jurors place importance…

Words 1166 - Pages 5

Essay about Psychology Ewt

Age -Children may be unlikely to have the confidence to correct mistakes made by adults during interviews where they are giving testimony, Roberts and Lamb (1999) did a analysis of 3-14 year olds in 68 interviews for abuse cases in USA. They listened to interviews and recorded how many changes were made by adults. e.g. if the child said near the school and the adult later said in the school, and how many of those were corrected by the child. Out of 140 changes, only a third were corrected, and only…

Words 412 - Pages 2

Memory: The Huge Impact It Has On Eyewitness Accounts

Chelsey Bradley Psychology 101 – Essay 1 Memory: The Huge Impact It Has On Eyewitness Accounts Eyewitness accounts were one of the most valuable pieces of evidence in a court case until DNA testing came along. Can you always rely on what you saw happen or what you heard happen? The answer is no. Eyewitness misidentification is the basis of unjust imprisonments all over the country. The Innocence Project has estimated that 72% of wrongful imprisonments have been repealed because of the brilliant…

Words 1126 - Pages 5

Gang Violence Essay

Witness Misidentification Freddricka Perry CCJ 4360-001 Monekka Munroe Misidentification can be defined as making a falsely or inaccurate identification. Witness can be defined as one who can give a firsthand account of something seen, heard, or experienced. (American Heritage Dictionary) When you put these two words together, you get witness misidentification which has been referred to as the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions nationwide, with nearly 75% of the…

Words 2835 - Pages 12