Eyewitness identification

Eyewitness identifications are among the most persuasive, and sometimes only, juncture in the apprehension of criminals. This typically involves a simultaneous line-up(SIM) where the suspect(target) is placed among known innocents(foils) who resemble the witness’s description of the perpetrator (Wells & Olson, 2003). The selection or lack of selection from the witness is given significant legal weighting. However, 75% of convictions involved exculpation through DNA testing where eyewitness misidentification

The Case of Cotton is one of the best which explains eyewitness misidentification and how eyewitness mistakes might happen. There are various factors which contributed to this faulty eyewitness identification. First, when Ms. Thompson was presented with the two images of Cotton to examine, after she had asserted that Cotton was the one, she asked the detectives “Did I do OK?” and the detectives responded, “You did great, Ms. Thompson.” The officers failed to take a confidence statement. That is

Witness identification evidence is the second most incriminating type of evidence bar a confession (Brandon & Davies, 1973 – as cited by Valentine & Heaton, 1999). However, The Innocence Project reports it is also the leading cause of wrongful convictions in the US, more specifically, 72% of DNA exoneration cases since 1989. The aim of line-ups is to give the witness a fair test of recognition. Additionally, the suspect (who may be innocent) must also be given a fair chance. In the 1976 the Devlin

Although Eyewitness and Scientific Identifications are important tools for the conviction of criminals, eyewitness testimony has proven to be persuasive evidence before a judge or jury but recent years of strong statistical research has proven that eyewitness identification is often unreliable. And can lead to atrocious acts such as wrongfully stripping an individual of his God given freedom for the majority of his or her life. Two prime examples of the detrimental impact that identifications have on

Eyewitness Identification may be more reliable than we believe, if they are handled and assessed correctly. Eyewitness testimonies are often used by law enforcement officers to identify suspects and play a huge role in getting convictions. If witnesses identify the wrong person, an innocent man could be punished for something they had no involvement in. There are many theories to explain why witnesses may identify the wrong person as the perpetrator of a crime. The different ways we retrieve memories

Eyewitness identification and testimony play a huge role in the criminal justice system today, but skepticism of eyewitnesses has been growing. Forensic evidence has been used to undermine the reliability of eyewitness testimony, and the leading cause of false convictions in the United States is due to misidentifications by eyewitnesses. The role of eyewitness testimony in producing false confessions and the factors that contribute to the unreliability of these eyewitness testimonies are sending

Professor Harris ENC 1102 1 Dec. 2016 Research Project for False Witness Credibility: Mistaken Eyewitness Identification On May 3, 1982, in Norfolk, Virginia at circuit court, 29-year old Julius Earl Ruffin was convicted of a rape he did not commit and was sentenced to five life sentences in prison. The case rested on Ann Meng, the victim who accused Ruffin as her assailant. Mistaken eyewitness identifications contributed to more than 75 percent of the more than 200 wrongful convictions in false witness

anyone on eyewitness testimony only, without any other physical or forensic evidence. In eyewitness identification, in criminal law, evidence is received from a witness "who has actually seen an event and can so testify in court.” (Law.com Legal Online Dictionary) While this could be an important piece of the investigation, it can never take the place of DNA, or forensic evidence. Unfortunately, that happens all too much, with our overburdened legal and criminal justice systems. “Eyewitness misidentification

During the criminal investigation process, eyewitness identification is one of the most common, but convincing evidence used in courtrooms. Although accurate eyewitness identification can assist with convicting guilty parties, inaccurate identification can lead to prosecution of the innocent. Detectives use three types of lineup procedures; field, physical, and photographic lineups. These procedures are critical to identifying those responsible for committing a criminal offense and should be performed

Eyewitness testimonies provide crucial evidence in pinpointing the identity of the perpetrator in order to solve a crime, thus the criminal justice system depends upon the accuracy of eyewitness identification to investigate and prosecute criminals. However, eyewitness identification is imperfect and the leading cause of wrongful convictions (Huff, Rattner, & Sagarin, 1996; Scheck, Neufeld, & Dwyer, 2000). One prominent method of eyewitness identification is a line-up procedure during which “A line-up