Summary
Eyewitness testimony can be incorrect. Innocent people can be put in prison for crimes they did not commit.
When a person witnesses a crime, they could be in fear, shock, and stress. All the emotions heightened. The person cannot mentally record what they are seeing. So many factors can come into play. Eye site, distance, obstruction, and more. A person’s perception to age, height, and weight. Human memory can be wrong. Two people can view the same thing and the perception for each person can be different. There is also the factor of one person noticing something the other may not have noticed. Even the best eyewitness can and most likely does make errors.
Other factors that can come into play are when the witness noticed the crime. A witness could have missed parts of the crime. Perhaps they even missed another assailant that left prior to them witnessing the crime. Most people want to help. They want to help get the person that committed the crime. The want to help can sometimes lead to identifying someone simply because they resemble the assailant. Eyewitnesses are very important for the investigation process and the court hearing. These factors need to be taken into consideration. While witness testimony should be taken into account it cannot be the only factor in a criminal case.
“In 2016, the Innocence Project, an organization working toward freeing the wrongfully convicted, reported that mistaken eyewitness identification was a contributing cause of 72% of the 325 criminal cases in which a convicted person was subsequently exonerated through DNA testing (Innocence Project, 2016). Lydell Grant was charged and convicted of the murder of Aaron Scheerhoorn in 2012. Six eyewitnesses identified Lydell to be the killer. He was sentenced to life in prison. DNA evidence was later brought into evidence. DNA was found under the nails of Aaron Scheerhoorn. This DNA identified Jermarico Carter who confessed to the murder. Lydell Grant had served 8 years for a murder he did not commit. This case had not one not two but six witnesses that were incorrect. It shows that witness identification can go wrong!
There has to be system put in place to ensure that this does not continue to happen in the future. No one can say just how many people are currently in jail under these same circumstances. Revamping the system has to be considered.
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2016). Applied Social Psychology (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc. (US). https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781506353968
You’re absolutely right! Witnessing a crime can be a highly emotional, overwhelming experience. Stress, fear, and shock can make it difficult for a person to record what they are seeing, and there are many factors that can affect their memory. Eyesight, perception, distance, and possible obstructions are just a few examples. It’s true that human memory can be touchy, and even the best witnesses can make errors. Different people may have different perceptions of the same event, and one person may notice something another doesn’t. These factors need to always be taken into consideration when evaluating eyewitness testimonies.