Essay on Problems with Eyewitness Testimony - 1395 Words

Eyewitness testimony has been used for many centuries and continues to be a part of our criminal justice system. Although, there has been many controversy debates on whether to allow the continuation of these testimonies in court, and allow it to be used as evidence. Eyewitness testimony can either be harmful or useful for an individual. We must fully analysis and see what certain factors (psychological, and age wise) come into the equation before coming up with final conclusions. A case study titled Problems with Eyewitness Testimony talks about a famous Canadian case in which a 14 years old boy named Steven Truscott, was convicted in 1959 of rape and murder of a 12 years old, Lynne Harper. It was later found that the conviction was†¦show more content†¦A 10-year-old boy will unfortunately become a victim quickly to these errors. Taking into consideration that his recollection of that night wasn’t any useful in court. When given the option, it is likely he will go with the option that makes seems justified. Does this mean that all children have faulty memories? Absolutely not, but their age does have an influence. According to child development expert, Dr. Steven Ceci. Children’s intake on memories is different from adults. It factors down to the child’s past knowledge of things and whether they can extract real memories rather than created false ones. Knowing this we still can’t deem a child’s memory to be as credible as an adults. A case in 2002, where a 5 year old girl was abducted in front of her home in Stanton, California. Sarah Ahn, a 6-year-old child was the only witness to the crime. â€Å"Ceci also said there are times when a child can be a lot more accurate than an adult.â€Å" This contradicts the point of a child’s memory not being as credible and in this case, it supports what Dr. Steven Ceci was saying. Sarah Ahn, fit into this exception of being accurate. She was able to give a detailed description of the suspect and his car, that a f ew days later the authorities attained the suspect. Although we still need to proceed with caution and not rely on child’s testimonies, because a child’s mind can be manipulated to implant a false memory. (Web 3) Psychologists continue to conduct tests, theories, and studies toShow MoreRelatedThe Problem With Eyewitness Testimony Essay2517 Words   |  11 Pages Eyewitness testimony has long been viewed as important evidence in court cases. The general population believes eyewitness identification more than any other evidence, even if the witness account is conflicting with the other evidence presented. Studies show that eyewitness testimony is unreliable, and yet it is still considered the most important form of evidence. People think that if a person says they saw something then it must have happened. Currently there are no universalRead MoreFalse Memory Essay609 Words   |  3 Pageshave a stethoscope or name badge around their neck. Eyewitness memory is important especially when dealing with criminal trials. It is important because trails rely on eyewitness memory as a crucial piece of evidence for their defense. Eyewitness testimony can have a huge impact on a jury, and the jury then decides whether or not they will take truth to what an eyewitness says. A problem with eyewitness memory is that often times an eyewitness can go through a state of shock processing every eventRead MoreEyewitness Testimony Essay1166 Words   |  5 Pages The Accuracy of Eyewitness Testimony is a major topic in our society. Eyewitness Testimony is often used during crime scene investigations. Although a Testimony by a bystander or a victim regarding an incident is a great tool for further investigation, testimonies are often times false and can lead to false accusations. The research question, how accurate is eyewitness testimony, will be studied. The purpose for this project is to determine the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. Th e hypothesis, HighRead MoreEssay on Eyewitness Error1177 Words   |  5 Pagesmemories of one’s life is usually not detrimental, but the flawed nature of long-term and short-term memory functions becomes a serious matter in regards to criminal eyewitness testimony. In the justice system eyewitness reports are legitimate and can be crucial in the judging process. The justice system was constructed to rely on testimony that is often inaccurate and inconstant in many ways. The manner in which memories are constructed lends itself to errors. According to the constructive approachRead MoreEyewitness Testimony And Evidence Testimony Essay1082 Words   |  5 Pagesjudged accordingly, other times the innocent is judged guilty. Eyewitness testimony gives details about what happened, identification of perpetrators. Eyewitness can be the central focus of the whole investigation, and is also heavily focused on and powerful in the courtroom. Hence, eyewitness testimony is largely one of the reasons as to why innocent individuals are thrown in prison. Although generally without a doubt, eyewitness testimony is helpful to the court and investigation, but memory aloneRead MoreBlind Spot : A 1994 Rape Conviction Not Only Altered N.j864 Words   |  4 PagesReferences and Bibliography Avril, T. (May 22, 2006). Eyewitness blind spot: A 1994 rape conviction not only altered N.J. court rules on eyewitness testimony, it raised questions of identifying people of another race. Knight Ridder Tribune Business News Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/465451279?accountid=34899 This article focuses on the State of New Jersey, which became the first state to change its eyewitness lineup procedures, based upon the 2001 justice report on DNA-basedRead MoreEyewitness Testimony Essay1299 Words   |  6 Pagespeople think things happened that never truly happened. Eyewitness testimony has always played an important role as evidence in the courts system. Juries on a trial tend to believe eyewitness testimony over any other evidence, even if other evidence differs from the eyewitness testimony. When little other evidence is presented, eyewitness testimony tends to be the primary focus. Many wrongful convictions have occurred due to these false eyewitness statements. According to George Vallas, in â€Å"A surveyRead MoreEyewitness Identification, Criminal, And Criminal Law Essay1487 Words   |  6 Pagesanyone 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. â€Å"Eyewitness misidentificationRead MoreEvaluation of Research Into Eyewitness Testimony Essay598 Words   |  3 PagesEvaluation of Research Into Eyewitness Testimony Eyewitness testimony investigates the accuracy of memory following a crime or an incident worth interrogating and the types of errors made in such situations. Sometimes eyewitness testimony can be unreliable, which can lead to horrific consequences in a court of law for example, hence many Psychologists have studied and theorized why this happens. One leading researcher on Eyewitness testimony is Elizabeth Loftus and Read MoreEyewitness Testimony And Its Effect On The Credibility Of Eyewitness Testimonies952 Words   |  4 PagesEyewitness testimony is a hot button issue in not only the criminal justice field but also the psychology field as well. It continues to be argued that this type of â€Å"evidence† is far too unreliable for the court room and can ultimately end up punishing the wrong person for a crime they did not commit. The influence of an eyewitness testimony cannot be denied as research has showed that, â€Å"adding a single prosecution eyewitness to a murder trial summary increased the percentage of mock jurors’ guilty