Eyewitness: a person who actually sees some act, occurrence, or thing and can give a firsthand account of it.
Eyewitness testimony is one of the most powerful tools used by prosecutors to secure convictions. Eyewitness testimony is also the leading cause of wrongful convictions, playing a role in more than 75% of convictions that were later overturned through DNA testing.
Eyewitness testimony is viewed by many jurors as reliable but unfortunately that is not always the case. We see the world as we want to see it and we often miss details that happen right in front of our eyes. Human error plays a major factor when we are asked to remember specific events. Do you think you would make a good eyewitness? Click here to take the selective attention test.
Why do eyewitnesses make mistakes?
- Distance from the perpetrator
- Lighting conditions
- Race of the witness and race of the perpetrator (identifications have proven to be less accurate when witnesses are identifying perpetrators of a different race)
- Presence of a weapon during the incident
- Stress
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Featured Article
What you see isn’t always what you get – The fallacy of eyewitness testimony By Matthew Douglas
Featured Cases of Misidentification
David Dowaliby was wrongfully convicted of murder based solely on eyewitness testimony
Photo ID: Family changes standard for conducting lineups
Fixing the System
Fixing the System: Eyewitness Identification
Police Testimony
Hillsboro police and Force Science Institute hold traffic stop study on officer memory, safety
Cops more forgetful after chases or altercations
Resources
Innocence Project report on lineups and eyewitness identification
The Eyewitness Identification Reform Litigation Network
Eyewitness identification expert Prof. Gary Wells of Iowa State University
Attacking Eyewitness Identification Testimony