Eyewitness Testimony

Eyewitness Testimony

Introduction

When it comes to solving crimes, eyewitness evidence can prove to be critical and crucial in many cases. In most cases, an eyewitness account is the only available form of evidence for determining the identity of the perpetrator. Given the strong emphasis placed on this particular type of evidence, it would typically be assumed that the rate of fair convictions based on eyewitness evidence is fairly high (Wise & Safer, 2012, p. 22-48). However, this is hardly the case. For example, when looking at the statistics of the United States, around 4,500 people are wrongly convicted of crime every year. Hence, numerous cases can be cited where innocent people have been wrongfully convicted after eyewitnesses falsely identified them as the perpetrators of a crime. Such cases only reiterate the fact that false eyewitness identification is one of the major causes of wrongful convictions in the United States.

Discussion

Going back through time to the year 1984, Kirk Bloodsworth was a man who was convicted for brutally assaulting, raping and murdering a nine-year old girl. The judge sentenced Kirk to the gas chamber after five eyewitnesses testified to have seen the man at the scene of the crime. Kirk was labelled a monster and a menace to society by the media which covered the entire case very closely (Vallas, 2011). The backlash from the public was equally strong and many appealed that the man be given a punishment that suits the crime. However, no one was prepared for what was to follow. Having served nine years in prison, DNA tests were finally carried out for the sake of determining whether Kirk was innocent. The results of the DNA tests shocked the nation; they came out negative, proving the man to be innocent the whole time (Fisher et al., 2009, p. 121-136).

The case of Kirk Bloodsworth is only one of the literally thousands of cases where wrongful convictions take place as a result of false eyewitness identification. The Innocence Network published a report in the year 2011 detailing the exonerations of 22 people who were convicted for crimes (Garrett, 2011). Out of the 22 persons mentioned in the report, 19 were wrongfully convicted of crimes based on false eyewitness identification. In fact, statistics also suggest that three out of every four cases of conviction are the result of false eyewitness identification. However, even after reviewing these alarming statistics, there has not been any sign that would suggest that concrete steps are being taken to increase the efficiency of the criminal justice system, particularly with regards to false eyewitness identification (Garrett, 2011).

When discussing the subject of false eyewitness accounts, and determining their strong connection with wrongful convictions, it is imperative to review the numerous researches that have been carried out on the subject (Fisher et al., 2009, p. 121-136). For example, decades of research has proved that human memory is neither fixed nor precise. A person can focus his mind and sharply recall something when he is in a moment of ...