The Problem With Eyewitness Testimony Essay

The Problem With Eyewitness Testimony Essay
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 universal
guidelines on how to obtain and present such evidence. The purpose of this paper is to explain why
eyewitness testimony is unreliable, and discuss the proposed guidelines on how law enforcement
agencies should gather identifications, as well how ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
In the 1960's and 1970's, the Supreme Court began to recognize the issues of faulty eyewitness
testimony and began to establish limited safeguards. Some of the safeguards introduced by the
Supreme Court include allowing the defendant to have an attorney present at a lineup, allowing
defendants to challenge identifications resulting from questionable police procedures, and
establishing model jury instructions (Jost 862–863). Despite the efforts of the courts and law
enforcement agencies to improve the handling of eyewitness testimony, misidentifications continue
to be a major contributing factor to false convictions. The Innocence Project is a national litigation
and public policy organization that has been dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people
through DNA testing. Since their inception in 1992, they have helped overturn 311 wrongful
convictions in the United States, as of the date of this paper. Of those 311 cases, they have
determined that misidentification has contributed to approximately 73% of those wrongful
convictions ("The Innocence Project"). That is an extremely high percentage, and something needs
to be done about this. In one example, The Innocence Project helped to exonerate Antonio Beaver,
who was wrongfully convicted of a crime based on false eyewitness testimony. On August 12, 1996,
a
... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...

Brenton Case Study
What Identification Procedure did the police use for getting the identification by Mr. Stevens of
Brenton Butler as the perpetrator?
The police used the showups procedure in the identification of Brenton by Mr. Stevens. A showup is
when an officer brings a suspect to a face–to–face meeting with the eyewitness to the crime. The
showup procedure would typically be used right after a crime has been committed. The officers
placed Brenton into the police car and transferred him over to the location of the eyewitness to be
indemnified this completed the showups procedure.
What issues with perception and memory most likely affected Mr Stevens' ability to identify the
suspect?
The main issue that affect Mr. Stevens's perception and memory was the ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
The fact that Brenton was in the back of a police car leads the witness to think that this must be the
person that committed the crime since the officers had him in the back seat of a police car. This
would lead to an unreliable witness. Any person that had to identify another person suspected of a
crime would be suggestible to someone that is seating in the back of police car. In the case of Stovall
v. Denno the suspect was taken to the hospital to be identified by the victim. The victim was in
critical condition so the officers really had no choice, but to try and get the suspect identified incase
she passed away. The suspect was convicted and appealed the conviction. The courts ruled
according to Carmen (2010) "We conclude that evidence obtained from an out–of–court showup is
inherently suggestive and will not be admissible unless, based on the totality of the circumstances,
the procedure was necessary. A showup will not be necessary, however, unless the police lacked
probable cause to make an arrest or, as a result of other exigent circumstances, could not have
conducted a lineup or photo array. A lineup or photo array is generally fairer than a showup, because
it distributes the probability of identification among the number of persons arrayed, thus reducing
the risk of a

Essay On Book 7
SUMMARY OF BOOK 7
BOOK 7
Arriving at the station, Detective Hawkins started to go in the building, as Detective Walker went to
his car. After their usual chitchat about the upcoming golf tournament, Detective Hawkins invited
him to get a cup of coffee. While enjoying their coffee, they discussed the two cases on their mind.
"I've been working on the murder case, we're missing something, and I can put my finger on it," he
said.
"I don't understand why they kidnapped Mrs. Barnes and have made no demands," Detective Walker
said, removing her picture from the folder and handed it to his friend, "She isn't a bad looking
woman."
Looking at the picture, Detective Hawkins said, "She is a lovely looking woman." Handing it back
to his ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
"May, I help you?" He asked. "Mr. Barnes, I'm Detective Walker. I have some information about
your wife. May I come in?" "Of course," Andrew said, leading the way to the family room. Sitting in
his chair as Detective Walker sat on the sofa. Andrew listened as the family started asking questions
about Margaret. "Just a minute, let him tell us what they learned. Now let's all calm down," Andrew
said, everyone listened as Detective Walker explained why he was there. "We're holding a suspect in
the murder of the man found out on the highway, and believe there is a connection to Mrs. Barnes's
kidnapping. We'll have a lineup tomorrow." Detective Walker, paused and looked around before he
continued, "I found a pendant. Do you recognize it?" He asked, removing the pendant from the
envelope and held it in his hand.
Rushing over, grabbing it, Ashley screamed, "That's the pendant I gave Grandma for her birthday.
Where did you find it?"
"We found it on the lawn at the Hardy Street address."
"What else did you get?" Jerry asked.
"This hair clip was under a bed," he said, holding it in his hand.
"Let me see that," Andrew said, "That is the clip my wife wears in her hair." Rushing up the stairs,
he returned shortly, "The one she wears is not on the dresser. That is hers."
Ashley wept, hugging her, Marlene said, "Honey, it'll be all right."
"Where did you find it? Why can't they find her?" Ashley

Hapeville Case Study
On November 3, 2007, a crime was committed in Hapeville, Georgia. A mother and her son heard a
commotion outside their residence house. When mother discover a man sitting inside her orange and
white truck, the man threated her at gunpoint with a pistol. The female victim was told to go back
inside her property. Female victim son called the police immediately to notify them of situation.
Hapeville Police Department officers were dispatched to the home. A Hapeville officer on duty
spotted the stolen truck less than a half mile from the location vehicle was taken from. The officer
pursue the truck, and the thief exit the vehicle and started running. However, despite the fact that
Atlanta Police helicopters were used in the search to cover more range, officers failed to apprehend
the suspect. According to one officer's official report, "Officers have not currently located ... Show
more content on Helpwriting.net ...
On November 6, 2007, in a sketch the suspect was identified as African American male who age
range was about 40 to 45 years. His weight was about 140 to 150 pounds, with short hair. On
November 13, 2007, the police were notify by a manager who worked at an apartment complex that
man was either unconscious or dead. Police discover that the man was asleep and learned his name
was Michael Marshall. Additionally, a police officer notice that the man had an uncanny similarity
to the suspect who stole the truth. When other officers came to the scene they were convinced that
he was man who commit the act and bought him in for a photo lineup inside police station. Female
victim could not positively identify Marshall as the man who stole her truck. Furthermore, the judge
refused to suppress the evidence that the witness could not positively identify Marshall even through
there wasn't enough to link him with the

Getting Away With Murder Due
Getting Away With Murder Due to Violations Christy Bourke–Sturrup Criminal Evidence and
Procedures Professor M. Noe January 5, 2015 Abstract Getting Away With Murder Due to
Violations Have you ever heard the phrase, "make sure your ducks are in a row"? Often there are
times in the criminal justice system when there are ducks missing or have been knocked over for
whatever reason. Outcomes are never good when those ducks are not in order. If someone commits a
crime then of course they deserve to suffer the consequences, but what if were are circumstances
and questions as to whether evidence, confessions, and information was obtained legally or not.
Would that change your mind as to putting the guy in jail? America is about justice ... Show more
content on Helpwriting.net ...
There are times when a car on the train can derail but the car will fix itself and the train will
continue on its intended path. Well that is exactly what will happen in my legal case. As the hide
legal assistant working with the criminal defense attorney on a homicide case against James Smith.
Before working on the defense of the case you have to know the case, inside and out all that it
entails and all the evidence. As you review the case and all of the details which would be like
watching the train and all the cars passing. Your strategy is to look for those pebbles and things on
the tracks. To get a conviction of a person of a crime the prosecution must three things. The first and
second thing is that the crime charged did occur and that the defendant committed or was an
accessory to the crime charged. The last and final thing is that it can be proven through direct or
circumstantial evidence. Without evidence there is no case. Well here are the basic facts of the case
being investigated by the firm. There are five subjects closely involved in the case. Suspect 1) James
Smith; Suspect 2) Daniel Piling (James Smith 's room mate); Victim 1) Sarah Prescott (James Smith
's girlfriend); Witness 1) Bill Henry – neighbor at 111 Plummer St, Daytona Beach; and Witness 2)
Jill Smith (James Smith 's estranged wife). The actual charge was murder. The victim died as a result

Reaction Paper On Deviant
I was raised by my grandparents who had many rules and taught me that it would be disrespectful
not to follow them, so it was hard for me to complete the three deviant acts to write this paper. I
have spent my life following social norms to the best of my ability, even ones that seems absurd to
me. The object of this assignment frightened the heck out of me and I truly wasn't sure if I was
going to be able to complete it. The unspoken rule that I chose to break was the infamous 'standing
in a line & waiting your turn' rule, I chose to cut into the line without saying anything at all. The
first time I decided to do my deviant act was while standing in line at the Tim Hortons at St. Paul's
Hospital, which was especially hard for me because I've been going there for the past four years to
visit my mother. There was about 12 people standing in the line when I walked up to it and
remembered that I needed to do my deviant act and that now was as good a time as any. I felt very
nervous about what I was planning to do and honestly a little afraid because the area isn't exactly the
greatest area's in the city. I stood at the back of the line for about 2 minutes trying to mentally
prepare for what I was going to do. I finally built up the courage to walk ahead and cut into the line,
leaving only one person ahead of me. No one said a single word to me, but I did notice one of the
workers looking towards the line and laughing. I literally could feel the blood rushing to my face,
but

Racism And Racial Profiling And Prejudice
The words "Boong", "Abo" or "Coon" are what people called me a million times a day, every day in
my entire 15 years of life. It doesn't matter where I am; who I'm with; what I do, people will still call
me with those words instead of my name. I do not say that I am ashamed of my culture or who I am
but I just get tired of how society, giving and calling me by the labels, the labels built from their own
stereotypes and racial discriminations. And here's how my life has been filled with racism and
discriminations.
As every other day, I woke up with the worries of how my day going to be. Full fills with
discriminations and stereotypes? Or being the victims of every other kid's racist jokes? There are
thousands of negative thoughts popping ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
My hair? My face? I couldn't think of any reasonable reasons. "Oi, Abo why are you still roaming
here? Get back to your jungle." A penetrating voice spoke up, no need to look for who it is, I still
can manage to figure out that voice. It is Brett's voice, the voice that always started my day with all
of the prejudiced comments. He also was the first one that started the jokes on me and yes it flowing
along well to other kids. I never hated someone voice as much as I do with this brat, Brett. I ignored
his sentence and keep on with my silent because I know once I reply back, they will start to laugh at
my voice and will keep go on with all the negative comments that they thought it is funny. So silent
is the best way that I chose to responses to them. They were about to says something but the bus has
come. Everyone was entering the bus and as usual I was the last one to enter. I went straight to the
back seat as it where I belong. It took roughly another ten minutes to arrive at school, I patiently
stare out the windows waiting for the miracle to happens, helps to lead me find a way out of this
racist society. After a few thoughts, I finally I arrive to school. Everyone may believe school is the
one of the safest place that you can realises on beside home but it totally opposite for me. It just not
where I feels unwelcomed but also where I received the traumatised bullying and comments. Not
many teachers know about my story because they have never witness the bullies

An Article Review Of “Memory Blindness: Altered Memory
An Article Review of "Memory blindness: Altered memory reports lead to distortion in eyewitness
memory" by Cochran et al. (2016)
Introduction:
Cochran et al (2016) provide a case study analysis of the temporal nature of memory in suspect
lineups and crimes being investigated by law enforcement. The study involves a longitudinal
evaluation of participants that are given evidence of a crime (through slideshows) that allows them
to ascertain the criminal act or to choose a suspect in a lineup. At a later time, the participants are
given altered information on the crime, which revealed a greatly distorted memory of the crimes that
the participants did not remember. This misinformation was an attempt to trick the participants into
affirming ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Multiple–choice questionnaires were used for Experiment 1 to identify false answers. Experiment 2
was partially done online, which allowed the stu8dents to make choices without direct contact with
the authors of the study.
Analysis & Results:
Experiment 1 results found that many of the students failed to remember the initial data provided to
them at the onset of the study, which provided the effect of misinformation on the memory of the
participant: "These analyses revealed a significant main effect for misinformation items, F(1, 163) =
9.89, p = .002, ηp2 = .06, 90 % CI for effect size = [.01, .12] (Cochran et al, 2016, p.721). This data
confirms that the students had not retained the original memory of the crimes committed, which
resulted in a large–scale choice blindness. In this manner, the multiple –choice segment of this study
exposed memory lapses as part of the re–evaluation process of the participant 's memories.
Therefore, misinformation was not properly identified in the remembrance of these criminal
scenarios. Experiment 2 also proved successful for choice blindness in that the slide show provided
for the students at the first–stage was altered in the second–stage. The author's utilized a "target" and
"filler" option for student's to choose from, yet many of the students did not accurately remember
the

Types of Exonerations
Exoneration is when you completely absolve someone from blame and release them from jail. There
are two types of exonerations, DNA and Non–DNA. Over the years, The National Registry of
Exonerations has found that police officers and prosecutors are becoming more cooperative with
exonerations. BACKGROUND In 1989 law enforcement actively participated in twenty
exonerations, two being DNA and eighteen being Non–DNA; in 2013 that number has risen to
eighty– seven, eighteen being DNA and sixty–nine being Non–DNA (National Registry of
Exonerations). This increased number of exonerations can be accredited to new guidelines for
conducting photo lineups, willingness to revisit convictions for possible errors, and looking into
coerced confessions. In an attempt to decrease the number of wrongful convictions and free
wrongfully convicted people, police departments have started conducting blind and sequential photo
lineups. A blind photo lineup is when a police officer who does not know who the alleged suspect is
shows photographs to the witness. This method can help prevent errors and bias. If the police officer
showing the photos to the witness knows who the suspect is, this can possibly lead to them
persuading the witness that this is the actual criminal when in fact it may be someone else. In
addition to blind lineups, police departments are also doing sequential lineups. A sequential lineup is
when witnesses see suspects or photos of suspects one by one instead of in a group. By

Cole Murray The Perpetrator
Detectives then showed Murray a photo lineup of six photographs. When Murray saw Cole's phot
she was immediately sure that he was her attacker, saying: "That's him." The following day, when
the police conducted an in–person lineup with Cole and four prisoners, Murray identified Cole once
again. He was arrested and charged with the sexual assault of Murray. In court, Murray identified
Cole as the perpetrator. A forensic examiner from the Texas Department of Public Safety testified
that he had examined the rape kit collected from the victim at the hospital after the attack. He said
the tests had determined that sperm was present on the swabs from the victim's body. Serology
testing found evidence of a Type A secretor on the swabs, and the analyst

Eyewitness Testimony Research Paper
I worked as a municipal police officer for many years. I have been to countless scenes and made
thousands of arrests over my career. Several of these arrests were crimes that included an
eyewitness. Policy dictated the if there was ever a witness to a scene, to require that witness to fill
out a voluntary statement form about what they saw. There have been several incidents where I was
very grateful that the witnesses had filled out a statement. I remember an attempted burglary scene
where witnesses observed the suspect forcing entry into a closed business. When detectives went
and followed up with the witness the next day, the witness had already forgotten what clothing the
suspect was wearing. This incident made me start wondering about how many cases have been ...
Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Tests revealed that Bullock was not the source of the semen found on the victim's clothing, and a
judge dismissed the charges against him in 1994. [4]
Bullock spent 10 and a half years in prison for a crime he did not commit.[5]
The most important foundation for eyewitness testimony is a person's memory – after all, whatever
testimony is being reported is coming from what a person remembers. To evaluate the reliability of
memory, it is once again instructive to look to the criminal justice system. Police and prosecutors go
to great lengths to keep a person's testimony "pure" by not allowing it to be tainted by outside
information or the reports of others.
If prosecutors don't make every effort to retain the integrity of such testimony, it will become an
easy target for a clever defense attorney. How can the integrity of memory and testimony be
undermined? Very easily, in fact – there is a popular perception of memory being something like a
tape–recording of events when the truth is anything but.
As Elizabeth Loftus describes in her book Memory: Surprising New Insights into How We
Remember and Why We

Eyewitnesses In Police Investigation
Police investigation is an essential component of policing work where officers are required to find as
much information as possible to solve crimes and convict the wrongdoers. In occasions where the
offender already fled away from the scene or when there are lack of physical evidence to accuse
them, the police officers have no choice but to rely on eyewitnesses. Despite its necessity in
providing useful descriptions on both criminals and the crime scenes, there had been lots of
criticisms against its reliability. Eyewitness misidentification accounts for wrongful conviction more
than any other factors combined and it has forced countless innocent people to serve their sentences
for crimes they have never committed. The errors come from various factors including the alteration
of human memories and the method used to assist the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
To begin with, the eyewitness is generally defined as a person who was directly at the scene of the
crime or in any situations that are related to the crime. Eyewitnesses are critical sources of
information such as descriptions on what had happened and who the culprit was. Based on their
portrayals of the offender and other evidences combined, the police then use tactics such as
photospreads and lineups for the eyewitnesses to identify the possible suspects. The photospreads
involves the use of 6–12 photographs while the lineups has a group of 5–8 people standing in a
linear line in front of the eye witness. Both methods are actively used by police officers to ensure
that the eyewitnesses have accurate picture of the culprit rather than mere guesses and doing so, it
increases the police confidentiality in convicting the right suspect. Unfortunately, the mistaken
eyewitness identification is responsible for 52% of entire wrongful convictions in criminal justice
system (Wells &Seelau, 1995, pg. 765). To help my audience better understand the

How Does Eyewitness Influence Eye-Up Identification?
Lineup identifications can yield biases through the lineup administrator's insight and biased
instructions which influences an eyewitness' decision. An administrator's knowledge refers to their
awareness of the suspect's identity during the line–up identification process (Quas, 2017). The
advance knowledge can potentially influence the eyewitness to choose a suspect from the lineup
even if they are absent. Lindsay et al. (1997) reveal that witnesses tend to identify a lineup member
that closely resembles the suspect from their memory. If the eyewitness is aware of the
administrator's advanced knowledge, they can be pressured to identify a suspect. For example, the
eyewitness may be inclined to choose a member from the lineup because they

Essay on Eyewitness Identification and Reliable Testimony
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 innocent people to prison, and changes are being made in order to reform these faulty
identification procedures. Human memory is flexible and prone to suggestion. "Human memory,
while remarkable in many ways, does not operate like a video camera" ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Research that has been performed on this factor shows that the chance of mistaken identification is
1.56 times greater in cases that involve different races than in cases involving same race
identification (Vallas, 2011). This factor of own–race bias does not vary significantly among age
groups. Other factors that affect eyewitness identification are violence, stress, and the focus on a
weapon. "Violence, stress, and the presence of a weapon at the time of a crime all may have
detrimental effects on the ability of a witness to make an accurate identification" (Vallas, 2011).
Stress distorts an eyewitness's observations, and while it is understandable to focus on the weapon
when faced with a situation in which the eyewitness is in danger, the focus on the weapon is not as
important as the description of the perpetrator. Since it is not within the power of researchers
studying the effects of violence and stress on witnesses to replicate the exact stress and violence of
an actual crime, it has been difficult to determine the actual effect that these two factors have on
witnesses (Vallas, 2011). However, many experiments conclude that an increase in the level of
violence used in the crime results in a decrease in both the accuracy of the identification as well as
the witness's recall abilities (Vallas, 2011). Weapon focus is described as

Misidentification Case Study Examples
Very interesting post. Misidentification of citizens is the most troubling mode of identification of a
possible suspect. For an example, an incident occurred in Richmond, Va, is an example of police
lineups going wrong. Michael Kenneth McAlister, 58 was convicted of the February 1986,
abduction and attempted rape of a woman who was dragged at knifepoint from an apartment
complex laundry room in Richmond. The victim identified McAlister as the attacker from a photo
lineup that did not include a picture of a now known serial rapist, Norman Bruce Derr, who lived
nearby and bore a strong resemblance to McAlister. The wrongful conviction was based on a classic
case of misidentification. The victim fought off her attacker and was able to get

Miranda V. Arizona 1966
Miranda v. Arizona (1966) Facts: Ernesto Miranda was charged for rape and kidnapping and was
identified by the victim during a police lineup. He was later interrogated in police custody without
being informed his fifth and sixth amendment rights. As a result, he did not have an attorney present
with him and did not know of self–incrimination. Issues: "Does interrogation without informing the
accused of their right to counsel and protection against self–incrimination violate his/her Fifth and
Sixth Amendment rights?" Decision: (5–4) Yes, unless there are demonstrated "procedural
safeguards" that can effectively secure the Fifth Amendment rights of the accused, the prosecution
may not use any statements from questioning after the accused is

The Causes And Effects Of False Memory
False memory can occur for many different reasons. Some factors include; that the human brain is
very susceptible to suggestion, and the "misinformation and misattribution of the original source of
the information. Existing knowledge and other memories can also interfere with the formation of a
new memory, causing the recollection of an event to be mistaken or entirely false." (VERYWELL
CITE). For instance, memory researcher Elizabeth Loftus conducted experiments in the mid–
seventies on the effect of third parties incorporating false facts to memories. "Subjects were shown a
slide of a car at an intersection with either a yield sign or a stop sign. Experimenters asked
participants questions, falsely introducing the term "stop sign" into the question instead of referring
to the yield sign participants had actually seen. Similarly, experimenters falsely substituted the term
"yield sign" in questions directed to participants who had actually seen the stop sign slide. The
results indicated that subjects remembered seeing the false image. The introduction of false cues
altered participants' memories." (STANFORD JOURNAL).
Then there is an original memory. By definition, an original memory is "the process of interpretation
that occurs at the very formation of memory–thus introducing distortion from the beginning.
Furthermore, witnesses can distort their own memories without the help of examiners, police
officers or lawyers." (STANFORD JOURNAL). Our memory can be affected by us

How Does The Brain Malfunctions Affect The Justice System?
Throughout history, there have been many misjudgments, mistakes, and wrongful accusations
toward people from various different factors. A great deal of controversy has been directed towards
the criminal justice system in which scientists pose questions on whether or not the procedures are
valid. It is imperative to understand how the brain malfunctions regarding to memory
reconstruction, encoding failures, and other environmental factors that negatively impact the justice
system. One of the procedures called lineups or photo arrays are used in order to have eyewitnesses
identify a subject guilty of a crime. In the lineups, subjects are lined up while the accuser has to
choose an individual that they believe committed the crime. Using the same idea with the photo
arrays, the victim will choose from a set of pictures of subjects (Weir, 2016). Many scientists
question the validity of eyewitnesses because of all these factors that impact memories. This has
lead to a substantial amount of wrongfully convicted individuals by the eyewitness which is a huge
issue in the system (Weir, 2016). It is crucial to be knowledgeable of the factors that can impede
memory. The person that actually committed the crime should be held responsible for their actions,
not only for justice, but for the safety of others as well. There are many factors to consider when
psychologists and scientists are trying to figure out reliability of eyewitness testimony. The ability to
recall or

Prosecutorial Misconduct
Clearly, mistaken or deliberate manipulations even of minor details can impede the accurate
reconstruction of an event and possibly incriminate innocent suspects. Importantly, the present
findings indicate that a large proportion of eyewitness fail to detect such mistakes. Nevertheless, one
may object that the records of identification decisions are unlikely to be incorrect or that witnesses
usually sign their names next to the photo of the identified suspect. Considering how often
professionals make procedural errors (e.g., erroneous matches of bullets, foot– and fingerprints;
Saks & Koehler, 2005) and the impact of biases due to contextual influences in the forensic science
(Kassin, Dror, & Kukucka, 2013), we posit that such a scenario is not all that unrealistic. In
exacerbation to this issue, the report on prosecutorial misconduct cases compiled by the Northern
California Innocence Project sides with the idea of altered identification decisions and tempered
with testimony in real investigations (NCIP; Ridolfi & Possley, 2010). The report reveals 4,000
cases of alleged misconduct, in 707 of which the courts explicitly established that the prosecutors
deliberately mishandled, mistreated or destroyed evidence. Thus, errors in the recording of ... Show
more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Even under the speedy trial act as applied in the US judicial system trials begin the earliest 90–120
days after the arrest of the suspect (Shermer, Rose, & Hoffman, 2011). This is worrying considering
the increasing blindness rates with longer delays (Chapters 3 & 7). The findings of the present
dissertation suggest that by the time witnesses are questioned in court, a large proportion would fail
to realise that they are sitting in front of the wrong defendant or that their statements contain

Wrongful Conviction In The Criminal Justice System
Wrong Person
Melissa Wyrick
Remington College
Wrong Person
Some defendants plead guilty of a crime, they did not commit in order to avoid a long prison
sentence. A wrong conviction is a terrible injustice that is magnified when an actually innocent
spends years in prison or even on death row (Wrongful Convictions , n.d.). Actual innocent prisoner
suffers highly psychological disorders and anxiety disorder than the guilty prisoners. Cause of
wrongful conviction of eyewitness identification, DNA and police investigation. First, the human
memory does not record all information like a video recorder. Mistaken eyewitness testimony is one
of the major causes of wrong conviction. Events of crimes, will have so much stress or focus on a
weapon, than the face of criminal (Wrongful Convictions , n.d.). The victim's or eyewitness's
memory can be changed with an easy simple suggestion. Police procedure dealing with key
witnesses by a "show up". This is showing the suspect in a physical or a picture line up. The
confidence of accuracy of identification and exhibited by the witness is a "crucial determinant of
believability" by jurors (Furman, 2003). The best result of eyewitness testimony is taken
identification immediately. The ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University to
assist prisoners who could be proven innocent through DNA testing, become a necessary feature of
the criminal justice analysis. Adoption of injustice, but will also improve the quality and
professionalism of criminal justice participate. As Judge Learned Hand stated, "Our procedure
(criminal justice) has always been haunted by the ghost of the innocent man convicted. It is an
unreal dream." For every innocent person wrongfully convicted, a guilty person roams free
(Furman,

Antonio Beaver Research Paper
Antonio Beaver was a normal, family–loving person, never having committed a crime, and had a
great life. But on August 15th, 1996, a carjacking took place in a parking lot in St. Louis, Missouri.
Antonio Beaver was a man who believed in himself and didn't stop at nothing to prove his
innocence. He was wrongfully accused of committing the crime because of the vague description
given to the police by the victim.
To explain the crime, the criminal involved in the crime tricked the woman into getting in her car by
impersonating a parking attendant. He stole the woman's purse and car keys and drove off with the
woman's vehicle. During the carjacking, the man tried to attack the woman with a screwdriver
which resulted in the criminal being stabbed. ("Antonio Beaver"). The victim gave a very vague
description of the criminal, mentioning that he was african american, was wearing a baseball cap,
was 5'10, had crooked teeth, and had facial hair. ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Louis police force who believed that Beaver best fit the description that was given by the victim.
Although Beaver was taller and had more facial hair than what was said in the initial description of
the actual criminal, the description was close enough for the police to take him into custody. Beaver
voluntarily participated in a lineup, and mainly because Beaver was wearing a baseball cap, which
was said to be worn by the criminal the day of the crime, he was chosen out of the lineup ("This
feels strange to have my freedom' Man cleared on DNA evidence is

A Brief Note On Unfair Police On The American Criminal...
Unfair police lineups have become a rising issue in the American criminal justice system in recent
years. More specifically, unfair police lineups have made witnesses and victims more susceptible to
confuse innocent and guilty suspects in a criminal trial. There is a series of research and
experimental research that has been done on this topic in recent years that have proven this
hypothesis to hold true in many cases. Some research suggests that often times, the witness or
identifier on the stand in a trial, does not necessarily "confuse" the suspect in the lineup, rather he or
she makes a faulty decision based on his own biased opinions. Whether the victim or the person
identifying the accuser is bias about physical appearance, verbal resonance, or another personal
reason, it has been proven to be extremely unfair for those people involved in police lineups who are
truly innocent. The research that was examined in this study compared fair lineups with unfair
lineups and as a result, the two data corresponded with one another when analyzed.
The hypothesis in this instance is that unfair police lineups make witnesses more likely to confuse
innocent and guilty suspects. After further studying the provided research on this respective topic, it
is stated that a typical police lineup is made up of an un–predetermined number of possible
"suspects" with one obviously being the true suspect who is guilty of said crime. The other people
who are a part of the lineup are in no way

Cultural
Cultural Considerations
Cultural diversity is normal in society today. People come from different races, cultures, and
backgrounds. People have to learn the importance of respecting the culture of others. Everyone can
learn from others. Superiority does not exist because of an individual's culture. Some people from
different cultural backgrounds believe that he or she is better than others but this is an untruth.
Cultural concerns can have a negative influence on justice and security administration. Stereotyping
because of an individual's culture is a problem in society. Good people exist in every race and so do
not so good people. One person of a specific culture making a mistake does not mean that the entire
culture of people will make ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The community needs to believe that he or she can trust police officers.
When people believe that he or she is being treated fairly he or she is more likely not to cooperate.
The police need the help of the community and the community needs the police to protect him or
her. The community and the police need to support each other and learn to develop a positive
rapport. In many communities the police are thought of as the enemy. This needs to change for the
police officer and other law enforcement agencies to effectively do his or her job.
Sir Robert Peel could use the principles to organize a police department today. The mission of police
is to protect and serve the public. If police gain the trust of the community it will make his or her job
easier. Members of the community will provide helpful information to police officers who will keep
the neighborhood safe. Gaining the trust of the public can be difficult, but it can be done.
Police officers should be visible in the community at all times and not just come out and talk people
when a crime has been committed. The public will be less likely to help the police if he or she only
speaks and is courteous when information is needed. Police should keep his or her personal opinions
to themselves. If a member of the community tells the police that he or she does not have any
information the police should be courteous and thank the person anyway.
The nine principles are guidelines to good policing.

Bennett Barbour Case Study Essay
CASE STUDY #2: Bennett Barbour
Ronald Cotton's case study is only one from hundreds of people who have been sent to jail for a
crime they did not commit. Bennett Barbour, a 22–year–old man whose wife was pregnant with
their first child was put in jail even when all the evidence was going against him except for the
eyewitness. On February 7, 1978, a nineteen–year–old girl and Mary were sexually assaulted at
gunpoint. After the incident, the victim called the police and gave a detailed description of the
assailant. She told them that he weighed about 145 pounds and was about 5'6 tall. A week passed by
and the victim was called to identify the assailant out of the photo lineup she chose Bennett's photo,
and then she chose him again from the live lineups. The next day ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
After Barbour was arrested, the police did many tests with him, the hair found at the crime scene did
not match Barbour's. The victim's Blood type of A, while Barbour's blood group of type B. Barbours
did not match the victim's initial description and no physical evidence supports his presence at the
crime scene. At the final trial, all the evidence was going against Barbour except for the eyewitness
of the victim. The investigators from the case still had doubts on Barbour's guilt and continued to
investigate further. After spending almost five years in prison, Barbour was released on parole the
first time he came up for consideration. Soon after he was released on parole, the

Barry Gibbs Criminal Case
The case I chose is about a man named Barry Gibbs. He was convicted of a crime he did not commit
in New York City. On November 4, 1986, a body of an African American woman was discovered
under a blanket. She was found near a Brooklyn highway and was strangled to death. A man named
Louis Eppolito was the lead investigator in the case. He interviewed a man that had been jogging
near the scene of the crime. The jogger told the investigator that he observed a white man pull out
the African American woman out of a car, laid her on the ground, and put a blanket over her. Louis
Eppolito found out that Barry Gibbs was a friend of the woman. Barry Gibbs decided to be a part of
the lineup and let the police inspect his apartment. In his apartment, police found red jeans similar to
what eyewitnesses said the offender was wearing. Yet, those jeans did not even fit Mr. Gibbs. The
police also noticed that Mr. Gibbs had a gray car similar to the offender's car. However, Mr. Gibbs
car was wrecked with two flat tires and had not been driven for a while. During the period of the
police lineup, the witness pointed out Mr. Gibbs as the suspect regardless of having physical
differences in weight and stature. Moreover, a park police officer told the police that he did see the
offender, but he was never asked to identify the offender in a lineup. An autopsy was performed on
the victim's body and hair samples were found that shown Caucasian characteristics. For the trial,
the prosecution's

The Massachusetts Police Department Of North Carolina
On July 28th of 1984, Jennifer Thompson–Cannino, a 22–year–old college student and another
woman was both brutally raped at knife point. During the attack, Thompson was attentive of her
attacker's appearance and anything else notable so if she survived the attack, she could assure the
rapist would be caught and punished (prosecuted). Within a few days of the attack, the Burlington
Police Department of North Carolina had determined a suspect through the composite Thompson
made and arrested Ronald J. Cotton on August 1, of 1984. Thompson was able to identify Cotton
under photo identification and then successfully chose him again in the physical line–up. The second
victim, however did not chose Cotton in either of the lineups.
Cotton went to trial in January of 1985. The evidence included Thompson's photo and physical
lineup identification, Thompson's composite sketch, a flashlight found in Cotton's house that
resembled the one used in the second victim's assault, and a piece of rubber from the sole of Cotton's
shoe that was consistent with the rubber found on the crime scene. Cotton was convicted by a jury
of one count each of first degree rape, first degree sexual offense and first degree breaking and
entering and was sentenced to life plus 50 years. On an appeal, the North Carolina Supreme Court
overturned the 1985 conviction because the second victim had not selected Cotton from either
lineup and the court had not allowed that fact into evidence at the time, allowing

My Mistakes In My Life
My mistakes and life have been just growing with me as I move further into my life. I have had so
much mistakes ever since I was a baby. I am really clumsy which makes it easy for me to make tons
of mistakes. I thought this would be an interesting topic because you learn from failure and just got
to accept that fact.
The Mistakes I Made as a Baby/Toddler:
The only way I knew of all these mistakes I made as a baby was because my parents recorded
everything when I was a baby. I was an angry baby my parents said because whenever they took a
picture of me I would be making my "angry baby face".
My family and baby me went to a park and, of course, my parents were recording me. I was a mad
as usual for no reason. I ran away with my chubby little baby legs. My parents were freaking out
because they couldn't spot where I was until... THUMP!
I bumped into a hotdog stand and fell on the ground. I started crying like the huge baby I was. My
parents to this day don't trust what I am doing when I start to wander off.
Another mistake I have made in my baby life is, I was at a funeral, my parents were being respectful
so they didn't record me. I was around 3, my parents say, I wanted for them to carry me but, my
parents didn't want to. Baby me was, of course, angry because my parents didn't want to carry me.
And I started crawling in the aisle so no one can see me. It was super easy to see me, and my parents
started having a panic attack because they had no clue where I was heading to. My parents were
surrounded by people so they couldn't run over to me and grab me, quickly. Also, my parents were
going crazy and when that happens you don't think of the simplest ideas. My brother, though, could
get around the crowd and most likely reach me before I did anything dumb.
My brother starts crawling through all the people trying to reach me. Just imagine this, you see a 3
year old crawling towards the altar and then you see a 8 year old about 5 feet behind that baby. My
baby eyes saw that my brother was behind me and as the smart baby I was I start going in different
directions. My brother finally stands up and sees what I am doing. He starts lunging towards me so
he can reach me faster. If he was just one foot closer he

Research Paper On Eyewitnesses
Hi Jeannette,
I really enjoyed your post. I agree with what you wrote that people's minds are malleable and fragile
that can affect what people remember. I thought it was interesting that when an eyewitness is
interviewed alone about a specific crime they report most details at a 70% accuracy. But when
eyewitnesses are allowed to confer with other eyewitnesses, their ability to recall the details of the
incident drops to 30% (Wells & Olson, 2002). So, even in the very beginning of an investigation,
eyewitnesses should be separated to avoid contaminating their minds with fallacies. Also, I think
media plays a huge role in sabotaging potential eyewitnesses because of their power of suggestion.
Even the police have been known to use cues

Reaction Paper : Picking Cotton
Reaction Paper: Picking Cotton
Background Story
On July 28th of 1984, Jennifer Thompson–Cannino, a 22–year–old college student and another
woman was both brutally raped at knife point. During the attack, Thompson was attentive of her
attacker's appearance and anything else notable so if she survived the attack, she could assure the
rapist would be caught and punished (prosecuted). Within a few days of the attack, the Burlington
Police Department of North Carolina had determined a suspect through the composite Thompson
made and arrested Ronald J. Cotton on August 1, of 1984. Thompson was able to identify Cotton
under photo identification and then successfully chose him again in the physical line–up. The second
victim, however did not chose Cotton in either of the lineups.
lineup identification, Thompson's composite sketch, a flashlight found in Cotton's house that
resembled the one used in the second victim's assault, and a piece of rubber from the sole of Cotton's
shoe that was consistent with the rubber found on the crime scene. Cotton was convicted by a jury
of one count each of first degree rape, first degree sexual offense and first degree breaking and
entering and was sentenced to life plus 50 years. On an appeal, the North Carolina Supreme Court
overturned the 1985 conviction because the second victim had not selected Cotton from either
lineup and the court had not allowed

A Short Story : A Story?
It has been 2 days since the Jacuzzi incident between me and Connor. Connor has been acting like
he is a little agitated with me. It has also been a week and four days since I last walked through the
doors of Dogwood High though. (a.k.a hell on Earth.) I walked through the front doors of the school
a little later in the evening. Everyone looked at me like they thought I disappeared or something, I
guess no one told them what happened to me. Connor avoids me during school so no one knows
what's really going on between us. Blair spotted me out of all of the crowd of people, I don't know
how she does it but she did. As soon as Blair saw me she hugged me tightly, "Were have you been
Hun?" I think I am going to tell Blair but I don't know. I might of found someone to be in a
relationship with, got hit by a car, and stayed a whole week in someone's house with someone else
in the same bed with me. Blair's jaw dropped, "What did you just say?" I explained all of the details
and everything except who I was with. "Wow, this guy sounds amazing." He is, as I looked out of
the corner of my eye and spotted Conner and grinned.
During Lunch Damien, and Dedrick had spotted me. I had no idea were Grey was. "Hey queer you
have missed out on your beatings lately." said Dedrick. Yes that is correct, I announced nervously.
They backed me into a corner in the lunch room, all eyes were on me. Then they started to kick my
ribs. I saw Connor watching with a

When I Witnesses Talk
The article, When I Witnesses Talk, covers the issue of eyewitness testimonies and their reliability
with memory conformity. Often when two people experience the same event they both have very
different recollections of the occurrence. One event within the journal article incorporates the
murder of Jill Dando, within this investigation there was a lineup where 16 witnesses were asked to
identify the suspect, where only 1 of the 16 witnesses recognized him. The police conducted a
second lineup where for example one witness stated that they were 95% sure that the suspect that
they identified was at the scene of the crime, yet in the original lineup that person was unable to
identify anyone from the lineup. One key piece of information was discovered, ... Show more
Although at times it can be unreliable, the function of it makes us who we are. Currently in
Psychology 1100, we are learning about memory, which ties into the article completely. Short–term
memory and long–term memory, two important parts of a humans recollection. Short–term memory
lasts less than 30 seconds then disappears, the mind chooses what to remember, it takes what is
important and processes it to long–term memory. On a daily basis many don't memorize what their
friend was wearing, but we have in long–term memory what their physical features are, height,
weight, age, build, etc., this allows us to easily recognize who they are and therefore we remember
it. With strangers it's entirely unnecessary to remember what clothes they're wearing or what they
look like because there is nothing connecting you to them, now if something occurs where you ran
into them or had an awkward conversation, your mind would remember it because it was personal
and that memory will continue to replay within one's mind. Now a crime occurs where you were
waiting in line at a store and someone robbed the place, you would barely remember what they
looked like because you were maybe more focused on your safety and only had a glance, yet some
people even without knowing who robbed the store would give a testimony that is presumably false.
One aspect I don't understand is how some investigations and cases solely rely on witness testimony
and so many people have been falsely accused because they were "seen" at the crime by a bystander
who had very little recollection of the story and pieced in the rest of the information through a
schema that they had. With some many of these occurrences it would be a surprise to me if any
investigation continued to rely on a witness testimony unless that witness is someone who was
trained on remembering these events. I assume articles similar to these give more insight and a
compelling argument to

Research Paper On Eyewitness
Eyewitness identification reliability has always been scrutinized by many people. The reliability
issues can come not only from memory deficits but also from the way in which they are presented
with a photo lineup. This study was designed to identify the differences, if they existed, between the
two presentation methods of photo lineups. The sequential lineup presentation was originally
designed to deter "[a] witness from making 'relative judgments' in which [they] compare lineup
members with each other and then show a propensity to identify the person who looks most like
their memory" (Wells 2). The study was conducted to help determine the most reliable way to
present lineups to witnesses. The study was conducted using a software designed ... Show more
While Tuscan, AZ and San Diego, CA both experienced technically issues with both the software
and the photo database. These two limitations meant that a disproportionate amount of the data came
from Austin, TX. Implications of this study for the Criminal Justice system was that there was a
minimal difference between the sequential and simultaneous procedures. Another limitation is that
"four out of every 10 witnesses who made an identification from a simultaneous lineup identified a
filler and three out of every 10 identified a filler from a sequential lineup" (Wells 12). One
possibility is that the witnesses were unable to identify the suspect due to the "photos of the culprits
failed to adequately capture the culprits' appearances" (Wells 13), for either quality or out of date

Examples Of False Identification
The witness is not visible to those in the lineup. The witness is asked to identify which, if any, of the
individuals committed the crime. A lineup places greater demands on the memory of the witness
than does a viewing of a single suspect, and is believed to reduce the chances of a false
identification. For example, assume a witness saw a man with a beard and a cap run across an alley
near a crime scene. If the police show this witness one man who has a beard and a cap, the witness
might make a positive identification. If they instead show the witness several men with a beard and
a cap, the witness must make a more detailed identification and may not identify the same man.
Identification procedure have challenges on four primary grounds ,

Background Story : The Jersey Police Department
Background Story
In July of 1984, Jennifer Thompson–Cannino, a 22–year–old college student and another woman
were both brutally raped at knife point on the same night (wc). During the attack, Thompson made a
"very concerted effort to pay attention to facial features" (Citation book) (should I reword so I don't
have to quote?) and anything else notable so if she survived the attack, she could assure the rapist
would be caught and punished (prosecuted). Within a few days of the attack, the Burlington Police
Department had determined a suspect through the composite Thompson had made and arrested
Ronald J. Cotton on August 1, of 1984. Thompson was able to identify Cotton under photo
identification and then successfully chose him again in the physical line–up. The second victim
however, did not chose Cotton in either of the lineups.
lineup identification, Thompson's composite sketch (check in audio), a flashlight found in Cotton's
house that resembled the one used in the second victim's assault, and a piece of rubber from the sole
of Cotton's shoe that was consistent with the rubber found on the crime scene. Cotton was convicted
by a jury of one count of first degree rape, first degree sexual offense and first degree breaking and
entering and was sentenced to life plus 50 years (WC). On an appeal, the North Carolina Supreme
Court overturned the 1985 conviction because the second victim

The Segregation Of The Criminal Justice System
Throught our hundreds of prisons in the United States, there are people who have been convicted of
crimes that they did in fact not commit. And even with groups like the Justice Project doing their
best to free these men and women, there will always be indivuduals who will serve a sentence meant
for someone else. At the beginning of the semester, we were given a book on such a case titled
Picking Cotton. Picking Cotton is more than just a book on a man who was wrongfully convicted of
rape. It's a book on the injustices faced by people everyday in the criminal justice system. While we
may not to admit it, the majority of people who are facing these injustices are people of color. It was
taught to us in class that as much as 60% of our prisons are populated by people of color. Our justice
system, while it may be unintentional, is unequal when it comes to the treatment of whites and the
treatment of people of color. Picking Cotton goes on to explain not only the unjustices that were
faced by the defendandt, Ronald Cotton, but also the poor police work and innaporopriate
treatement of Ronald throught the whole process. The New York Times bestselling book Picking
Cotton is a true story on how the justice system sometimes can be very wrong. It all started when a
young college student, Jennifer Thompson was fast asleep in her college dorm room. She awoke to a
stranger in her room wielding a knife. This individual brutally raped her while holding a knife to her
throat. Most people

Juvenile Females At The Boyer 's Getting Fuel
While at the Boyer 's getting fuel, two juvenile females came to me to report a suspicious male. The
females identified themselves as Patricia Moncrief and Hayley Stachowski. The juvenile females
stated there is a male that had been parked outside the Domino 's for a while stalking a female
worker. The juvenile females stated the worker was told to call the police but she did not. The
females stated a male Domino 's worker came outside to confront the male and the male moved his
vehicle to the Boyer 's side parking lot and remained there. The juvenile females pointed the vehicle
out to me, which I observed and the male sitting inside the vehicle, I identified that male as Pena
Jose. Pena started his vehicle and drove away. The ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Gregg stated she was very afraid of Hernando and was afraid that if she did not comply with him he
would grab her and drag her into the vehicle, so she got into the vehicle with him. Gregg explained
Hernando then drove down W. Centre St. and turned left onto S. Vine St. Hernando then turned onto
W. Oak St. off of S. Vine St. Gregg stated Hernando drove a block on W. Oak St. and stopped.
Gregg stated Hernando pointed and said this is my house. Gregg stated the area where Hernando
was pointed was to the rear of a house that was on the corner of W. Oak St. and S. Catherine St.
Gregg stated she told Hernando that she has to go to work, Hernando then asked if she works at
Domino 's because of her uniform. Gregg stated Hernando then began to drive her to work, while
driving her she identified the area of W. New York St. where Hernando stopped and tried to kiss her.
Gregg stated Hernando stopped the vehicle and put his hand on her neck while leaning in to kiss her.
Gregg stated she told Hernando, no and she pulled her head away. Gregg stated Hernando then
drove her right to the front of Domino 's.
Gregg stated when Hernando stopped the vehicle in front of Domino 's he asked her what time she is
done working. Gregg stated she told Hernando whenever they let her go. Gregg stated Hernando
then put his hand on her neck again, leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. Gregg stated while
Hernando did this she was saying no to

Ronald Cotton Case Study
Ronald Cotton was exonerated in 1995 after spending 10 years in prison for crimes he did not
commit. His convictions were mainly based on eye witness testimony, which ended up being false.
In 1995 new evidence arose proving Cottons innocence and he was released from prison.
In July of 1984 someone broke into Jennifer Thompsons house and sexually assaulted her, after that
that same man broke into another woman's home and did the same thing. Jennifer says in an
interview, "I was just trying to pay attention to detail, so that if I survived... I'd be able to help the
police catch him." The police didn't have much to go on to catch the assailant, therefore evidence
was largely based on Thompsons eyewitness testimony. A flashlight found in Cottons

Eyewitness Misidentification In The Criminal Justice System
Introduction
Since the development of DNA evidence, More than 300 people have been exonerated in the United
states alone, since 1989 as a result of eyewitness misidentification (Hsu, cited in Wixted et al, 2015).
Consequently, The Innocence Project was founded in 1992 to assist those individuals who have been
wrongfully convicted. The organization claims that over 70% of overturned cases are the result of
eyewitness misidentification (Innocenceproject.org, n.d.). Whilst this is American data, it
illuminates the tragedy that can emanate from such an unreliable element of the justice system. This
essay will argue that eyewitness identification
System and estimator variables will be discussed, both of which can significantly alter memory and
... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
For the small police agency with work force constraints, a method called the "folder shuffle" can be
utilized to effectively blind the administrator. Lineup composition
"Fillers" (the non–suspects included in a lineup) should resemble the eyewitness' description of the
perpetrator. Further, the suspect should look similar to the fillers (for example, he should not be the
only member of his race in the lineup, or the only one with facial hair). Eyewitnesses should also not
view more than one identification procedure with the same suspect. Instructions:
The person viewing the lineup should be told that the perpetrator may or may not be in the lineup
and that the investigation will continue regardless of the lineup result. This reduces the pressure on
the witness of feeling like they have to pick a perpetrator. The witness should also be told not to
look to the administrator for guidance. Confidence

Eyewitness Evidence Analysis
Professor Farris, eyewitness evidence is not perfect; however, law enforcement agencies still use
lineups, show–ups, and photographic arrays today. The professionals have taken a closer look at
eyewitness evidence, precisely at the effectiveness of identifying suspects from lineups and
photographic arrays. Law enforcement officers in the United States investigate millions of crimes
per year; considering, a percentage of law enforcement agencies investigate crimes that involve the
use of police arranged identification procedures. "The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) has initiated
a multisite field experiment of eyewitness evidence to examine the effectiveness and the accuracy of
the crucial and influential component of the Nation's Criminal ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
(Hall, 2014) There has been controversy among law enforcement officials, prosecutors, defense
attorneys, and researchers over reliable sources to obtain reliable eyewitness evidence using police
lineups, show–ups, and photographic arrays. (Schuster, 2007) Data collected from photographic
arrays and live lineups in urban, suburban, and semi–rural areas by law enforcement agencies
revealed that the double–blind sequential process resulted in a higher rate of false identifications and
a lower rate of "suspect picks" in lineups. (Schuster, 2007). Law enforcement agencies usually
restrict show–ups to a two–hour period; however, delaying the show–ups may defeat the purpose
causing misidentification. Researchers studies have shown that photo lineups (mug shots) are most
commonly used by 94%, lineups are used 21%, and show–ups area are used 61%; therefore, many
local, states, and federal law enforcement agencies have adopted policies and practices to address
the issue of misidentification. (Assessing Eyewitness Identification,

The Problem With Eyewitness Testimony Essay

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

More from Angela Weber

More from Angela Weber (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

The Problem With Eyewitness Testimony Essay