EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION AND TESTIMONY
Eyewitness Identification and Testimony Research Paper
Nancy D. LeSueur
Helms School of Government, Liberty University
Author Note
Nancy D LeSueur
I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Email: ndlesueur@liberty.edu
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EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION AND TESTIMONY
Abstract
In criminal cases any kind of evidence is very important. One element that is very important is,
having eyewitnesses with good testimony. Having people that saw exactly what happened or
heard something can bring key factors to a case to light in the court of law. But on another note,
if one eyewitness did not see things perceived the right way, their testimony will be no good.
This paper will discuss competency of an eyewitness, history of eyewitness, central issues, and
Christian view. While Jesus walked here on earth, His followers studied and learned from His
actions and words.[ CITATION Wal18 \l 1033 ]
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EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION AND TESTIMONY
Eyewitness Identification and Testimony Research Paper
Eyewitness identification can be described as a witness that recalls a perpetrator of a
crime. Having an eyewitness is very important to a case because what and who the witness can
identify can be very crucial evidence to case when it comes to court. An attorney can use an
eyewitness to speak about the act that they may have witnessed to help conclude if a suspect is
guilty or innocent. Human memory can be questionable on information as well as the
environment. One may think that they remember what occurred a certain way but really did not.
“It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony”. (1 John 5:9)
The history of eyewitness testimony goes back to decades and using people to testify in
court against a defendant. Studies have shown that eyewitness testimony have helped and some
have been found that they have had no sufficient evidence at all. Eyewitness testimony occupies
a prominent place in the criminal justice system. According to a 1988 survey of court
prosecutors, an estimated 77,000 suspects are arrested each year based on eyewitness testimony.
[ CITATION Con22 \l 1033 ]
The History
Eyewitness testimony may sometimes be unreliable and may be misrepresetated during a
trial. The witness’s clear insights of what they witnessed should be accurate despite of the
perception. If an eyewitness is found to have unreliable information this could lead to wrongful
convictions. In recent years, and with increasing frequency, psychologists have served as expert
witnesses in trials that contain possible erroneous eyewitness identifications. To assess the extent
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EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION AND TESTIMONY
to which there is "general acceptance “of various eyewitness phenomena within the scientific
community (a criterion for the admissibility of scientific evidence, initially enunciated in Frye v.
United States,1923), Kassin, Ellsworth, and Smith (1989) surveyed 63 eyewitness experts for
their views on the reliability of 19 propositions.[ CITATION Kas01 \l 1033 ]
As the years have gone on, the research that has been conducted pertaining to eyewitness
testimony has shown that the evidence has been found unreliable and has contributed to wrongful
convictions. The memory of the eyewitness can become “contaminated” and really not seen like
the scene really was or how the eyewitness remembers it. Eyewitnesses are susceptible ae to
recollecting that they experienced an event in a way that is consistent with false information
provided to them after the event. The effect is commonly called the misinformation effect.
Because jurors tend to find eyewitness testimony compelling and persuasive, it is argued that
jurors are likely to give inappropriate credence to eyewitness testimony, judging it to be reliable
when it is not.[ CITATION Pud20 \l 1033 ]
The modern test for the admissibility of eyewitness testimony at a criminal trial under the
Due Process Clause was established by the U.S. Supreme Court in Manson v. Brathwaite in
1977. [ CITATION Nja17 \l 1033 ] Throughout history, it has been found that eyewitness
testimony has upheld in court and help when there is a lack of physical evidence. Some state and
federal courts are divided and wonder if eyewitness testimony is reliable depending on the
circumstances. In most courts in this day and time, eyewitness testimony that is accepted is at the
discretion of the judge who is hearing the case.
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EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION AND TESTIMONY
Competency
The competency of an eyewitness is very important. The person in question to be an
eyewitness need to be mentally capable to perceive situations, remember, and narrate what they
may have saw during a certain incident. The person must have sufficient information that
pertains to the incident in question. Several studies have investigated the impact of competence
heterogeneity on majority reconstructions, but their predictions have differed. In most studies,
groups were considered heterogeneous when the competences of the group members were
unequal, and a crowd was said to be wise if the majority reconstruction matched an a priori
known outcome.[ CITATION deP17 \l 1033 ]
Every person should have the ability to be competent as an eyewitness. They should have
the ability to perceive, recall, narrate, and understand the oath of telling the truth while on stand
in the court of law. Every person who is an eyewitness is competent unless the court decides
otherwise. This could be because the person in question to be the eye witness is incompetent due
to a mental illness or defect that will affect the way that they will testify. No mental or moral
qualifications for testifying as a witness are specified. Standards of mental capacity have proved
elusive in actual application.[ CITATION Nja17 \l 1033 ]
Mistaken Identification
One of the biggest leading factors in eyewitness testimony is mistaken identity. Mistaken
identity is defined as a defense in criminal law which claims the actual innocence of the criminal
defendant, when trying to determine evidence. An eyewitness may have seen something incorrect
or saw someone else. When this happens this is a huge game changer when it comes to the case
at hand.
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EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION AND TESTIMONY
A mistaken identity can happen and has happened often especially when older adults are
witnesses. Older adults do not comprehend as good as they once did, they cannot see as good as
they once could, and putting factors together may be difficult as one gets older.
When a mistaken identity to a crime occurs, DNA testing can be done to help a wrongful
conviction or the defendant can provide an alibi. If the defendant at question was in another
location when the crime occurred, you could have an alibi testify that they were will you or
prove your whereabouts. Eyewitness evidence crucially depends on visual perception and
memory, which are quite fallible. The potential inaccuracy of eyewitness memory has been long
demonstrated in cases of wrongful conviction.[ CITATION Alb22 \l 1033 ]
Studies have shown that mistaken eyewitness testimony accounts for about half of all
wrongful convictions. Researchers at Ohio State University examined hundreds of wrongful
convictions and determined that roughly 52 percent of the errors resulted from eyewitness
mistakes.[ CITATION Con22 \l 1033 ] It is a hope that in future cases, unreliable witnesses are
“weeded” out to help prevent innocent people being convicted of crimes that they did not
commit.
Christian Worldview
God has put us all in the places we are supposed to be even if we do not understand why.
If we are placed to witness a situation good or bad, he has a lesson for us. It is very important to
follow God’s lead and be truthful at all times. For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when
we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were
eyewitnesses of His majesty. (2 Peter 1:16-17)
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EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION AND TESTIMONY
As a follower of God, we do not want to hurt one another. If an untruth or lie told another
person’s life is at stake when one testifies. We should not want to put others in harm’s way but, if
we are unsure we need to up front and honest. Some people are evil, they are the work of the
devil. We do not need those types of people ruining others’ lives for no reason. Always be willing
to tell the truth and helpful. God will lead us all in the right direction. Similarly, “to testify” is to
openly attest that something is true. When we testify or confess, we are staking a claim about the
nature of the world and humanity. [ CITATION Wal84 \l 1033 ]
In Conclusion
Eyewitness identification and testimony is very important in criminal justice cases.
Because we are all human, we are going to interrupt things differently in some good ways and
some bad. For three decades, defense attorneys have been trying unsuccessfully to present expert
testimony on eyewitness identification, which is the leading cause of wrongful convictions,” she
said. “With the court’s opinion, we can now present that evidence.”[ CITATION Shu20 \l 1033 ]
No matter how we see things, when asked we all should be up front and as honest as we can. We
do not want to put innocent people away that have not committed crimes but yet we do want to
put guilty people away that have.
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EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION AND TESTIMONY
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