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Eyewitnesses
Eyewitness Testimony and Identification
Ethan Smith
CJUS 640
Sharon Mullane
02/10/2022
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Eyewitnesses
Abstract
The testimony and identification of eyewitnesses are seen as unreliable. This issue is due to
certain factors such as memory, stress, contamination, and more. The contamination of witnesses
happens often and can lead to misidentifications. The Manson Criteria and change blindness also
pose challenges to eyewitness testimony and identification. Changes need to occur with
protocols and policies to prevent eyewitness testimony and identification issues. These changes
include the double-blind lineups where neither the administrator nor witness knows who the
actual suspect is, less contamination feedback from the administrator to the witness, lineups that
include people that match the description from the witness, informing the witness that the
suspect may not be in the lineup and more. Eyewitness testimony is crucial because it is one of
the primary forms of evidence presented at trial and can lead to the wrongful conviction of an
innocent person.
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Eyewitnesses
Introduction
