Running Head; EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION AND TESTIMONY 1
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Eyewitness Identification and Testimony
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EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION AND TESTIMONY 2
EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION AND TESTIMONY
Introduction
Eyewitness identification is a significant type of evidence used in the courts to establish
an individual or a group that perpetrated a criminal act. Most often, jurors rely on such pieces of
evidence to make a decision (Constanzo & Krauss, 2018). The American constitution established
a contemporary test under its due process claim to regulate fairness in the identification of
eyewitnesses. The state and federal governments have also initiated standards on the admission
of expert evidence and jurors’ decisions to address the challenges associated with this type of
evidence to guide jurors (National Academies Press 2014). In 1967, the Supreme Court initiated
standards under the fourteenth amendment for reviewing the identification of eyewitnesses since
the reliability of the provided evidence is a vital consideration. Eyewitness is usually used in
courts to refer to a testimony given by people who witnessed a criminal event and the
perpetrators of the same. In most cases, they provide their account of committed crimes since it
is of crucial significance in an investigation and court processes. Eyewitnesses can be people
who witnessed a crime being perpetrated against them or other people to help in the
identification of a suspect. Thus, this research paper focuses on the benefits, challenges,
Christian worldview, and recommendations on eyewitness identification and testimony.
Considerations when using eyewitness
The ability of an eyewitness to correctly identify a criminal depends on the strength of
their memory to comprehend the incident. It involves three main stages, which are; encoding,
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entailing the transfer of perceptions of an eyewitness into a memory of crime (Wise & Safer,
2012). Storing of the encoded information concerning a crime that an individual witnessed or
was part, and finally, retrieval in which the eyewitness recalls the crime by attempting to
recognize the perpetrators during identification (Constanzo & Krauss, 2018). A study conducted
by Constanzo and Krauss in 2018 disclosed that three-quarters of convictions relied on
eyewitness as the only piece of evidence, and half of the cases involved a single eyewitness.
However, it is not an error-free process since it involves errors that can result in wrongful
convictions of a higher percentage of convicts than any other piece of evidence relied upon by
the jurors.
Thus, it is recommendable that accuracy, level of certainty, and duration between time
and identification should be considered. Errors originate from various spheres in this piece of
evidence relied upon by jurors; for example, in scenarios involving weapons arms, observers
tend to focus on the weapons instead of the individuals culpable for the crime (Constanzo &
Krauss, 2018). The use of eyewitness has its merits and demerits, as discussed below.
Merits of using eyewitness identification and testimony
Influences juror’s decision
The jurors play a vital role in a court hearing by establishing the credibility issues to
ascertain if the statements given by witnesses are factual or not. In most cases, the witnesses are
subjected to an oath to ensure they speak the truth before the courts to help the judiciary in
serving justice to victims and perpetrators (Wixted, Mickes, & Fisher, 2018). The attorneys and
the jury can rely on the piece of evidence provided by the eyewitness to determine if the
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defendant is guilty of the crime he or she is accused of. Thus, eyewitnesses play a crucial role in
helping the jury to serve justice after establishing the truth of the presentation by a witness.
Provide insight into the sequence of events that transpired
A criminal act involves a multiplicity of factors surrounding the scene of a crime before
the perpetrators accomplished their motives. The eyewitnesses help in shedding light on the
chronology of events that transpired when a crime was committed. The narration on the
circumstances surrounding a crime helps the attorneys to connect and understand the flow of one
incident to the other based on the testimony given by an eyewitness. An eyewitness is in a better
position to narrate how the crime was committed, who was involved, and how it happened. Such
information is necessary for establishing the motive based on the account given by the
eyewitness, which can be of great significance in influencing the decision made by the juries at
the end after assessing the credibility of the presentation.
Reliable
Most of the eyewitnesses are individuals who witnessed how a criminal act was
perpetrated as people who experienced how they committed the criminal act. Thus, it can be
relied upon as primary sources of information. Reliability can also be assured when the crime is
reported immediately, and witnesses are obtained to give their account when the incident is
evident in their memories (Gustafsson, Lindholm, & Jonsson, 2019). It implies that there is a
higher potential that the account given is more accurate enhancing reliability. Thus, pivotal in
assisting the jurors and attorneys in court to investigate, understand, and envision the incident.
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The confidence level portrayed by the witnesses persuades judges since confidence is linked to
persuasiveness and accuracy.
Can serve as a piece of evidence in court
Eyewitnesses provide a report of the incidents that took place on the day when a crime
was committed, validating its authenticity. The presentation can be used to determine when and
how a crime was perpetrated. It can also provide information to support criminal cases in courts
by establishing the used weapons; thus, availing additional information to help the court in
establishing perpetrators (Constanzo & Krauss, 2018). The obtained data can be used by the
jurors to convict the guilty suspects. Cue-utilization theory suggests that individual judgment of
their memories can be due to knowledge and beliefs about the retrieval process. In most cases,
judgments emanate from memory and the ease with which the stored information in the memory
is retrieved.
Demerits of using eyewitness testimony in the identification of crime perpetrators
Wrong convictions
Identification of an eyewitness is commendable in the investigation and prosecution of
crimes; however, it also has its negative sides, which can result in severe consequences for the
wrong convicts. In resonance with Constanzo and Krauss (2018), it is estimated that more than
three-quarters convictions rely on eyewitness as the sole evidence used in the judicial processes;
it was also established that more than 50 percent of the cases relied on a single eyewitness to
make the case decision. However, eyewitness errors are responsible for a higher percentage of
wrongful convictions than any other type of evidence. Identification of a criminal suspect
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through an eyewitness involves direct testimonies used for forensic purposes (Albright, 2017).
Misidentification of suspects by witnesses is considered as contributors to the conviction of
wrong persons for the acts they did not perpetrate. As a result, innocent people are in prison,
while the perpetrators of crime remain to further their agenda. The impact of this is that it waters
down trust on the judiciary and can lead to protests, unrest, and advocacy to reform the courts to
ensure that justice is served.
Unreliable
Eyewitness is regarded as an unreliable source of evidence to be relied upon by the jury
for conviction. Unreliability can be due to the memory of the witness used in encoding, storing,
and retrieval of information (Constanzo & Krauss, 2018). The eyewitness memory of a crime can
be trusted to some extent; it is not 100 percent accurate because memory is a dynamic, ongoing,
and continuous process. Encoding consist of the processes within the human brain involved in
the transmission of an eyewitness perception into a crime memory (Gustafsson, Lindholm, &
Jonsson, 2019). It involves the interpretation and inferences; it is impacted by the meaning that
an eyewitness attaches to a criminal event (Wise & Safer, 2012). It is affected by expectations,
biases, and interest as eyewitness incorporates the present items such as weapons that can
interfere with the information encoded in the brain. Storage involves maintenance of the encoded
information concerning a crime in question, which is a dynamic process. However, the stored
data can be affected by post-event information from other sources and may distort the original
data on the criminal incident resulting in unreliability and might inhibit the identification of
suspects. Finally, during retrieval of the event, the witness recalls the crime and recognize the
perpetrator during the identification process. During this stage, the witness reconstructs her
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memory of crime and may use their information to complete incomplete statements that may
hinder the authenticity of the evidence used.
Inaccuracy
Eyewitness relies on one’s memory to remember and narrate how an event took place in
detail. However, human consciousness is not accurate to give authentic information on how an
event transpired since some wrong information can be incorporated into a crime. In some
instances, third parties have influenced eyewitness to provide their version of the incident to gain
victory over the judicial proceedings. Thus, they can be manipulated to give a false account in
courts leading to the conviction of wrong persons (Gustafsson, Lindholm, & Jonsson, 2019). In
some instances, witnesses can be biased on their version of the story distorting the original text.
There are certain instances in which the witnesses have been coached to portray the
considerations by the juries as they give a false account to favor the ruling on behalf of certain
parties. Witnesses are human beings, who can be corrupted to act in favor of certain groups or
parties. Thus, it is an inaccurate piece of evidence relied upon by the jurors in the decision-
making.
Christian worldview
The Bible views human beings as individuals created by God as equal beings despite
backgrounds and complexion. The teachings serve as essential principles in guiding how people
operate and carry out their routine activities. Thus, I consider the Biblical teachings as part of
individuals that should conduct daily engagement and activities because it is recorded that the
Word became flesh; therefore, it is part of us. The Bible does not encourage brethren to resort to
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the judicial process as the first step in solving disputes but as a last resort. It helps individuals to
mutually solve their differences without going to courts (Mathew 16:18). However, if an issue is
taken to courts, it should involve one or two witnesses to ensure that every matter is established
by the testimony of two or more individuals. The Bible prohibits passing judgments based on a
single testimony (Mathew 19:15-21). In this regard, as Christians, we should base our decisions
on various considerations as the Bible demands.
Religious institutions are part of the social systems within the society with roles and
responsibilities to implement. Most often, Christianity, as well as other religious organizations,
have been mandated to teach values and morals in the community, and this depicts how the
overall Christians should be. Christians are expected to live like Christ and do what pleases to
God such that the good acts will lure others to the kingdom of light. Emulating the life of Jesus
when he was presented before Sanhedrin where he was wrongly accused, and this led to him
being crucified at the cross. This teaches a moral lesson that we should not accuse our fellows
falsely because God is the righteous judge who will judge all humanity in the end. This is
because we are in the kingdom of light; thus, our acts, speech, and behavior should always be
anchored on the image of God that we were created to emulate.
Recommendations
Involvement of more than one witness
Eyewitness testimony is a common type of evidence used by courts to convict suspects of
a criminal incident. In resonance with Hurley (2017), most jurors have relied on a single witness
to make decisions on whether a suspect is guilty or not. The line-ups are usually designed to test
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memory and should include more than one suspect showing unreliability of the cases. The study
conducted by Constanzo and Krauss (2018), disclosed that more than 50 percent of jurors’
decisions are determined based on a single testimony by an eyewitness. However, the Bible
states that sentences should not be made based on individual evidence, but rather should
incorporate the accounts of two to three witnesses (Mathew 19:15-21). Hence, I recommend that
juries should endeavor to probe more than two individuals in a case to establish the truth of what
transpired so that the right persons are charged while the innocent ones are acquitted.
Incorporation of recent developments in social sciences
Gathering of evidence through eyewitness has immensely contributed to wrongful
convictions. Thus, it is of a necessity for the responsible departments to consider necessary
measures of convicting the right suspects to restore public confidence in the criminal justice
system. Therefore, I recommend the courts to consider the malleability of human memory and
the involved line-up practices. The courts should vividly probe the pieces of evidence that they
have and adopt stringent measures on eyewitness evidence that meets the threshold to be
accepted in courts and used to make conviction decisions. The jurors should be convinced,
confident, and sure that the evidence used should attain credibility, authenticity, and first-hand to
serve justice. Instead of solely relying on narration, the courts could be adequately informed
through video coverage to verify if the provided facts are genuine or not.
Conclusion
Identification of eyewitness is vital evidence used in the courts for decision-making
purposes. In most cases, jurors rely on the pieces of evidence provided by the eyewitness in the
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courts to arrive at decisions to establish whether a suspect is guilty or not. It is regarded as an
essential process as it sheds light on the chronology of how events transpired when criminals
perpetrated their acts. The sequence of events helps the attorneys know how a crime was
implemented, involved persons, and the place. On the other hand, it has disadvantages of wrong
convictions when the witnesses manipulate the original data to crucify specific individuals, who
were not involved in the crime. The Christian viewpoint asserts that convictions should be made
based on more than one witnesses, and it prohibits false accusations. Thus, jurors should use
more than one witness in the line-up practices and also apply social science proposals on the
credibility of eyewitness to be used in courts.
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References
Albright, T. (2017). Why eyewitness fail https://www.pnas.org/content/114/30/7758
Constanzo, M. & Krauss, D. (2018). Forensic and legal psychology
https://www.academia.edu/40814763/Forensic_and_Legal_Psychology_Psychological_S
cience_Appliedto_Lawpdf_by_Mark_Costanzo_Daniel_Krauss
Gustafsson, P., Lindholm, T. & Jonsson, F. (2019). Predicting accuracy in eyewitness testimony
With memory retrieval efforts and confidence
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6450142/
Hurley, G. (2017). The trouble with eyewitness identification testimony in criminal cases
https://www.ncsc.org/trends/monthly-trends-articles/2017/the-trouble-with-eyewitness-
identification-testimony-in-criminal-cases
Mathew 16:18 (n.d). Witnesses
Mathew 19:15-21 (n.d). Testimony
National Academies Press (2014). Identifying the culprit; assessing eyewitness identification
https://www.nap.edu/read/18891/chapter/5#33
Redman, J. (2010). How accurate are the eyewitnesses; Bauckham and the eyewitness in the
Light of psychological research
http://web.tusculum.edu/church/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Eyewitness-Testimony-
Challenging-Its-Accuracy.pdf
Wise, R. & Safer, M. (2012). A method for analyzing the accuracy of eyewitness testimony In
criminal case https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1390&context=ajacourtreview
Wixted, J., Mickes, L. & Fisher, R. (2018). Rethinking the reliability of eyewitness memory
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1745691617734878
