The Reliability Of Eye Witness Testimony Criminology Essay.
The Reliability of Eyewitness Testimony SCI 110 Introduction to Physical Science Professor Pages 6 Abstract: Eyewitness testimony and its credibility has always been a staple of controversy in court cases.
The reliability of childhood eyewitness testimony has both legal and psychological relevance. From a legal perspective, any eyewitness testimony can make a strong impression on the jury, thus influencing the jury’s decision about guilt or innocence of the defendant. While intentionally making false statements under oath is a crime, inaccurate recall is not.
Eyewitness testimony is, at best, evidence of what the witness believes to have occurred. It may or may not tell what actually happened. The familiar problems of perception, of gauging time, speed, height, weight, of accurate identification of persons accused of crime all contribute to making honest testimony something less than completely credible (Cline).
During this stage, the accuracy of the eyewitness’ testimony can be affected by the officers who administer suspect lineups and photo identification in mug books. It is therefore the key role of the attending officer to record the eyewitness account and descriptions of the offender prior to divulging any information that may lead the witness to give a subjective testimony.
When eyewitness testimony is obtained immediately after an event has occurred, then the details that are written and spoken about from one person to another are deemed generally reliable. “Eyewitness identification is an influential component of the criminal justice system, affecting virtually every aspect of the process from the initial investigation to the trial.” (Ronald P. Fisher, 2007.
Eyewitness Testimony is not Reliable Maria Dominguez University of Phoenix In this paper the subject to examine is eyewitness testimony and its reliability problems. An eyewitness is an individual, who was present during an event, and it is called by a party in a lawsuit to testify about wh.
Jury’s place great reliance on eyewitness testimony and ignore the dangers of false memories (Engelhardt, n. d). In view of these findings, this work will investigate the “extent to which eyewitness testimony is reliable in today’s judicial system” focusing on major factors that influence our memory and ability to remember.