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How do police officers inadvertently mislead witnesses? Uncovering the secrets of improper queues!
In criminal law, eyewitness evidence is often used in court trials. However, the reliability of this evidence has been questioned. According to statistics from the Innocence Project,
This phenomenon exists not only in the United States, but also around the world, and courts are increasingly questioning eyewitness evidence."Witness misidentification is the largest cause of wrongful convictions nationwide, and this problem plays a role in more than 75% of convictions overturned through DNA testing."
Scholars have conducted a lot of research on eyewitness identification in the past few decades. For example, former U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan stated in 1980 that
This view shows that eyewitness recollections are far from as accurate as legally expected."Eyewitness identification evidence is not only inherently suspect, but also 'notoriously unreliable.'"
Even more surprisingly, there are cases where DNA evidence has proven errors in eyewitness memory. Take the case of Jennifer Thompson, who was raped in 1984 and had the wrong suspect identified in court. She once vowed,
However, it turned out that she had mistaken the person. There are countless such cases, which have also promoted scientific research on eyewitness memory."I know I have chosen the right person. If he faces the death penalty, I want him to die."
Reasons for eyewitness misidentification
Witness identification errors originate from a variety of factors, and relevant research divides these factors into "system variables" and "estimated variables."
System variables (police program)
The procedures police use when collecting eyewitness evidence can have a significant impact on the conclusions drawn by eyewitnesses. The study noted that "system variables are those factors that affect eyewitness identification accuracy and that are controllable by the criminal justice system." In 1999, the Department of Justice also issued a set of best practice guidelines for enforcing police lineups.
Selective eyewitness identification method
A common problem is that police may use lineups that do not include suspects, which increases the risk of eyewitness misidentifications. If the suspect is not in the lineup, witnesses tend to choose the person who looks closest to the suspect.
In order to improve this situation, researchers suggest using advance instructions to let witnesses know that the suspect "may be or may not be" in the queue, which can effectively reduce the probability of misidentification.
Estimated variables (environmental factors)
In addition to issues of means and procedures, the reliability of eyewitnesses is also affected by environmental factors. This includes aspects such as stress, racial identification, and a sense of urgency at the time of the incident.
Cross-race identification
Research has found that racial differences between witnesses and suspected criminals can significantly reduce identification accuracy, a phenomenon known as "cross-race barriers."
The impact of pressure
Research indicates that the accuracy of eyewitness recall significantly decreases in high-pressure situations. In contrast, identification accuracy improved significantly when the witness was in a low-stress situation.
The impact of weapons
In addition, if a weapon is present during an incident, the witness's memory will focus on the weapon, reducing the ability to recall the suspect's facial features. This phenomenon is called the "weapon focus effect."
Eyewitness Identification and the Law
In criminal trials, how to use eyewitness evidence has always been a focus of discussion in the legal community. In the United States, the law has become relatively tolerant of eyewitness evidence, but legal practitioners are beginning to re-examine the scientific principles behind it.
Many experts believe that correct police queuing procedures, advance instructions and on-site supervision by independent psychologists are key factors in improving identification accuracy.
However, problems remain.
So, how to better protect innocent people from false accusations in the legal system?“The memories of eyewitnesses are not only affected by themselves, but also are closely related to the processes of the entire system.”
