Eyewitnesses are often used in the court system to help the jury in making the right punishment to the individual who deserves the same. Essentially, eyewitness identification is one of the ways through which the eyewitnesses help the cases in which they are involved, and it consists of the process of selection of the perpetrator from a lineup put in place by the police. Besides, the police may also use sketches and many other methods. Additional to selecting the suspect, the witnesses in question usually make formal statements that confirm the identification and offer any other details they may recall concerning the crime. However, through consistent research, there has been confirmation that the eyewitness is not reliable as will be discussed in this essay with relation to the two articles; Witnesses: a weak link in the judicial system by Dan
as well as Using a videotape clip to demonstrate the fallibility of eyewitness testimony by authors Nancy, Dyck, and Jennifer.
Witnesses: a weak link in the judicial system
The author indicates the two types of research that were recently performed by the American Psychological Association that proved the fact that eyewitnesses are not always reliable. Further, the researchers found that either negative or positive feedbacks influenced eyewitnesses that they would receive after they identified the suspects from the police (Dan, 2016). Besides, in the litigations wherein there was involvement of scientific matter that was complicated, a battle ensued between the teams of expert witnesses who presented complex arguments that were scientific, which were overwhelming for both the juries as well as the judges. The first study involved the use of 352 individuals who were shown a grainy surveillance videotape indicating an individual who shot and killed a security guard of a store later (Dan, 2016). When the participants were requested to identify the one who carried out the shooting in the tape out of 5 photos that excluded the actual shooter, they made their choices and were complimented either that they made the right or wrong choice while other were told nothing.
The study posited in as much as all were wrong, those who had been given positive feedbacks after making their choices were most confident when asked to testify in court. Besides, these participants also distorted reports of several aspects of the identification process (Dan, 2016). Therefore, it was noted that the result of memory distortion from the positive feedback cultivated credible witnesses from a group of witnesses that were all inaccurate and were not reliable on their own. In the second study, there was also confirmation that the positive police feedback influenced most of the memories of the eyewitnesses, but they denied the influence.
Using a videotape clip to demonstrate the fallibility of eyewitness testimony
The article presents a demonstration that was done in a classroom to portray the reliability of memory for witnessed events. A readily available videotape of a robbery was used in the classroom demonstration in the introduction of the eyewitness testimony topic (Gee " Dyck, 2016). The students were served with a multiple-choice memory test after some delay after the completion of the clip they were watching. Notably, the performance of the students in the test was lower than they expected, which confirms the fallibility of the memory after an event is witnessed. The study concluded that from experience wherein students in a classroom sat a multiple-choice test almost immediately after the completion of the clip in which the test was driven there is significant fallibility in the memory of events that are witnessed and the eyewitnesses are therefore not sufficiently reliable (Gee " Dyck, 2016).
Eyewitness Testimony –Unreliable
I believe that eyewitness testimony is not reliable and should not be accepted uncritically because of the various factors that may influence such reports to be biased. Further, regarding the events that are stored in the human memory, psychologist have indicated that they are reconstructed and not played back like a video when they are recalled (Dan, 2016). In fact, remembering is compared to putting various pieces of the puzzle together as opposed to a video recording-like process. Markedly, researchers have gone to the extent of even creating false memories in individuals while the subjects become convinced that these are real memories, which proves the fact that several factors are resulting into a bias report that is given by an eyewitness. In the two articles, where there is an indication of the result of memory distortion from the positive feedback cultivated credible witnesses from a group of witnesses that were all inaccurate and were not reliable on their own. Further, the other article also indicates the significant possibility of the presence of fallibility of the memory after an event is witnessed that was proven by the performances put forth by the students in the test, which were lower than their expectations(Gee " Dyck, 2016).
Conclusion
In conclusion, there is a clear exhibition from the first article wherein the author posits that police feedback during the identification process has an impact on the eyewitnesses because it distorts reports of several aspects of the identification process as well as cultivates credible witnesses where there could be no reliable or valid evidence. The second article also posits that there is an excellent fallibility in the memory of witnessed events, which makes the eyewitness testimony unreliable. Hence, in as much as the eyewitnesses may fail to realize or may decide to deny the various bias factors that exist around the reports they give, it is investable that the testimonies of eyewitness should not be accepted uncritically because they are not reliable.
References
Dan, J. (2016). Witnesses: a weak link in the judicial system. SSRN Electronic Journal, 32(9), 14-15. doi: 00163317
Gee, N., " Dyck, J. (2016). Using a Videotape Clip to Demonstrate the Fallibility of Eyewitness Testimony. Teaching Of Psychology, 25(2), 138-140. doi: 10.1207/s15328023top2502_18
