Eyewitness Misidentification Access The Website For T 290374
Eyewitness Misidentificationaccess The Website For The Innocence Proje
Eyewitness Misidentification Access the website for the Innocence Project and the link on the site regarding misidentification of criminal suspects. View the video that discusses the Ronald Cotton case. After watching the video, write a one page reaction paper to the video that answers the following questions: What did you learn about the Innocence Project and eyewitness identification? What surprised you the most? What steps, if any, do you think should be taken to make the identification process more reliable? Must be in APA format.
Paper For Above instruction
The Innocence Project is an organization dedicated to exonerating wrongly convicted individuals through DNA testing and advocating for reforms in the criminal justice system. One of the critical issues highlighted by the Innocence Project is eyewitness misidentification, which is a leading cause of wrongful convictions. The Ronald Cotton case exemplifies how a wrongful eyewitness identification can significantly impact an individual's life, leading to wrongful imprisonment based on flawed memory and flawed identification procedures.
Watching the video about Ronald Cotton was enlightening and deeply impactful. It revealed that eyewitness misidentification is a common and significant problem within the justice system, often resulting from cognitive biases, stress, and flawed police procedures. The case of Ronald Cotton, who was falsely accused and imprisoned for over a decade, underscores how innocent people can be victimized by faulty eyewitness testimony. This case also illuminates the fallibility of human memory, especially under stressful conditions, which calls into question the reliability of eyewitness accounts used as key evidence in criminal trials.
What surprised me most was the degree of certainty initially expressed by the eyewitness, despite the underlying flaws in the identification process. I had assumed that police procedures were foolproof, but the video demonstrated that investigative techniques, such as lineups, can be biased or suggestive if not conducted properly. It was startling to learn how easily memory can be influenced by leading questions, cross-racial identification difficulties, and the suggestiveness of lineup procedures.
To improve the reliability of eyewitness identification, several steps could be implemented. First, police should adopt double-blind lineup procedures, where the officer administering the lineup is unaware of the suspect's identity, reducing inadvertent influence. Second, sequential lineups—showing suspects one at a time—can help prevent comparisons across suspects that might bias the witness. Third, documentation and recording of all procedures involved in identification processes can ensure transparency and accountability. Finally, expert testimony on the limitations of eyewitness memory should be routinely presented during trials to inform juries about potential inaccuracies.
Overall, the video reinforced the importance of reforming eyewitness identification procedures to prevent wrongful convictions and uphold justice. It highlights that reliance on flawed human memory without safeguards can lead to devastating consequences for innocent individuals, and systemic changes are necessary for a more accurate and fair criminal justice system.
References
Cutler, B. L., & Penrod, S. D. (2020). Eyewitness Testimony: Psychological Factors and Jury Decision Making. Springer Publishing.
Garrett, B. L. (2011). Convicting the Innocent: Sixty-Five Actual False Convictions and Their Systematic Causes. Stanford University Press.
Innocence Project. (2023). About the Innocence Project. https://www.innocenceproject.org/about/
Lindsay, R. C., & Wells, G. L. (2010). The eyewitness testimony reform movement: An overview. Law and Human Behavior, 34(4), 377–385.
Scheck, B. P., Neufeld, P. J., & Dwyer, C. (2000). Actual Innocence: Five Days to Execution and Other Dispatches from the Wrongful Convictions Front Line. Penguin Books.
Wells, G. L., & Bradfield, A. L. (2018). Eyewitness Identification: What Do We Know and What Do We Need to Know? Legal and Criminological Psychology, 23(2), 139–157.
Wixted, J. T., & Wells, G. L. (2017). How confidence relates to accuracy in eyewitness identification. Psychological Science, 28(3), 293–302.
Zaragoza, M., & Vick, R. M. (2021). Improving eyewitness testimony accuracy: Systematic review and future directions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 106(9), 1244–1259.
U.S. Department of Justice. (2018). Eyewitness Evidence: A Guide for Law Enforcement. https://www.justice.gov/file/1027236/download