There are many factors that can contribute to faulty eyewitness testimony, including own-race bias, focus on a weapon, stress, length of exposure to the stranger, eyewitness confidence, and events that occur after the incident, such as suggestive police procedures (V... ... middle of paper ... ...versity of Minnesota, Minnesota: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. Spinney, L. (2008). Eyewitness identification: Line-ups on trial. Nature, 453(7194), 442-444. doi:10.1038/453442a Vallas, G. (2011). A survey
My Own Choice to Die One quiet summer afternoon I lay gazing into the big, blue sky watching the clouds form into immense moving objects that catch my eye for a second. I saw everything from birds to alligators and occasionally a car or bus. While staring at the sky in a world of my own I heard a clamor coming from the front of the house. I turned over on my stomach peering through the tall pampas grass that landscapes our backyard. I lay gazing through the grass as if I was a jungle cat searching
a huge impact on the fate of the trial. It was believed that the lineup sequence can pose a problem in proper identification of the suspect. So the comparison of Sequential Lineup Procedure versus Simultaneous Lineup Procedure was scientifically carried out by Steblay et al. (2011). After that Wells et al. (2014) conducted further research. Instead of interpreting information collected from various sequential and simultaneous lineups performed in laboratories and using this laboratory data they studied
In 1908, Harvard professor Hugo Münsterberg warned against dangero... ... middle of paper ... ... all they can to reduce the risk of misidentifications. Misidentifications not only damage innocent lives, but also hinder investigations. While police are focusing on the wrong person, the real perpetrator has gotten away. Works Cited "The Innocence Project." The Innocence Project. Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. Jost, Kenneth. Eyewitness
park, California, at the night of May 22, 2005, a young Hispanic man pointed the gun to two young Hispanic men and took their wallets with $600 and drove off their car (Volkswagen Jetta) away. Two victims reported to police and gave the description of the perpetrator. The police office who took the description from the victim immediately thought of James Ochoa and he showed the picture of James Ochoa to the victims, both of victims said the man in the picture “look like” the perpetrator. The stolen
an unknown amount of time. During the attack, the perpetrator had told the victim that she was nothing special; he’d been with a white girl before. The victim ran home and called police. The first officer on the scene was Ashland police officer W.L. Anderson to arrive at the apartment. Officer Anderson of the Ashland police department spoke with the victim there and at the hospital. Officer Anderson learned that the assailant knew enough about the victim to suggest he lived near her and that he had
Some of those reasons are eyewitness identification, false confession, and police investigation, according to the Innocence Project (Cordazo 5). About 80% of wrongful convictions happen due to eyewitness mistake. According to psychology, the human brain cannot record all the information it takes, leading to a high level of uncertainties
years later. In a Ted Talk lead by psychologist Elizabeth Loftus, she mentions Steve Titus, one of many victims of the misidentification effect. One night, while he was driving, he was pulled over by a police
detective conducting the lineup told Jennifer that she had done great, confirming to her that she had chosen the right suspect. Eleven years later, DNA evidence proved that the man Jennifer Identified, Ronald Cotton was innocent and wrongfully convicted. Instead, Bobby Poole was the real perpetrator. Sadly, there are many other cases of erroneous convictions. Picking cotton is a must read for anybody because it educates readers about shortcomings of eyewitness identification, the police investigative process
violated when Wade was presented in a lineup without his counsel present. Wade had already been indicted for robbery when he was presented to witnesses in the same fashion as the robber appeared at the bank, with strips f tape on his face. In the case of Wade, the court held that his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination was not violated by his mere presence or repeating words uttered by the suspect of the crime he was accused. However, since the lineup was conducted post indictment, and
complete information from them in order to prevent wrongful conviction. Cognitive interviewing is a method where interviewers has a set of rules and guidelines for interviewing the eyewitness which is neither aggressive or accusatory. Where standard police interviewing is often full of interruptions and has an over-reliance on a predetermine list of questions, this method does not interrupt the witness and allow them to control the flow of information through enabling them to tell the events of the
of wrongful convictions in Canada. Recognizing and addressing these concerns has led to a reduction in cases of wrongful convictions in Canada. Tunnel vision is a significant factor contributing to wrongful convictions. Tunnel vision occurs when police officers narrow their focus to a particular One of the main factors in wrongful convictions, tunnel vision, has been recognized by psychologist as a human tendency to quickly convict a suspect so that society feels safe. Although tunnel vision is
than Ruffner, five eyewitnesses testified that they saw him at the murder scene (Marshall, 2009). Another case in which the reliability of eyewitness testimony was questioned was that of Troy Davis, who was convicted and executed for the murder of police officer Mark Allen MacPhail. Seven of the nine witnesses who testified against Davis in the shooting later recanted their testimonies (Pappas, 2011). Jason Chan, assistant professor of psych... ... middle of paper ... ...ggers (1972) in which
even after all the effort she placed into ensuring her assailant was convicted, and picking the same individual out of both a photo and physical line up, she still was unable to identify the correct person. When Jennifer participated in the photo lineup she was given several photos to choose from, it took some careful study and narrowing down for Jennifer to decide that her assailant was Ronald Cotton. Even when the Ricky Cotton was found to be innocent of the crime against Jennifer it took her a
suspect. Lineups are an identification procedure, in which the witness or the victim is able to observe and pick out any possible suspects related to the crime. With a traditional lineup, a photo lineup can also be conducted. Investigators will rely on this method more frequently because there is an urgency to proceed in the case. As for a show-up, the witness of the crime is able to view the suspect alone, without other possible suspects. For example, when a suspect is apprehended, a police officer
resembles the perpetrator in comparison to the other individuals in the lineup as the offender even if that person did not commit the crime. The victim’s eyewitness testimony also began to grow stronger as time went on because of commitment bias. Commitment bias causes the victim to become more convinced that someone is the actual perpetrator because of an eagerness to please the police and because of the assumption that the police has substantial evidence against the suspect; thus, every time the victim
Scenario: While working as a police officer, you respond to a robbery in progress involving two armed suspects at a liquor store. Upon arrival, you and your partner interview three witnesses to the crime. While conducting your investigation, another unit informs you they have a possible suspect detained several blocks from the incident. Write a 1-2 page paper (300 words) detailing the steps you would take to identify the suspects in this case. Include in your paper the various factors officers should
system. Denise Moore 's criminal report starts the investigation. A police investigation of a crime is the entryway into the criminal justice system, once Denise Moore reported the crime, Detective Riley and Detective Clay conducted a photo lineup, an investigative tool used when the suspect is unknown and not in custody, to identify the suspect (Burns, 194). Once Denise Moore identified
What Is The Usual Procedure When You Are Arrested? 1. The officer will transport you to a police station. 2. You will be told in general terms what charges are being brought against you. Even so, the charges might change in the future and the prosecuting lawyer will outline the charges in more detail or in some cases by the grand jury. 3. You might be asked to take part in a lineup, to do a sample of your handwriting, or to say words connected with the criminal offense that you are charged with,
teams. I saw how that there was no physical evidence, a photo lineup was bungled, timelines didn’t match, and witnesses were very unreliable. The one thing we can do for people that are wrongfully convicted is to get them represented by an People’s Law Office that is a practice on handling false imprisonment cases. I think that countless innocent people have been wrongly accused and falsely incarcerated