Question

How accurate is eyewitness testimony?  Is it very persuasive?  Why or why not?  How should courts and jurors be instructed to react to eyewitness testimony?  Be sure to cite sources (and psychological terms) in your response. (Must be 300 words)

Answer 1

Eyewitness testimony is a very powerful cognitive psychological tool to justify the accuracy. However it being the recall of what event had already occurred before, this testimony can sometimes be mistaken or biased. Eyewitness testimony is affected by the stress and reconstruction of the visual memory. Therefore many times it makes the eyewitness testimony unreliable even if it is persuasive enough. The courts and jurors are therefore trained to identify the accurate witness testimony for identifying the suspect. If not, the testimony can be misleading resulting in wrongful conviction. Therefore it can be considered as only a supportive evidence. Almost 70% of the cases in the US have been found to be the result of the unreliable eyewitness. Sometimes while recalling the events, the person experiences anxiety which makes the episodic memory hazy leading to inaccurate reconstruction and even manipulation. Such a person would not give a reliable post-event information. Thus it can be one of the major reason for wrongful conviction. Eyewitness testimony verification is therefore imperative by using certain tools like DNA identification, sequential presentation, fillers etc.