Eyewitness Testimony and the Flowers Case. With the many cases where an eyewitness testimony has wrongfully convicted a suspect, one would think that the use of eyewitness evidence as the most important piece of evidence would be removed. Eyewitness misidentification is the leading cause of wrongful conviction in America. It was certainly not the first time that eyewitnesses had got it wrong. Of those who have been exonerated by DNA evidence, nearly three-quarters of them were convicted in the first place because of faulty eyewitness testimony. Despite what you may have seen on shows like "CSI" and "Law and Order: SVU," crime cases are rarely open and shut-- and eyewitness testimony is notoriously unreliable. The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to consider whether a state can block defense lawyers from attacking the dependability of eyewitness testimony. Apr 29, 2016 - Eyewitness evidence may be crucial to convicting criminals. More recently Loftus co-authored research that showed that eyewitness testimony can be influenced by the wording of a question. But since the 1970s , psychologists have conducted studies on eyewitness testimony. Antonio Mallet’s conviction rested on testimony from one eyewitness who, in a new court filing, now says NYPD detectives assaulted him and threatened to lock him up if he didn’t blame Mallet for the murder. According to a 1988 survey of court prosecutors, an estimated 77,000 suspects are arrested each year based on eyewitness testimony. Were the case to be tried today, such evidence would not be used—bite mark impressions have led to wrongful convictions and it’s not considered reliable science—but back then coupled with eyewitness testimony it was enough to convince a jury. At times, an entire criminal case is built on eyewitness reports. Smith, 326 F.3d 721 (6th Cir. Eyewitness testimony occupies a prominent place in the criminal justice system. Charles Don Flores' mugshot bears little resemblance to a sketch based on an eyewitness… "That is a form of proof that has been shown to be, in some cases, a dangerous basis for a prosecution." The Cotton case fits a larger and troubling pattern among all the DNA cases I studied. The primary evidence for his conviction was police investigation which concluded that liquid accelerants may have been used in the fire, as well as the testimony of a jailhouse witness. Eyewitness memory is reliable when initially tested using proper procedures, but the legal system nonetheless habitually relies on unreliable (contaminated) eyewitness … DNA Evidence . However, human error, incorrect science and contamination of evidence can … In addition to an almost slavish reliance on eyewitness testimony, a review of the Dallas County DNA cases showed that: *Thirteen of the 19 wrongly convicted men were black. The expert witness can explain the process of memory and its frailties and dispel myths, such as that which assesses the accuracy of identification by the certainty of a witness. After all the reviewed articles, I would have to say that eyewitness testimony is completely unreliable, and should not be used as a means for conviction. Their story has become another classic example of the fragile nature of eyewitness testimony. Mr. Moreland argued that his due process rights were violated by the trial court's failure to conduct a competency hearing to determine Dayron's competency to testify as an eyewitness. While developments in modern forensic science have gone a long way to help solve crimes and cold cases, within forensic evidence, a common perception is that it is exact and cannot be wrong. The dueling cases touch more on general conduct of police and prosecutors than on core issues regarding reliability of eyewitness memory. But eyewitnesses aren't always right, and poor investigative practices can make matters worse. Cameron Todd Willingham's case is a complicated one, convicted of the murder-by-arson of his three daughters in a house fire that he himself managed to escape, in Corsicana, Texas in 1991. 2003), where the eyewitness was a three-year-old child deemed incompetent to testify. Divine Intervention: Eyewitness Testimony Gone Wrong (and Proprietorial Conduct Gone Right) by Kimberly C. Kisabeth [An excerpt from “The Great Defender“, a Memphis Magazine Feature Story describing an interview of famed criminal defense attorney Leslie Ballin, written by Marilyn Sadler] Although Ballin wins more cases than he loses, one loss stands out. One might assume that Grant was the murderer’s unlucky doppelganger. Their cases serve as vivid proof that eyewitnesses can make horrible mistakes. The Court has decided two cases involving eyewitness evidence in two days, both 8-1 rulings, but with seemingly inconsistent attitudes towards eyewitness identification procedures. But they provide a fascinating look at how the Justices may evaluate … In a particularly famous case, a man named Ronald Cotton was identified by a rape victim, Jennifer Thompson, as her rapist, and was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. Of the 190 DNA exonerees who had been convicted based on eyewitness testimony, nearly all the cases had eyewitnesses who were positive at trial … You are also welcome to discuss the case of Archie Williams who is not included on the website. A Man Was Jailed For 20 Years Due To A Single Eyewitness — Who Now Wants To Recant. Introduction Before crime shows like CSI and the scientific advancements which ushered in modern forensics such as fingerprinting and DNA, eyewitnesses were often the only form of proof of a guilty person or act. During a Sept. 10 World Science Festival panel discussion called "The Science of Justice: A Matter of Opinion" at the World Science Festival, the panelists were part of a sneak attack experiment on audience members . It's becoming increasingly clear, however, that eyewitness testimony is often worse than useless. However, according to past and recent studies, misidentification is the leading cause of wrongful convictions. It is critical that we all understand that it is only in a rare case that an eyewitness intentionally provides a misidentification. Compiled by Ann Njarara, Bree Peilen, Daniel Neuman, Emory Cook, Linda Lin, and Perrin Lowrey . Eyewitness testimony is reliable, but only under specific circumstances . Modern DNA testing has exposed just how weak eyewitness testimony can be, as presented Radley Balko, in Reason: Law and Human Behavior, false eyewitness testimony contributed to 77 percent of the 230 … This morning in you know you there was a guy opening right there we know the innocence project isn't worth 7%. The list of cases of people being wrongfully convicted based on eyewitness testimony, only to be later exonerated, is far longer than it should be (in fact the Innocence Project states that eyewitness misidentification has played a role in over 70% of convictions which were later overturned by DNA … In the 1980s, DNA evidence started to become more widely accessible to … You often hear people claiming that the case is strong because there was an eyewitness. Eight of … However, 91 of these 161 cases (57 percent) faced eyewitness reliability issues. In that case, the eyewitness testimony likely cost human lives: Police had in fact noted the Chevrolet at several of the crime scenes but did not stop or check out the car because the police and public were focused on the non-existent white van reported by eyewitnesses. It's impossible to say whether, in this case, McCullough is right. Eyewitness testimony can hold a lot of weight with jurors. The Role of Eyewitness Testimony. Participants were shown a … While jurors tend to believe eyewitnesses, these accounts are not as accurate as other forms of evidence, such as DNA. Eyewitness testimony can be a prominent and compelling form of evidence in a courtroom. The puzzling question in this case, though, is why did six eyewitnesses independently identify Lydell Grant as the killer and then confidently testify in court? They found that mistaken eyewitness identifications occurred in 190 (or 76 percent) of DNA exoneration cases. Beginning in the 1990s, forensic DNA testing has revealed hundreds of cases of wrongful convictions. Please review at least three of these and based on your readings in Chapter 7, discuss what errors you believe were made regarding eyewitness misidentification in each of these three cases. And consistently, they've found it … The Ronald Cotton case was not a one-off incident in which eyewitness testimony failed. There has to be something done so that innocent people stop going to prison. The tragic consequences of mistaken eyewitness identification in cases have been chronicled and jurors and trial judges should have the benefit of expert evidence on this important subject. Please see link below. Faulty eyewitness testimony has been implicated in at least 75% of DNA exoneration cases—more than any other cause (Garrett, 2011).   How DNA Works. Of the more than 200 people … The case rested solely on the testimony of the victim, Ann Meng, a young mother of three who confidently pointed to Ruffin as her assailant. Today investigators would be able to extract a DNA sample from the bite marks. A pressing concern with the eyewitness testimony used in many criminal cases is that jurors may be swayed by the high confidence of an eyewitness and, as a result, may disregard other factors that provide more diagnostic information. There have been hundreds of cases in which mistaken eyewitness identification testimony led to the conviction of innocent people. When eyewitnesses are mistaken, they are not lying – they sincerely believe that they have identified the right person and have often been led to that belief by poor or biased investigations. 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