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Eyewitness identification plays a crucial role in approximately 80,000 criminal cases per
year in the United States.
Article: How Reliable is Eyewitness Testimony--American Psychological Association
http://www.apa.org/monitor/apr06/eyewitness.aspx
Useful information from article:
Mistaken or flawed identification has assumed a newfound prominence in recent years:
It's been cited as a factor in nearly 78 percent of the nation's first 130 convictions later
overturned by DNA testing, according to the New York-based Innocence Project, which
works to free the wrongly convicted. As a result, a number of researchers are turning
their attention to helping police departments and juries better understand the
circumstances under which eyewitnesses observe crimes and later identify a suspect.
Eyewitness Testimony Summary/Background Information
Eyewitness testimony is a tool use by law enforcement and the courts to identify people
who have committed a crime. However, recent studies have shown that the reliability of an
eyewitnesss testimony relies heavily on distance and police influence. Police use eyewitness
testimony in 80, 000 cases per year, however, many studies are showing that the accuracy of
those testimonies greatly diminish when you factor in the distance by which the eyewitness
witnessed the alleged crime, police influence over lineups, memory lapses over time of what
they witnessed and the time they testify in a court of law, and the hesitance by witnesses to
confirm their statements.
A more recent phenomenon that is overturning convictions partially or entirely reliant
upon eyewitness testimonies is DNA evidence. Of the 130 convictions that have been reversed
because DNA evidence proved they did not commit the crime, 78% relied heavily on eyewitness
testimony. Scientists have begun studying ways to improve the use and reliability of eyewitness
testimony, such as double-blind lineups, lineup with people of similar composition, clearer and
unbiased instructions during lineups, confidence statements by witnesses, and recordings.