Eyewitness identifications have become an integral part of the criminal justice system. Over 77,000 people in the U.S. are classified as criminal suspects each year after being identified from a lineup. After having learned this in my Psychology and Law class, I became fascinated with this ongoing loophole. An eyewitness misidentification can occur from the instant a crime is committed. Social psychologists continue to conduct research in hopes of having more accurate eyewitness testimony. Considering the nature of the attacks, the high stress levels tend to cause inaccuracy and ultimately impairing of the identification. Women also tend to choose a victim from a lineup even if they are not present. An example of this was seen in Luis Diaz’s case who was exonerated after being sentenced to death row after being wrongfully been charged for eight rapes. This error cost him 25 years in Florida prison. The fact that the eyewitnesses were not of the same race as the attacker; there is a 1.56 times greater chance of mistaken identification. The courts tend to be reluctant on reversing judgments of criminal convictions. Thousands have been wrongly convicted of serious crimes and have not been given the chance to become exonerated, as there has only been an average of 20 cases per year since 2000. The most common evidence for exoneration is the relatively new technology of DNA identification. As the technology and sophistication of DNA testing improves, there has been a steady rise in exoneration. The danger of false convictions has created greater awareness on this ongoing problem. Since 1989, ninety-six percent of known exoneration were for either murder or sexual assault, usually because these cases are highly publicized and have serious consequences such as the death penalty in some states. However, DNA testing is only useful if testable samples of biological evidence are found (Innocence Project Website).
This new discovery of DNA testing has opened my eyes on eyewitness misidentification. A wrongful conviction could mean an innocent person is put behind bars for life and stripped from the joys of life. If I could make a difference and free one innocent person, all the work and schooling that is required would be well worth it. After learning a major flaw that exists in the criminal justice system, I feel compelled to bring about change. Making an eyewitness identification in many ways is similar to reconstructing an image. With the ability to crop and alter images easily, it is truly difficult to judge whether something is in its original form. It is common for people to make false conclusions about an image at a first glance. Such as in a eyewitness identification, it is imperative that one realizes that influential circumstances can affect our judgment. Police have altered images to help identify the suspect and strategically place them in a lineup. Such as Facebook gives one the ability to create a false persona, the police force have used this technique to catch criminals and make sure the right criminal is sentenced to justice. If you answer the same questions that were asked in the Mystory Reflection page, you will be able to see the injustice that is occurring by examining your feelings, metaphysics, and morality in regards to eyewitness misidentification.
