The Power of Eyewitness Testimony
CBS 60 Minutes did a powerful story about two weeks ago now about eyewitness testimony. It is worth watching, if you can spare the time.
There have been 233 people exonerated by DNA in this country, and now a stunning pattern has emerged: more than three quarters of them were sent to prison at least in part because an eyewitness pointed a finger – an eyewitness we now know was wrong.
I am a firm believer, from my understanding of human behavior, that memory should be instantaneous. If it takes you time to recall something, there is a high likelihood that your memory is not clear and may have become tainted.
