Eyewitness Testimony

Eyewitness Testimony

1. What is a crime? (Zedner, 2004)

   • Police Investigation
     • Eyewitness erros: lying on purpose or honest error (faulty memory, questioning)
     • Confirmation bias
   • What is forensic psychology?
     • Eyewitness Science (Loftus, 1970s)
   • Why study eyewitness evidence?
     • Evidence in trial relies on it
     • Police likely to pursue case
     • Juries persuaded
     • Miscarriages of justice
   • Wrongful convictions
     • Innocence Project (2015)- 33, 72%
     • Kirk N. Bloodworth (1985-9yo, 1993 not his semen, 2003; actual hit on DNA)

2. Memory Processes

   • Encoding
     • Perception: time/distance
     • Attention: gun?
     • Processing limitations: WM
   • Storage
     • Decay: statement, testimony
     • Interference
   • Retrieval
     • Characteristics
     • Types of recall

3. What impacts EWT?

   • Estimator Variables
   • System Variables
   • Social Influence
     • James Newsome: 15 yr murder, innocent witnesses said coerced, intimidated, 2002- damages
     • Oklahoma Bombings: 1995-168 dead, suspect gone to a truck rental company, witnesses gave wrong description: memory transformed
     • Co-witness
       • Gabbert, Memon & Allen (2003): VA, VB, 61% young, 65% old, individual recall = 14%
     • Trusts the experimenter
     • Trusts the source of information
     • Old age
       • Less well on source attribution tasks (McIntrye & Craig, 1987)
       • Trace strength weak = no discrepancy detection (Tousigant et al., 1986)
   • Stress
     • Deffenbacher (2004-27,36): meta-analysis; high stress both types (-.31)
     • Stress: Morgan (2004) & Valentine & Mesout (2009)
   • Memory Error Mechanisms
     • Discrepancy Detection
     • Trace Strength
     • Source Attribution
     • Fuzzy trace theory

4. Identification Procedures

   • Witness album
   • Street ID
     • Davis, 2015- street robberies
   • Identity parade
   • Video identification
   • Photo spread
   • Response bias
   • Present: hit, miss, false
   • Absent: correct, false

5. Different Method Types

   • Lab Studies
     • Ad: control, delay, person, c&e
     • Dis: low motivation, student, low stress,
   • Archival Studies
     • Ad: real cases
     • Dis: time consuming, lack control
   • Field Studies
     • Ad: control, realistic
     • Dis: ethics, issues, short delay
     • Morgan et al. (2004): POWC, HS = sig - effect on correct identification, LS, = oposite
     • Valentine & Mesout (2009): LD, 60, trait (no effect) & state, high state = more incorrect, fewer correct, poor identification

6. Miscarriage of Justice

   • Shareef Cousin
   • Age 16- youngest on death row
   • Charged with murder of Michael Gerardi
     • On a date with Connie Babin
   • Sentenced to death
   • Former friend coerced by police
   • Connie identified Shareef though originally said she could not see
   • No physical evidence
   • Video at basketball game
   • Estimator: dark, race, not wearing glasses, decay
   • System: police co-ercion, jury not told glasses, detective lied to get arrest warrant
   • 1999: exonerated of all charges