How Credible Is a Child Eyewitness?
As a judge in the setting of whether or not a child on the witness stand is a reliable source for information, it is important to tap into the research that has been done over the subject. In this case 5-year-old Samantha Runnion was kidnapped from outside of her home in California and it just so happened that the only eyewitness was her 6-year-old playmate. There are many cases where police investigating a crime are faced with only having a child as an eyewitness. Samantha’s playmate, Sarah Ahn, gave a very descriptive image of the suspect she saw and even the car he was driving. Spectacularly only a few days later, he was brought in by police for the crime. The question is, will Sarah's testimony be found as a valid resource?
Some could argue that over a course of repeated interviewing with children or the tone of voice used could change the child's mind. Though in one such study children performed higher under repeated interview versus single-delayed interview conditions when initial interview included a lot of specific questions. (Baker-Ward, Goodman, & Tucker, 1990). A study was also done on one hundred thirty-three subjects divided into four age groups: 4-year-olds, 6-year-olds, 8-year-olds, and adults. In this study the subjects were …show more content…
Though there is empirical evidence that proves children can be just as reliable as adults, one study showed that jurors viewed children, those 6 or younger to be not as credible as adults. (Goodman, G. S., Golding, M. J., Helgeson, S. V., Haith, M. M., Michelli, J. 1987) It seems that the young the bystander is the less likely they are to be presented as able to recall specific events in detail because young children are not particularly skilled at source monitoring or recalling who did or said
As a judge in the setting of whether or not a child on the witness stand is a reliable source for information, it is important to tap into the research that has been done over the subject. In this case 5-year-old Samantha Runnion was kidnapped from outside of her home in California and it just so happened that the only eyewitness was her 6-year-old playmate. There are many cases where police investigating a crime are faced with only having a child as an eyewitness. Samantha’s playmate, Sarah Ahn, gave a very descriptive image of the suspect she saw and even the car he was driving. Spectacularly only a few days later, he was brought in by police for the crime. The question is, will Sarah's testimony be found as a valid resource?
Some could argue that over a course of repeated interviewing with children or the tone of voice used could change the child's mind. Though in one such study children performed higher under repeated interview versus single-delayed interview conditions when initial interview included a lot of specific questions. (Baker-Ward, Goodman, & Tucker, 1990). A study was also done on one hundred thirty-three subjects divided into four age groups: 4-year-olds, 6-year-olds, 8-year-olds, and adults. In this study the subjects were …show more content…
Though there is empirical evidence that proves children can be just as reliable as adults, one study showed that jurors viewed children, those 6 or younger to be not as credible as adults. (Goodman, G. S., Golding, M. J., Helgeson, S. V., Haith, M. M., Michelli, J. 1987) It seems that the young the bystander is the less likely they are to be presented as able to recall specific events in detail because young children are not particularly skilled at source monitoring or recalling who did or said