“Eyewitness” was on 60 Minutes reporting on the flaws of eyewitness testimony. Eyewitness testimony is where the victim talks about who she thinks did the crime. A point of the finger can heavily influence the thoughts of the jury members. Jennifer Thompson was going to sleep one night, when a man broke into her house. The man held a knife to her neck before raping her. Unlike most people, Jennifer Thompson studied the individual as closely as she could. She wanted to make sure he was caught. By looking at the unique characteristics of this mystery man, Thompson was able to give a good visual for the detective to draw. Before giving the description, Thompson was able to escape from the rapist by convincing him that she was going to make him
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Cotton felt like a dagger went through his body when Thompson pointed her finger at him when asked who did the crime. The jury took in all of the information and were able to make a decision in fourty minutes. Cotton was sentenced to life in prison. As time was going by, Cotton saw someone who looked similar. Bobby Pool was sent to prison for rape, and he was from the same area as Cotton. Ronald was hearing rumors about Pool admitting he raped Thompson, so Ronald went to court again. Again, Cotton was found guilty and sent to spend the rest of his life in jail.
Another seven years went by, and Cotton was paying attention to the OJ Simpson case. Cotton learned about DNA, so he went back to court for a third time. After spending eleven years in prison, Cotton was finally found not guilty because the DNA matched Bobby Pool. Cotton is not the only person who spent time in prison because of a false testimony. Seventy-Five percent of those convicted from eyewitness testimony were retried and found innocent. There is an issue with relying on eyewitness …show more content…
We swear an oath to tell the truth, but how can you if you are not certain? Thompson sent Cotton to jail for eleven years because she believed he raped her, but Pool, who looks like Cotton, was the actual person who raped Cotton. Eyewitness testimony played an important role in that case, as well as other cases. The majority of those cases were reversed, and the people were found to be innocent. Eyewitness testimony is part of the legal system that should not be very influential to the jury. It relies too much on the individual 's perception of what happened. Do you think eyewitness testimony is as important as it shown to be in the “Eyewitness”
Cotton felt like a dagger went through his body when Thompson pointed her finger at him when asked who did the crime. The jury took in all of the information and were able to make a decision in fourty minutes. Cotton was sentenced to life in prison. As time was going by, Cotton saw someone who looked similar. Bobby Pool was sent to prison for rape, and he was from the same area as Cotton. Ronald was hearing rumors about Pool admitting he raped Thompson, so Ronald went to court again. Again, Cotton was found guilty and sent to spend the rest of his life in jail.
Another seven years went by, and Cotton was paying attention to the OJ Simpson case. Cotton learned about DNA, so he went back to court for a third time. After spending eleven years in prison, Cotton was finally found not guilty because the DNA matched Bobby Pool. Cotton is not the only person who spent time in prison because of a false testimony. Seventy-Five percent of those convicted from eyewitness testimony were retried and found innocent. There is an issue with relying on eyewitness …show more content…
We swear an oath to tell the truth, but how can you if you are not certain? Thompson sent Cotton to jail for eleven years because she believed he raped her, but Pool, who looks like Cotton, was the actual person who raped Cotton. Eyewitness testimony played an important role in that case, as well as other cases. The majority of those cases were reversed, and the people were found to be innocent. Eyewitness testimony is part of the legal system that should not be very influential to the jury. It relies too much on the individual 's perception of what happened. Do you think eyewitness testimony is as important as it shown to be in the “Eyewitness”