The testimony of an eyewitness during a court proceeding can have at times a positive implication and pave the way for justice to be served, but it may however also have detrimental repercussions for the accused. There are numerous instances upon which innocent suspects of crimes have been convicted of heinous crimes as a result of eyewitness misidentification. In serious crimes, eyewitnesses are used as a strong evidence of an event. However, we as humans are all prone to mistakes - mistakes in what we say, what we see and what we remember, and it is these mistakes which can have earth shattering effects on the accused perpetrators of crimes if there is an incorrect eyewitness. Though we may think our memories are spot on in areas such as
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Dupree was accused of the rape and robbery of a 26-year-old woman and her male companion. The incident took place on the 23rd of November, 1979 in Dallas. The woman was raped after both her and her male friend were robbed at gunpoint by 2 men of African-American descent. Followed by her being raped, she was let to go, but assured that she would die if she went to authorities. Her rabbit-fur coat was also stolen along with her other belongings. After fleeing from the scene she was found unconscious by a patrol car beside a road, and was taken to the police station to reunite her with her male …show more content…
For instance, the discrepancies in the male victim’s identification points out a major flaw in eye witness testimonies. This cause of error is inaccuracies presented by external factors such as bad eyesight, duration of observation of the perpetrator and circumstances of the location. The bad eyesight of a witness as seen in the case study can be the cause for uncertainty in the identification process. Factors of the crime could also present issues. If the witness only saw the culprit at a glance or in a hurried situation, it may be hard for him/her to recall facial features integral for the accurate identification of suspects. This is because the brain is flooded with various pieces of information such as faces, objects, colours, words, and shapes. There for it may be difficult for the brain to categorise a suspects face as an important piece of information and place it in the long term
Dupree was accused of the rape and robbery of a 26-year-old woman and her male companion. The incident took place on the 23rd of November, 1979 in Dallas. The woman was raped after both her and her male friend were robbed at gunpoint by 2 men of African-American descent. Followed by her being raped, she was let to go, but assured that she would die if she went to authorities. Her rabbit-fur coat was also stolen along with her other belongings. After fleeing from the scene she was found unconscious by a patrol car beside a road, and was taken to the police station to reunite her with her male …show more content…
For instance, the discrepancies in the male victim’s identification points out a major flaw in eye witness testimonies. This cause of error is inaccuracies presented by external factors such as bad eyesight, duration of observation of the perpetrator and circumstances of the location. The bad eyesight of a witness as seen in the case study can be the cause for uncertainty in the identification process. Factors of the crime could also present issues. If the witness only saw the culprit at a glance or in a hurried situation, it may be hard for him/her to recall facial features integral for the accurate identification of suspects. This is because the brain is flooded with various pieces of information such as faces, objects, colours, words, and shapes. There for it may be difficult for the brain to categorise a suspects face as an important piece of information and place it in the long term