False Memory In Criminal Cases

Common criminal cases rely heavily on eyewitness memory resulting in inaccurate prosecutions. According to memory researcher Elizabeth Loftus, a person can develop false memories, but believe them to be accurate. Elizabeth analyzed one case where a man was falsely convicted of rape because a woman identified him as “the closest” looking to the rapist. Eventually, a journalist studied the man’s case and found the real rapist that had committed fifty or more rapes in that area. About three hundred people have been falsely convicted of a crime due to false memories, that later was proved innocent based on DNA testing. Enormous amounts of studies have shown that when people were asked a question such as if there was a yield sign at an intersection they proceeded to respond with yes, whenever there was really a stop sign. Studies such as this one demonstrate how interrogators can feed suspects suggestive information and more than likely they will agree because the person has now placed a fictional thought in their brain. When asked to identify their perpetrators the majority misidentified them with someone who was of no relation to the actual perpetrator. Researchers have proven that they can successful implant false memories into approximately half of their patient’s brains that are stressful situations. Studies have shown that false memories will have …show more content…
It is evident that the memory can be distorted very easily and everyday people are falsely convicted in the court room. In modern time all it takes is an eyewitness testimony for a judge to lock someone away for life. How is this fair? One person that falsely identifies a person of a crime can destroy their entire life with that one verdict. I believe we should discover much more evidence than the word of one person. There should be some other evidence linked to the crimes before anyone can be