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Eyewitness Testimony In Today's Criminal Justice System

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Eyewitness Testimony In Today's Criminal Justice System
In today’s criminal justice system, eyewitness testimony is one of the most commonly used pieces of evidence by a jury. It plays a crucial role in criminal court casesas it is relied on heavily for investigating and prosecuting crimes. Eyewitness testimony refers to an account given by a person of an event they have witnessed (McLeod, 2009).Whether a person is convicted of a crime or not can ultimately depend on how reliable a person’s recollection of a crime is. When correct, eye witness testimony can be helpful in solving many crimes. However, when incorrect it can cause to severe damage and can lead to innocent citizens being convicted of crimes they did not commit.There is empirical evidence looking at the influence of three main factors …show more content…
Given that human memory can be manipulated and distorted using questioning techniques, it is worthwhile to consider other methods of obtaining evidence. Eyewitness testimony should however be used in conjunction with other methods of evidence such as DNA testing to obtain the most accurate evidence to use in a court case. Provided the severe consequences of false memory on eyewitness testimoney, courts should give a great ammount of consideration to the possibility of false memory before charging someone. Otherwise, eyewitness testimony may continue to place innocent citizens behind bars and therefore remain as an impediment to …show more content…
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