Eyewitness Testimony

Paper Summary:

This paper gives an extensive study of literature on the topic of the inaccuracy on recovered memory. It draws an alliance between this information and the reliability of the eyewitness testimony. The author highlights the caution juries should take in overestimating the validity of eyewitness accounts.

From the Paper:

"Handberg notes that jurors often overestimate eyewitness identification accuracy because they are unfamiliar with the possibilities. They assume a confident witness to be accurate, an assumption research has found to be not necessarily true. They also lack information regarding the effects of stress on eyewitnesses. Handberg notes that "Many people believe that a witness subjected to great stress is reliable because the stressful experience 'burns; an impression of the event into the eyewitness's memory" but in fact, the opposite is true because the stress reduces the witness's ability to focus on the event (Handberg, 1995, p. 1013-1064)."

More papers on Eyewitness Testimony:

• Essay # 22740 : "Utilizing Eyewitness Testimony in Court"
• Term Paper # 102504 : "Credibility of Eyewitness Testimony"
• Analytical Essay # 116344 : "Eyewitness Reliability"

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