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How accurate is eyewitness memory?

Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:49 pm
by MSI
Interesting articles on the accuracy of human memory which can have an enormous impact on the outcome of a trial.
Some quotes for thought from: Witness For the Defense: The Accused, the Eyewitness, and the Expert Who Puts Memory On Trial by Dr. Elizabeth Loftus and Katherine Ketcham, St. Martin's Press, 1991
"Implicit in the acceptance of this testimony as solid evidence is the assumption that the human mind is a precise recorder and storer of events"
"... in fact, human memory is far from perfect or permanent, and forgetfulness is a fact of life"
"Truth and reality, when seen through the filter of our memories, are not objective facts but subjective, interpretive realities. We interpret the past, correcting ourselves, adding bits and pieces, deleting uncomplimentary or disturbing recollections, sweeping, dusting, tidying things up. Thus our representation of the past takes on a living, shifting reality; it is not fixed and immutable, not a place way back there that is preserved in stone, but a living thing that changes shape, expands, shrinks, and expands again, an amoebalike creature with powers to make us laugh, and cry, and clench our fists. Enormous powers--powers even to make us believe in something that never happened."
"...precise memory suddenly becomes crucial in the event of a crime or an accident. Small details assume enormous importance...Was the traffic light red, or was it green? How fast was the Cadillac going when it went through the red light--or was it yellow?--and smashed into the Volkswagen? Did the car cross the center line, or did it stay on its own side? Civil and criminal cases often rest on such subtle, seemingly trivial details, and these details are often hard to obtain."
DISCUSSION
The accuracy of witness testimony, particularly in automobile accidents, must be tested through scientific analysis. For speed estimates, you must check. Police have to be certified to ‘eyeball’ estimate speed for radar certification. Yet sometimes jurisdictions take as accurate a witness statement as to the approximate speed of a vehicle?
If a witness states a vehicle stopped at a light or sign and then proceeded forward, do we take this as a given? NO. We need to test the capabilities of the vehicle 'under normal driving conditions" to determine if the driver COULD have stopped at the light?
As scientists, accident reconstructionists and law enforcement personnel it is our duty to seek the truth through testing and refining estimates and statements given by eyewitness testimony.
Eyewitness testimony is only one piece of the accident reconstruction puzzle and as demonstrated above and in other research, it can be inaccurate as the eyewitnesses may have “subjective interpretive realities” which may include a bias or an effort to help police or other individuals.
It is our DUTY as accident reconstructionists to test the veracity of eyewitness testimony.