Eyewitness Misidentification

by

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would first like to express my gratitude for my research supervisor, colleagues, peers and family whose immense and constant support has been a source of continuous guidance and inspiration.

DECLARATION

I [type your full first names & surname here], declare that the following dissertation/thesis and its entire content has been an individual, unaided effort and has not been submitted or published before. Furthermore, it reflects my opinion and take on the topic and is does not represent the opinion of the University.

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ABSTRACT

Eyewitness accuracy is most commonly studied by examining three different areas. First, the eyewitness's ability to correctly recall the details of the event is measured. This study concerns individuals wrongfully accused and convicted of major felony offences and subsequently exonerated as innocent.

Based on this study and other sources of information, we know that there are many more victims of wrongful conviction than have been documented or suspected. Given the commitment to the due process model, and the presumption of innocence, wrongful conviction has to be rated as the most serious error our system of justice can make.

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT2

DECLARATION3

ABSTRACT4

Introduction6

Background of the Study6

Problem Statement8

Purpose of the Study8

Research Question9

Significance of the Study9

Literature Review11

Causes of Wrongful Conviction11

Eyewitness Misidentification13

Free Recall13

Impact of Misinformation on Open-Ended Questions16

Summary17

Methodology18

Sample and Variables18

Analysis of Legal Cases19

Data Analysis22

Questionnaire Construction22

Limitation of the Study24

Conclusion24

REFERENCES25

APPENDIX27

Eyewitness Misidentification

Introduction

Eyewitness accuracy is most commonly studied by examining three different areas. First, the eyewitness's ability to correctly recall the details of the event is measured (free recall). Second, the eyewitness's responses to accurate or inaccurate probe questions are examined. Third, the eyewitness's ability to choose the criminal from a lineup is evaluated. These three components, free recall, responses to probe questions, and lineup performance are the most common ways that researchers study the accuracy of eyewitness memory.

Background of the Study

Wrongful conviction is inevitable in the American criminal justice system. From the witches in Salem to the most recent miscarriage of justice, there is solid evidence of inherent problems and errors in the administration of criminal justice. U.S. Senator Philip Hart is a proponent of the abolition of the death penalty, and he indicated in testimony in 1967 that "during the period of 1889 to 1927, 406 persons were sent to execution to Sing Sing, 50 were found upon reconsideration to have been sentenced in error-Congressional Record, 1967).

In early 1892, a front page article of the Daily Nebraskan reported the story of Jackson Marion, the convicted murderer of John Cameron. After conviction, Mr. Marion was hanged in the yard of the county jail in Beatrice, Nebraska. Ten years later John Cameron, the "murder victim- was found alive in another city. The late Jackson Marion had been a victim of misidentification and wrongful conviction. Investigations revealed that Jackson was never involved in any murder, and certainly not that of Cameron (Daily Nebraskan, August 4, 2002).

Almost a hundred years later, in April 2000 in the State of Ohio, Bradley Cox was convicted of several rapes and aggravated burglaries in Fairfield and Athens counties, Ohio, and was ...