In many criminal cases, a conviction is heavily influenced by the testimony of an eyewitness. This is especially true in jury trials. If an eyewitness goes before the jury and recounts their version of events, blaming the defendant and stating that they are guilty, the jury often believes the witness over the defendant. After all, the jury may see the defendant as having a reason to lie — to avoid a conviction –whereas the eyewitness seems to have no reason to give false testimony.
However, studies into DNA exonerations show that many wrongful convictions are linked to eyewitness testimony. DNA proves that the person was not guilty, yet the testimony implicated them, leading to the false conviction. Why does this happen?
Witnesses may not accurately remember the event
There may be rare cases where witnesses intentionally lie, but this is uncommon. The jury is usually correct to assume that most witnesses have no reason to distort the truth.
The problem, however, is that the eyewitness may believe they’re telling the truth even when they’re not. Researchers have found that human memory is malleable and can be altered. Often, simply thinking about an event or discussing it can change those memories.
For example, a witness might not remember the color of the shirt that the suspect was wearing. But if they read a news report claiming the suspect wore a blue shirt, the witness may suddenly think they “remember” that detail. Their memory has been altered, and they may then testify inaccurately against the defendant—even though the witness is simply incorrect about what they saw.
It’s important to recognize that this happens and to carefully explore all of your legal defense options if you are facing criminal charges.
