Final answer:
Jennifer Thompson wrongfully identified Ronald Cotton as her assailant due to suggestive police procedures and her certainty increased over time, leading to Cotton's wrongful conviction. Expert testimonies highlight the unreliability of eyewitness memory.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the case discussed in Forensic Files: Screen Pass, Jennifer Thompson mistakenly identified Ronald Cotton as her assaulter, leading to his wrongful conviction. The victim's initial uncertainty during photo identification and lineup, compounded by suggestive identification procedures from investigators, led to this misidentification. These procedures included the use of composite sketches, the presentation of photo arrays, reinforced choices, and possible lineup manipulation to make Cotton stand out. Furthermore, Thompson's certainty by the trial may have been influenced by the confirmation from authorities and the natural process of memory consolidation and conformity to the narrative that Cotton was the perpetrator.
The reliability of eyewitness testimony is critically examined through the accounts of experts like Gary Wells, Deah Quinlivan, and Donald Thomson. In Thomson's case, a victim incorrectly identified him because she conflated his image on television with the actual culprit's face, showcasing another instance where eyewitness memory proved fallible.