Final answer:
Eyewitness testimony is highly susceptible to errors because of factors like suggestibility and memory's malleable nature. Misidentifications have led to wrongful convictions, prompting changes in legal practices to counteract this.
Step-by-step explanation:
Studies on the accuracy of human memory and eyewitness testimony have demonstrated that eyewitness testimony is highly subject to error. Memory can be influenced by various factors such as suggestibility, stress, and the wording of questions asked after an event. Physiological issues such as amnesia can directly impair memory, while phenomena like encoding failure, proactive interference, and retroactive interference contribute to forgetting. Eyewitness misidentification remains a leading cause of wrongful convictions, as found by the Innocence Project. To reduce errors, legal and psychological professionals employ techniques such as neutral language in questioning and blind photo lineups.
As an attorney representing a client accused of robbery, it is important to highlight these points to jurors, emphasizing the inherent unreliability of eyewitness accounts. Influential studies, like those carried out by Elizabeth Loftus, show how easily memory can be altered through the misinformation effect. Judicial systems have become increasingly aware of this and have introduced measures to help jurors critically evaluate the reliability of eyewitness testimonies.
Eyewitness testimony can be unreliable due to the malleability of human memory and external influences such as suggestibility and misinformation. The justice system has recognized this and implements measures to mitigate potential misidentification in court.