Final answer:
Factors affecting victim identification include the potential for errors in eyewitness testimony and suggestibility. The Innocence Project highlights that misidentification can lead to wrongful convictions, thus neutral questioning techniques and blind photo lineups are used to enhance reliability. The Ronald Cotton case is a stark illustration of how these factors can influence the accuracy of identifications.
Step-by-step explanation:
The factors at play for victims during an identification process involve the reliability and suggestibility of eyewitness identification and testimony. Courts frequently depend on such testimony, yet it is well documented through research by organizations like the Innocence Project that eyewitness misidentification is a chief cause of wrongful convictions. To mitigate suggestibility, interview techniques and police lineup procedures have been refined. Neutral questioning and employing blind photo lineups are strategies to decrease potential bias and suggestibility. Furthermore, judicial systems now sometimes include instructions to jurors regarding the potential for misidentification, and may suppress eyewitness testimony deemed unreliable.
Illustrating the complexities involved, the case of Jennifer Thompson and Ronald Cotton showcases how confidence in eyewitness identification can be misplaced due to suggestive police identification procedures. Despite Thompson's diligence in trying to remember her assailant's features, subsequent reinforcement by police led her to wrongly identify Cotton as her attacker. This case underscores the importance of careful and unbiased procedures in the identification process.