Trust Worthiness of an Eye Witness Testimony

Trust Worthiness of An Eyewitness Testimony- Some Knowledge Issues

So as you can see today I am going to be doing my oral presentation on the Trustworthiness of Eyewitnesses in court cases, and the knowledge issues related to this.

SWITCH SLIDES

Before I start my presentation I wanted to show you a quote from William James. This is quote that should be kept in mind as I approach this topic, as it relates to the perception aspect of an eyewitness.

SWITCH SLIDES

So the example that I would be using to demonstrate the fallibility of an eyewitness is from a CBS 60 minute show. I will be presenting a short summary of this incident, so that I can then move on to discuss the knowledge issues related to the fallibility of an eyewitness testimony. The incident occurs on July 28, 1984 in Burlington with Jennifer Thompson who was then a 22-year-old college student. This occurs when she is asleep and a man shatters the light bulb near her back door, cuts her phone line, and brakes in. The man was here to rape her, and had threatened to kill her if he had to.

SWITCH SLIDES

Jennifer says that during this time she tried to be alert and study him so that if she escapes alive, she could help the police. She pays attention to his voice, accent and looks for any scars or tattoos while he attempts to rapes her. After half an hour later Jennifer tricks the rapist into letting her get him a drink, and runs out the back door. The rapist then escapes from the house and rapes a second woman half a mile away.

After this incident Jennifer works with a Detective to make a composite sketch of his eyes, nose, ears and lips in an effort to recreate the face she had seen that night. The detective then calls Jenifer three days after the rape, in for a photo lineup. He lays six pictures down on the table, and informs her that the...