Study: Eyewitness Testimony is Unreliable.

Posted Friday, October 13, 2017 by Andrew Charles Huff

A recent Australian study has concluded that when too many eyewitnesses are in unanimous agreement with one another then their testimony is more likely to be unreliable. The fascinating and counterintuitive results could have serious implications for the criminal justice system, where unanimous agreement is usually seen as a sign that the testimony is more reliable.

The study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A, researchers looked at how reliable unanimity among eyewitnesses identifying a suspect in a police lineup actually is. The study found that if up to three eyewitnesses identified the same suspect then their testimony could be considered reliable, but unanimity among more than three eyewitnesses made it less reliable. That’s because human memory is innately imperfect and there will always be a risk of misidentification, so if a dozen eyewitnesses are identifying the same suspect then that is less a sign that their testimony is correct and more an indication of systemic bias, such as an officer in the room giving each eyewitness subtle hints about which person in the lineup they believe to be the culprit.

This study should serve as a reminder to anybody who is being charged with a criminal offense that evidence against them can always be challenged and that no outcome is ever guaranteed. For those who have been charged with a crime, it is important to talk to a criminal defense attorney immediately. An experienced attorney can help clients build their case and fight to minimize the damage that a charge or conviction may carry.