User:Cbaranoski/Eyewitness identification

Witness identification shouldn’t be the only evidence in court because it is very unreliable. In the book, “The Psychology and Sociology of Wrongful Convictions: Forensic Science Reform,” there was a profiling error with a guy, Colin Stagg, who was wrongfully convicted of stabbing a woman. Although, Stagg’s physical appearance was the only thing against him because witnesses had said he looked like the murderer, he was still charged and spent 13 months in jail, awaiting his trial, only then to be released because there was a lack of evidence against him (pp. 5). Witness identification can always help detectives get a general idea of what the criminal looks like, but they should never revolve the case around that because it can be very misleading and put the wrong person behind bars. The psychology of eyewitness identification can really convince someone that they were being attacked by one person, but in reality, DNA evidence shows it’s a completely different person. The profile the experts come up with don't match any characteristics of the killer. Creating profiles really just creates tunnel vision because investigators will be focusing on finding a specific individual that the profile fits, when in reality, the profiling system is insanely flawed and is considered useless to the investigators.