Scientists have long claimed that eyewitness testimony can be both highly convincing and incredibly unreliable. According to the Innocence Project, 70% of convictions overturned by DNA evidence came down to faulty eyewitness testimony. Observers say Massachusetts has made progress in making sure eyewitness testimony is accurate, but problems persist.
In this three-part series, New England Public Media's Karen Brown looks at the evolving science of eyewitness testimony and the people with the greatest stake in how it’s used.
Part one: 'I Was There, I Saw Him': Do Eyewitnesses Have Too Much Sway In Massachusetts Courts?
Part two: 'Why'd You Pick Me?' Eyewitness Reforms Offer Limited Help To Those Convicted Decades Ago
Part three: 'I Don't Think You Did This, But I Can't Fix It': How To Improve Eyewitness Evidence
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Advocates for the wrongly convicted often say they’d much rather prevent mistakes than fix them after years of incarceration. But how to do that is up for… -
In 2011, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court put together a task force of people from all over the criminal justice community.They studied how… -
Scientists have long claimed that eyewitness testimony can be both highly convincing and incredibly unreliable.In fact, according to the Innocence…
