False convictions are one thing that the criminal justice system is set up to avoid. This is why the standard of proof is so high in a criminal case. A person’s guilt needs to be demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt. That means it is some guilty parties will go free in order to avoid falsely convicting someone who is not guilty.
However, while this works in theory, it does not work 100% of the time. We know this due to the development of DNA evidence. Hundreds of people have been exonerated after the fact. DNA has shown that they were not guilty, even though they were convicted in their original trial.
What’s behind these eyewitness mistakes?
Researchers have looked at the statistics to find trends in these cases. One thing that they have identified is the prevalence of eyewitness misidentification. These mistakes may convince a jury to convict a suspect, even if that suspect maintains that they are innocent.
Exactly why eyewitnesses make these mistakes varies from case to case. For one thing, memory is not always as reliable or static as people assume, and memories can change over time. There can also be issues with how well that eyewitness actually saw the event take place. Things may have happened very quickly, at a significant distance from the witness or in an unexpected fashion.
In other words, these eyewitnesses are not necessarily providing false testimony on purpose. A witness may make a genuine mistake, not even realizing that they are identifying the wrong person. But it can still result in a wrongful conviction.
This helps to demonstrate some of the complications of a criminal defense case and why it is so important to work with an experienced attorney when facing charges.
