1. STL 175 Forensic Science Professor Mastromarco
9/11/2018 8:35 PM
Eyewitness Testimony
STL 175
Forensic Science
Professor Mastromarco
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The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.

2. 9/11/2018 8:35 PM
How Much Do You Know?
How much emphasis does the legal system place on eyewitness testimony?
What factors can limit an eyewitness’ accuracy?
What role do police officers and crime scene investigators play?
© 2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries.
The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.

3. Eyewitness testimony has a far greater effect on jurors than it should, given that it is often inaccurate.
Many cases of wrongful arrest and conviction are due to mistaken identification made by eyewitnesses.
Jurors believe that witnesses can be accurate even when viewing conditions are poor.

4. Eyewitnesses are the Most Persuasive Form of Evidence
Type of Evidence % guilty votes
Eyewitness testimony 78
Fingerprints
Polygraph 53
Handwriting
Research concludes that even Poor Eyewitnesses are Persuasive

5. The Facts
In this country, it is estimated that 75% of wrongly convicted defendants, later cleared by DNA evidence, were convicted based largely on eyewitness testimony

6. Flashbulb Memories
Many victims of crimes have something that is called a flashbulb memory
This is a vivid recollection of dramatic or emotionally charged events
Unfortunately this is not the case. Our brains fill in gaps in our perception.

7. In order to make sense of what we perceive, our brains often enrich with detail what we see, taste, hear, smell, or feel.
After an event, we can believe things were part of the background even though they were not.

8. Perceptual Fallacies
Our normal perceptions do not correspond directly to reality. The things that we perceive (see, hear, smell, etc.) are not entirely determined by what our senses detect. Our perceptions are also determined by what we expect, what we know, what we believe Our perceptions are not photographs they are constructions- something that our minds manufacture
what we perceive is partially determined by what we know or believe
constructive perception has survival value - helps us make sense of the world
So, seeing is not necessarily believing.

9. Here's why: Perceptual Constancies
Our tendency to have perceptual experiences in the absence of stimuli color constancy
You can have left brain/right brain conflict when reading words that are a certain color.
We also perceive color sometimes when it is physically impossible. EXAMPLE: The vision cells in the center of the retina are the only ones that can see color. Therefore, we should only see color in the center of our visual field. Objects in our peripheral vision should not appear in color. But we see color throughout the field. Why? Color constancy! Try looking at colored objects with your peripheral vision - what do you see?
Try it yourself!

10. Look at the chart below and do your best to say the color, not the word:

11. You Be the Eyewitness Imagine you are at a gas station buying milk
A man walks in, threatens the employee at the counter, robs the cash register, and runs out
The entire ordeal lasts about five seconds
This is the man you saw…

13. You Be the Eyewitness
The police have asked you to help them identify the perpetrator
They will show you a set of pictures, and it is your responsibility to select the picture of the man you saw rob the gas station…

15. How Did You Do? So, which picture did you choose?
And the correct answer was... #2
Were you right?
What does this tell you about eyewitness testimony?

16. According to Research…
Studies show that the longer it takes an eyewitness to decide if the perpetrator is in a lineup, the less confident they actually are about their decision
Why?
Eyewitnesses typically take several minutes to point out the perpetrator because they often feel pressured to choose the correct one
However, if they are truly confident, they should be able to decide in under 10 seconds

17. Choosing From a Lineup
Research from Buckhout (1974) and Wells (1993) indicate that an eyewitness is more likely to falsely identify a person in a set of lineup photographs if there is anything that separates one picture from another
For example:
If one picture is larger than the others
If facial features in all the photographs are not identical

18. More Research… Malpass and Devine (1981)
Half of their participants in the staged act of vandalism were told that the perpetrator was in the lineup while the other half were told that the perpetrator may or may not be present
Results: the participants who were led to believe that the perpetrator was present felt compelled to pick someone, and more often than not, they chose an innocent person

19. Poor lighting
Distance in viewing
Short exposure
Something covering the perpetrator’s face (i.e., a mask)
Heightened stress and anxiety levels
Presence of a weapon
The own-race bias. People most accurate in identifying own race (Meissner & Brigham, 2001; meta-analysis)

20. Memory Test Let’s do another memory test…
You will have 30 seconds to view the next slide
Try to memorize all 20 items you see
You are not allowed to write anything down until after the screen has been shown
GOOD LUCK!!

21. Teacher note: when the students have seen the slide and are writing down answers, ask them if they saw a banana (on the intro slide), a pen (goes with pencil), and a nail (goes with hammer)…try to implant false memories!

22. Write down all the items you can remember
Finished!
Write down all the items you can remember

23. How’d You Do? How many of you remembered seeing… Why?
A banana?
A pen?
A light bulb?
Why?
Remember that I asked you if you saw a banana, a pen, and a light bulb…none of those were on the test! My comments affected your memory – I was able to implant false memories!
What does this tell you about real eyewitness questioning by the police?

24. Questioning an Eyewitness
Leading questions
Example: “Was the man wearing a black jacket?”
Why could this question present problems?
It doesn’t leave room for open-ended answers
It encourages eyewitness to reinvent memories (in this example, it coerces eyewitnesses into believing the man was wearing a particular color jacket, just like I convinced you that you saw pictures that weren’t really there)

25. Good Interview Practices
Get statement as close to the event as possible
Place the witness in the event environment
Before asking questions, ask the witness to recreate the incident in his/her mind
Start with unprompted recollection
use open-ended questions
Tell the witness
that they should do most of the talking
not to edit their thoughts; they should say whatever comes to mind

26. Good Interview Practices
Record both the questions asked as well as the answers
Have the witness tell the story from beginning to end; from the end to the beginning;
Have the witness tell the story from different perspectives (victim, other witnesses, perp)
Follow-up with specific questions
Elicit partial information

27. Avoid Leading questions (reconstructive memory)
Asking questions in a rapid-fire manner
go slow
give the witness time to think
Asking the same questions more than once
Multiple-choice questions
Interrupting the witness
Nonverbal cues or paralanguage indicating your opinion

28. Fair Lineup Practices Instruct witness that suspect might not be there
Use sequential viewing
Person conducting lineup does not know who suspect is
Ask eyewitness how confident they are prior to feedback
Pay attention to witness identification strategy
Be careful about providing feedback about correctness of choice

29. Police Officers and Crime Scene Investigators
Do they play a big role?
When Eyes Deceive- Eyewitness Testimony
What kind of impact did the professor have in implanting false memories?

30. Crime Scene Challenge
Now that your eyes and brain are warmed up, let’s test your observation skills a bit more
You will have 2 minutes to study a photograph of a crime scene on the next slide
Try to pay close attention to details
You are not allowed to write anything down until time is up
Ready?

33. Answer Each Question Below:
What color was the coffee mug? Blue Red White
When was the deadline? Yesterday Today Tomorrow
What time was on the clock on the wall? : : :55
How many sticky notes were on the whiteboard?
What was NOT in the picture? Stapler Trash Can Printer
What was the name on the plaque? Bill Brian Carl
What color was the victim’s shirt? Black Green Red
How many plants were in the picture? None One Two
What color was the marker in the drawer? Red Blue Green
Where was the book? On a box In the trash can Under the body

34. What color was the coffee mug? Yellow
When was the deadline? Today
What time was on the clock on the wall? :05
How many sticky notes were on the whiteboard?
What was NOT in the picture? Stapler
What was the name on the plaque? Brian
What color was the victim’s shirt? Blue
How many plants were in the picture? Two
What color was the marker in the drawer? Green
Where was the book? On a box

35. The Composite Sketch
The most common and well-known service a forensic artists provides is composite drawing. Law enforcement utilizes computers to re-create a likeness of a suspect. Composites are a valuable investigative tool; they are media friendly, allow for public involvement, and can be sent out to agencies by utilizing the quality faxing capabilities of the personnel computer. By using this method of distributions, all departments, and news media, have the information in their hands to perhaps make a quick identification, and apprehension of the suspect.

36. Caricature
A composite sketch is NOT a photograph, it is a likeness. Features are usually exaggerated just like a caricature. Our brains focus on these features and fill in the rest of the image.

37. FACES
A software program that offers many options to help you recreate a person’s facial features. FACES technology is used by thousands of police agencies worldwide – including the FBI and CIA – to identify, track and apprehend criminal suspects.

38. Can You identify the following famous people?

39. Guess Who???
Bryan Cranston

40. Guess Who???
Barack Obama

41. Guess Who???
Lindsay Lohan

42. Guess Who???
Justin Bieber

43. Guess Who???
Michael Jackson

44. Jennifer Thompson & Ronald Cotton
Eyewitness Testimony Part 1
Eyewitness Testimony Part 2

46. Which one is the perpetrator?

48. You will now try to create a facial composite
You will now try to create a facial composite. You will need to pay close attention to the following features:
The shape of the face
The shape of the jaw
The shape of the eyes
The shape of the nose
The width of the neck
The shape & protrusion of the ears
The presence of facial piercing
The presence of facial hair, its color, & location
The presence of facial markings, such as scars or tattoos
Forehead or other facial lines
The presence of eyeglasses or sunglasses
The length, color, & texture of the person’s hair