What Is Eyewitness Testimony

Eyewitness testimony is one of the most important resources of evidence in all criminal investigations. Eyewitness testimony is when someone saw the crime occur and they are able to testify and clarify who did the crime. Eyewitness testimony makes or breaks a criminal case, whether the testimony is reliable or not. Many of innocent people have been placed in jail all because of an eyewitness who testified at the case. Two articles will be given, one saying why eyewitness testimony is so crucial and the process of this testimony and the other where the eyewitness puts the wrong person in jail. The first article that was found discusses how during a trial having an eyewitness testify evidence, this evidence is 75% result in a conviction, whether the

In 2010, McKinley was prisoned for five years for a wrongful rape conviction. The women who was wrongfully raped testified to the court saying, “as the rape victim, as was certain he was the one that attacked her that night” (New Jersey is a leader in addressing problems with eyewitness testimony, 2010) This just proves that that eyewitness testimony is not a definite answer to whether someone committed the crime. Later stated in the article, “DNA eventually proved that he did not do it” (New Jersey is a leader in addressing problems with eyewitness testimony, 2010). DNA testing should be used every time an eyewitness testifies at a criminal case because there have been hundreds of false eyewitness testimonies convicting the wrong person. In addition, “New Jersey Supreme Court responded by ordering trial judges across the state to instruct juries about the difficulties of cross-racial identification” (New Jersey is a leader in addressing problems with eyewitness testimony, 2010). This step by the New Jersey Supreme Court it will help people who are wrongfully convicted by eyewitness testimony in the