An essential overview of how perception and memory affect eyewitness testimony In 1981, sixteen-year-old Michael Williams was convicted on charges of aggravated rape based on the victim’s eyewitness testimony. No other evidence was found linking him to the attack. After nearly twenty-four years, Williams was released after three separate DNA analyses proved his innocence. The victim still maintains that Williams was the culprit. This heartbreaking case is but one example of eyewitness error. In Understanding Eyewitness Memory, Sean M. Lane and Kate A. Houston delve into the science of eyewitness memory. They examine a number of important topics, from basic research on perception and memory to the implications of this research on the quality and accuracy of eyewitness evidence. The volume answers questions such as: How do we remember and describe people we’ve encountered? What is the nature of false and genuine memories? How do emotional arousal and stress affect what we remember? Understanding Eyewitness Memory offers a brilliant overview of how memory and psychology affect eyewitness testimony, where quality and accuracy can mean the difference between wrongful imprisonment and true justice.

By shedding light on the many factors that can intervene and create inaccurate testimony, Elizabeth Loftus illustrates how memory can be radically altered by the way an eyewitness is questioned, and how new memories can be implanted and old ones changed in subtle ways.

Noted New Testament scholar Bauckham challenges the prevailing assumption the accounts of Jesus circulated as "anonymous community traditions," instead asserting that they were transmitted in the name of the original eyewitness.

Includes material on the case of Steve Titus, Ted Bundy, Timothy Hennis, Tony Herrerez, Howard Haupt, Clarence Von Williams, John Demjanjuk, and Tyrone Briggs.

This volume provides a tutorial review and evaluation of scientific research on the accuracy and reliability of eyewitness identification. The book starts with the perspective that there are a variety of conceptual and empirical problems with eyewitness identification as a form of forensic evidence, just as there are a variety of problems with other forms of forensic evidence. There is then an examination of the important results in the study of eyewitness memory and the implications of this research for psychological theory and for social and legal policy. The volume takes the perspective that research on eyewitness identification can be seen as the paradigmatic example of how psychological science can be successfully applied to real-world problems.

Identifying the Culprit: Assessing Eyewitness Identification makes the case that better data collection and research on eyewitness identification, new law enforcement training protocols, standardized procedures for administering line-ups, and improvements in the handling of eyewitness identification in court can increase the chances that accurate identifications are made. This report explains the science that has emerged during the past 30 years on eyewitness identifications and identifies best practices in eyewitness procedures for the law enforcement community and in the presentation of eyewitness evidence in the courtroom. In order to continue the advancement of eyewitness identification research, the report recommends a focused research agenda.

The Handbook of Eyewitness Psychology presents a survey of research and legal opinions from international experts on the rapidly expanding scientific literature addressing the accuracy and limitations of eyewitnesses as a source of evidence for the courts. For the first time, extensive reviews of factors influencing witnesses of all ages-children, adults, and the elderly-are compiled in a single pair of volumes. The disparate research currently being conducted in eyewitness memory in psychology, criminal justice, and legal studies is coherently presented in this work. Controversial topics such as the use of hypnosis, false and recovered memories, the impact of stress, and the accuracy of psychologically impaired witnesses are expertly examined. Leading eyewitness researchers also discuss the subjects of conversational memory, alibi evidence, witness credibility, facial memory, earwitness testimony, lineup theory, and expert testimony. The impact of witness testimony in court is considered, and each volume concludes with a legal commentary chapter. The Handbook of Eyewitness Psychology is an invaluable aid to researchers, legal scholars, and practicing lawyers who need access to the most recent research in the field, accompanied by the interpretations and commentary of many of the world's leading authorities on these topics.

An essential overview of how perception and memory affect eyewitness testimony In 1981, sixteen-year-old Michael Williams was convicted on charges of aggravated rape based on the victim’s eyewitness testimony. No other evidence was found linking him to the attack. After nearly twenty-four years, Williams was released after three separate DNA analyses proved his innocence. The victim still maintains that Williams was the culprit. This heartbreaking case is but one example of eyewitness error. In Understanding Eyewitness Memory, Sean M. Lane and Kate A. Houston delve into the science of eyewitness memory. They examine a number of important topics, from basic research on perception and memory to the implications of this research on the quality and accuracy of eyewitness evidence. The volume answers questions such as: How do we remember and describe people we’ve encountered? What is the nature of false and genuine memories? How do emotional arousal and stress affect what we remember? Understanding Eyewitness Memory offers a brilliant overview of how memory and psychology affect eyewitness testimony, where quality and accuracy can mean the difference between wrongful imprisonment and true justice.