Eyewitness Identification is the most valuable and powerful tool a prosecutor can offer to the jury. there is nothing more captivating than a witness testifying and pointing at the accused and stating, " There, that's the criminal sitting right there." The downfall to any eyewitness is the fact that their testimony is so convincing. In fact, their statement is so manipulative that it can seize the hearts and minds of the jurors instantly. This will surely guarantee a guilty conviction. However, it can also convict innocent bystanders as well. At this point what can a defendant do? To be honest, I think in the past three decades it has been proven to be unreliable. In addition, even though the human mind is the most sophisticated and complex machinery on this planet, I can almost guarantee you that some individuals would be incapable of remembering and recalling events as they seen them. with that said, this is why numbers are ridiculously high in regards to wrongful convictions. …show more content…
Francis. In this case the defendant was accused of armed robbery. the witness testified during the probable cause hearing and the first trial stating that the robber had no distinctive features and was wearing a short sleeve shirt. So the trial ended in a mistrial because the jury was unable to decide a verdict. The same witness changed her testimony to the defendant had long sleeves and a jacket to conceal his weapon when she discovered the accused had tattoos. Long story short the judge over ruled the testimony for the inconsistency between the first and second