Yesterday, the CBS News program "60 Minutes," reaired Lesley Stahl's report, "Eyewitness: How Accurate is Visual Memory?" The two-part episode was first broadcast in March.
It's a cliché of courtroom dramas - that moment when the witness is
asked "Do you see the person who committed the crime here in this
courtroom before you?" It happens in real courtrooms all the time, and
to jurors, that point of the finger by a confident eyewitness is about
as damning as evidence can get.
But there is one type of evidence that's even more persuasive: DNA. There have been 235 people exonerated by DNA in this country, and as 60 Minutes and correspondent Lesley Stahl first reported in March, now a stunning pattern has emerged: more than three quarters of them were sent to prison at least in part because an eyewitness pointed a finger - an eyewitness we now know was wrong.
But there is one type of evidence that's even more persuasive: DNA. There have been 235 people exonerated by DNA in this country, and as 60 Minutes and correspondent Lesley Stahl first reported in March, now a stunning pattern has emerged: more than three quarters of them were sent to prison at least in part because an eyewitness pointed a finger - an eyewitness we now know was wrong.
The report focuses on the wrongful conviction of Ronald Cotton, misidentified by crime victim Jennifer Thompson-Cannino. They have written the book, Picking Cotton. Also featured in the report is University of Iowa Psychology Professor Gary Wells, an expert on memory and eyewitness id.
Related articles are in StandDown's eyewitness identification index. Earlier coverage of the 60 Minutes episode is here; Picking Cotton, here.
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