Eagle-eyed citizens certainly have a role to play in keeping our streets safe. Many a guilty person has been convicted thanks to the testimony of an eyewitness. However, some eyewitnesses are not beneficial to society. They help the police and prosecution secure a conviction of someone innocent (with all that entails for the person convicted) while allowing the person who committed the crime to roam free.
If you fear an eyewitness is about to wrongly identify you then it is important to understand your options. The last thing you want is a conviction and sentence for someone else’s crime.
Some eyewitnesses set out to name the wrong person. They do so to save themselves or someone else from a conviction or to try and strike a deal regarding another crime they have committed. Or to harm the person they wrongly name. Yet, the majority who get it wrong do so inadvertently. The Innocence Project separates the reasons into two camps:
1. System variables
These are things within the control of the legal system. For example, if the lineup was carried out incorrectly, or if interviewing officers phrased their questions in ways that convinced the eyewitness they saw something they did not.
2. Estimator variables
These are out of the control of the legal system. They are to do with the eyewitness themself. Maybe their view of events was poor. Perhaps their memory is unreliable due to dementia. Maybe they just have terrible eyesight. Or perhaps they struggle to differentiate one Black or Asian person from another.
Uncovering why an eyewitness might wrongly name you could be key to persuading a court to reject their version of events. Learning how is wise if you find yourself in such a situation.
