Eyewitness Identification Memory Jennifer Beaudry, Lecturer (PSS) Eyewitness Identification Memory DataBlitz 26.04.2013 1

Eyewitness Identification Memory Overview Background Experiment: Impact of disguise Future directions 2

Eyewitness Identification Memory The Problem 306 DNA Exonerations Since the inception of the Innocence Project in 1992, 306 people have been exonerated through DNA evidence (with the most recent exoneration occurring last week). Combined, these innocent men served over 4,000 years in jail (for an average sentence of 13.5 years), and 18 of them were on death row at the time of their exoneration. This number is really the tip of the iceberg for wrongful convictions in the US and worldwide because DNA evidence is only available for testing in 5-10% of criminal cases and, even when it is available, the courts may not grant post-conviction testing. [In 2003 Leonard Fraser was on trial for the murder of Natasha Ryan (along with the murder of three other women) when Ryan showed up alive and well.] Innocence Project, 2013 3

Eyewitness Identification Memory Common Causes of Wrongful Convictions (First 225 cases) 77% 52% 23% 16% Innocence Project, 2013 4

Eyewitness Identification Memory Factors Influencing Eyewitness Identification Memory System Variables Lineup presentation Lineup instructions Lineup construction Estimator Variables Exposure duration Age of witness Disguise 5

Eyewitness Identification Memory Stocking Disguise (N = 91) None 1/3 2/3 Full 24 targets (6 per disguise level) Lineups: Target-present vs. Target-absent Mansour, Beaudry, et al. (2012) Law and Human Behavior. 6 6

Eyewitness Identification Memory 24-Trial Repeated Measures Design (N = 91)

Eyewitness Identification Memory Toque & Sunglasses Disguise (N = 87) None Toque Sunglasses Toque & Sunglasses 24 targets (6 per disguise level) Lineups: Target-present vs. Target-absent Mansour, Beaudry, et al. (2012) Law and Human Behavior. 9 9

Eyewitness Identification Memory Target-Present Lineups (Stocking) 10

Eyewitness Identification Memory Target-Present Lineups (Toque & Sunglasses) 11

Eyewitness Identification Memory Correct Identifications from Target-Present Lineups 12

Eyewitness Identification Memory Future Directions Disguise and… Role of metacognitions? Jurors’ perceptions? 13

Eyewitness Identification Memory Acknowledgements: Jamal Mansour, Michelle Bertrand, Natalie Kalmet, Elisabeth Melsom, Rod Lindsay jbeaudry@swin.edu.au Finally, I’d like to acknowledge my co-authors and SSHRC who funded this project. #410-09-2674 14

Eyewitness Identification Memory False Identifications from Target-Absent Lineups Now let’s see what happens when the witness sees a lineup that does NOT contain the target. Regardless of the type of disguise false identifications increase as disguise increases; this is not surprising given the increase of foil selections even when the target was in the lineup! 15