eyewitness identification
Survivor picks perpetrator
Eyewitness identification is the process by which a witness to a crime attempts to identify the perpetrator, typically from a lineup or photo array.
Despite its persuasive power in courtrooms, research shows it is unreliable—stress, poor lighting, cross-racial recognition, and suggestive police procedures all contribute to false identifications.
The conviction was overturned after the eyewitness identification was discredited by DNA evidence.
- eyewitnessOne who saw events
- face recognitionIdentifying individuals by countenance
- police lineupSuspect identification procedure
- testimonySworn statement as evidence
- perpetratorOne who commits wrongdoing
composite sketch · perception · suggestibility · recognition · reliability · accuracy · cognitive bias · evidence · crime scene · retrieval · victim · memory · false memory · suspect · encoding · lineup · recall · observation
eyewitness identificationforensic evidence
Scientific material proving crimes
DNA evidence · physical evidence · scientific evidence · documentary evidence · trace evidence
eyewitness identificationhearsay
Unverified secondhand information
secondhand account · rumor · circumstantial evidence · inference · indirect evidence
eyewitness identificationbiometric identification
Authentication through bodily characteristics
eye, eyes, eyed, eyeing, eyeless, witness, witnesses, witnessed, witnessing