HINTS: Bernard Jackson
Bernard Jackson is a free man today, but he has many bitter memories. Jackson spent five years in prison after a jury wrongly convicted him of raping two women. At Jackson's trial, although two witnesses testified that Jackson was with them in another location at the times of the crimes, he was convicted anyway. Why? The jury believed the testimony of the two victims, who positively identified Jackson as the man who had attacked them. The court eventually freed Jackson after the police found the man who had really committed the crimes. Jackson was similar in appearance to the guilty man. The two women had made a mistake in identity. As a result, Jackson has lost five years of his life. The two women in this case were eyewitnesses. They clearly saw the man who attacked them, yet they mistakenly identified an innocent person. Similar incidents have occurred before. Eyewitnesses to other crimes have identified the wrong person in a police lineup or in photographs. Many factors influence the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. For instance, witnesses sometimes see photographs of several suspects before they try to identify the person they saw in a lineup of people. They can become confused by seeing many photographs of similar faces. The number of people in the lineup, and whether it is a live lineup or a photograph, may also affect a witness's decision. People sometimes have difficulty identifying people of other races. The questions the police ask witnesses also have an effect on them.
虽然有许多痛苦的回忆，但Bernard Jackson 如今是一个自由的人了。jackson由于被错误的被指控侵犯了两名妇女而在监狱里度过了5年。尽管在jackson的案件审理中，有两名证人证明他在案发时在其他地方。但是仍然被判有罪。为什么？因为陪审团相信了两名受害者的证词，她们认定jackson就是袭击她们的男子。虽然在警方找到真正的犯人之后，法院最终释放了jackson。但是因为jackson长得像犯人而导致那两名妇女做出了错误的认定结果。jackson失去了原本属于自己的5年。 在这个案件中这两个女人是目击证人。她们清楚的看见了罪犯但却错误的指认了无辜的人。之前就发生过类似的事件。其他案件的目击证人在窗口指认罪犯或罪犯的照片时也发生了指认错误。 有很多的因素影响了目击证人证词的精确度。像是，证人在试图在一组人中辨认出犯人之前，先看到了其中一些人的照片。他们会在看到数张类似的脸后陷入困惑之中。小组的人数和是否是现场辨认或是辨认照片都会影响证人的决定。人们有时很难辨别出一个人的种族。而警方询问证人的问题也会对证人产生影响。 ——译文来自: lurity