Ask two people who witnessed...
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Ask two people who witnessed the same event to give an accurate account of the event,
and you would probably get two very different stories. Get two people to describe the
same person whom they have seen enter and leave a store, and you would probably get
two quite different descriptions. Despite what many non-legal people believe, eyewitness
accounts are not always better than circumstantial evidence. Studies have shown that
people are not very good at identifying someone they have seen only once (nearly a 50%
failure rate), that reliability is reduced in stressful situations, that cross-racial
identifications are even less reliable, and that even those who are "certain" of their story,
are no more reliable than others.
Yet, so important are eyewitness accounts that the US Department of Justice has developed a guide for law enforcement officers in obtaining eyewitness information (Eyewitness Evidence: A Guide for Law Enforcement). Some of the advice given in the document calls for open-ended questions followed by close-ended questions ("Can you tell me what the color of the car was?" followed by "What color was the car?") Leading questions, such as, "Was the car red?" are discouraged. Witnesses are encouraged to use non-verbal communication (gestures, drawings) and are to be instructed not to assume, guess, or speculate. Officers are then instructed to clarify the information they have received, document it immediately, then instruct the witness to avoid media or other potential witnesses.
Eyewitnesses may not be totally accurate, but Jesus instructed his disciples to be witnesses, to tell others what they had seen and heard. And on the basis of those witnesses, the Christian church has grown and spread these past 2,000 years.
Yet, so important are eyewitness accounts that the US Department of Justice has developed a guide for law enforcement officers in obtaining eyewitness information (Eyewitness Evidence: A Guide for Law Enforcement). Some of the advice given in the document calls for open-ended questions followed by close-ended questions ("Can you tell me what the color of the car was?" followed by "What color was the car?") Leading questions, such as, "Was the car red?" are discouraged. Witnesses are encouraged to use non-verbal communication (gestures, drawings) and are to be instructed not to assume, guess, or speculate. Officers are then instructed to clarify the information they have received, document it immediately, then instruct the witness to avoid media or other potential witnesses.
Eyewitnesses may not be totally accurate, but Jesus instructed his disciples to be witnesses, to tell others what they had seen and heard. And on the basis of those witnesses, the Christian church has grown and spread these past 2,000 years.
