Eyewitnesses have for the longest time been the most instrumental determinants of the outcome of cases. Their testimonial accounts of events, verification, and invalidation of pertinent information regarding a case are primarily what makes them important. However, some testimonies of some eyewitnesses have been found inaccurate since they witness to what they did not see making them dubious or lying witnesses. There are also witnesses who may unintentionally give erroneous information in their testimonies. Many reasons are attributed to eyewitnesses inadvertently giving accounts of events wrongfully. Either way, some people have been wrongfully convicted due to invalid eyewitness testimonies. Although some cases have been salvaged and innocent individuals prevented from wrongful incarceration, there are those who did not get the same provision. It is, therefore, important to have a meriting criterion to assess the credibility of a witness’ testimony.
An eyewitness’ testimony is crucial. The first thing when examining a witness testimony is establishing their authenticity as witnesses. This means that the eyewitness has to be assessed to determine whether they are real witnesses or ‘fabricated witnesses.’ This is important because no false eyewitness will give accurate testimony. The reason is that they did not have an account of what happened. Also, the fact that they lied about being witnesses makes them unbelievable; and so is their testimony. There are many ways of determining the authenticity of a witness. However, the most important one is chronologically piecing together other pieces of evidence to see whether they concur in placing the eyewitness at the premises of an event or crime. This can include physical evidence, digital or technological evidence, and even testimonies from suspects, victims or other witnesses (Jenkins, 2017).
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Testimonies are accounts of events as witnessed by an individual. Therefore, an eyewitness’ testimony is simply a recollection of events. This recollection can be blurry or unclear even to a real eyewitness due to stress, trauma, fear or anxiety. For this reason, one has to examine the reliability of an eyewitness’ testimony by, for instance, questioning them on how well they remember what happened or what they witnessed. There are those who express fears that they do not remember everything while others are confident about what they saw.
Over the years, some witnesses have been found to have mental health issues. While they are authentic and real, their accounts may not be fully reliable. For this reason, it is important for the mental health of a witness to be evaluated. This usually requires an examination by a mental health expert. A mentally stable or healthy individual has a higher likelihood of giving accurate testimonies as compared to a mentally unstable witness. It is important also to understand that mental health does not entirely pertain to the aspect of sanity or insanity. Indeed, any form of psychological unsettledness or distress can be perceived as a mental health issue and should consequently be considered when assessing the testimony of an eyewitness.
Finally, consistency is a critical element of consideration when examining an eyewitness’s testimony. The first thing about consistency is the actual narrative and testimony of an eyewitness. For instance, some eyewitnesses keep changing their stories during a testimony while some cannot answer relevant questions regarding their assertions hence discrediting their testimonies. Another aspect of consistency is how other pieces of evidence weave together with an eyewitness’ testimony to give a solid account of events or narrative. If there is any form of conflict in the flow of events as narrated in an eyewitness’ testimony, then their credibility can be questioned.
Reference
Jenkins, W. J. (2017). Eyewitness Testimony . CRC Press.
