Marvin Anderson was the 99th individual to be exonerated in United States. Anderson was convicted in July 1982 with the claim of raping a white woman. DNA evidence was later used to show that Anderson was not guilty. When the white woman reported that she was raped by a black man, an officer made a decision that it was Anderson. Anderson had told the officer that he had a white woman and that is why the officer assumed Anderson was responsible. However, there was another man who fitted the descriptions the victim gave. When Anderson asked for the other suspect to be called, it was denied, and Anderson received a jail sentence of ten years. After six years, the other suspect John Otis confessed to the crime, which the judged refused to overturn till a DNA testing was done.
To increase the reliability of eye witness testimony, it is essential to collect the data as early as possible, where the eyewitness can still remember everything (Sauer, Palmer, & Brewer, 2019). Most information will be reliable, and it will help get the correct suspects instead of assigning who committed the crime.
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The police officers who plant evidence or prosecutors who withhold evidence should be fired from their work. These individuals are supposed to be promoting justice, not closing cases, which leads to unfairness. The police officers in the case of Anderson planted evidence while the prosecutor withheld information on the testing kit. Such people should not be allowed to serve as they do it unfairly.
Scientific evidence reliability can be achieved through testing. The tests are conclusive, which means they do not mislead the results. The use of DNA tests, for instance, can show who committed the crime as it was in the case of Anderson.
Reference
Sauer, J. D., Palmer, M. A., & Brewer, N. (2019). Eyewitness Identification. Psychological Science and the Law, 208.
