Eyewitness: How accurate is visual memory? | 60 Minutes Archive
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ม.ค. 2025
- In 2009, Lesley Stahl reported on flaws in eyewitness testimony procedures that led to the wrongful conviction of people like Ronald Cotton, who was later exonerated by DNA evidence for the rape of Jennifer Thompson.
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He got paid $110k for being locked although innocent for 11yrs is also injustice.
I just saw a guy who got 1.1 million for 17yrs, id rather have the 17yrs
@@j.sargent9172 after taxes that's roughly $600k for an extra 6yrs, nah my freedom is worth more to me
It was the 1990s.
If you can't flat out choose the suspect within seconds of seeing them then the witness choice should not be a determining factor.
The overwhelming majority of those wronfully convicted and eventually exonerated are Black/Brown people. Those mostly responsible for the wrongfull convictions are police and prosecutors, and they are never held accountable. Those in the justice system go on with their careers and lives. The investigators/detectives care more about a quick case clearance and prosecutors care more about adding to their win column, and you can bet they were not ignorant to the fact that they were sending the wrong person to prison. The justice system failed the victims and they failed the accuesed who were innocent. There should be criminal penalties for those, especially in the justice system who knowingly put innocent people in prison.
Ronald Cotton and his ability to forgive Jennifer Thompson is amazing considering losing 11 years of his life in prison ...and her ability to embrace him as a friend and family is beautiful. Something good came out of this horrific story.
Her ability to embrace him as a friend? 😆
Her ability? Yeah, she’s a hero for that sacrifice lmao
He only got 110k for his time in jail? That’s terrible, he deserves more. But I’m sure he just wanted to be free more than anything. Glad he has a beautiful family now.
Why didn’t they test the sperm 11 years ago?
@@QueensFirstI think I that during the time of the crime believe was 80s they may not have had full on DNA testing. They may have been able to match blood types at that time from sperm. Although from sounds of it they didn't have necessarily a saved sample of his sperm in evidence but an item that had trace of sperm on it again that's what it seemed like from what i heard.
@@QueensFirstDNA testing being allowed/used as evidence in court wasn't even a thing until two years after he was convicted.
Even after that point, it wasn't until ~10 years later with the OJ Simpson trial in 94-95 that it entered public consciousness. That case really put it into the limelight for the first time and in an extremely public way.
It might not be a coincidence that 1995 was also when Cotton's lawyer was able to get the DNA tests approved to prove he was innocent.
@@QueensFirst Your timeline, and memory, is off. He spent 11 years in prison but was freed many years ago (20+ years). The crime happened in the late 80s.
@@leannemo7382 oh. Yea. Lol. 👍
You see? Man, so many men wrongfully locked up. Time after time, law enforcement just has to be right. I hope more lawyers take more of these cases much more seriously.
People need help. Finding the correct person and keeping the innocent free!
What an incredible story. I'm so glad this case was studied to the level it did because even the reporter picked the wrong person. I hope this never happens again to an innocent person.
It happens more often then not and especially to people of color unfortunately!
An Aliby is relevant only when Time of death is known Bug Duh here
It will happen over and over. Especially minorities are mistakenly convicted @ a high rate.
Anthony Broadwater was wrongfully accused by the author of the book Lovely Bones. She gave a brief apology to him on a website. She denied his request to speak to her. But, he forgave her anyway.. I've seen prison documentaries. These innocent people lives are changed forever.
🥺 so true
It’s interesting how racial stats for people in prison can include the originally wrongfully convicted person and usually the original criminal goes on to commit crimes again and end up in jail. So now you have at least twice the people who would have been in jail had you got it right. For example, Central Park 5. They locked up 5 kids for one criminal who was completely different. It’s crazy.
There are a lot! Anthony Broadwater as well was accused by the author of the book Lovely Bones.
That's why you cannot convict someone from just one eyewitness and no other evidence.
Exactly. You need corroborating evidence.
If the eyewitness is a cop, in my opinion, the person has very little chance, even if there is evidence contradicting the eyewitness. The pro-cop propaganda is so strong.
Wow!!😮
That's all I can say!!
Can you imagine the amount of black men that were falsely sent to jail and died (or executed) while serving time?😢
The numbers don't lie but liars use numbers
Exactly
I read 'Picking Cotton' several years ago. Tremendous book...
Awesome name for the book
This should be a movie
To white white people they look alike but Ron cotton mouth is flat and the other guys mouth isn’t that’s the main difference there nose bridge is different Ronnie’s is longer there eye brows are similar and that’s it. It’s so unbelievable how they look like two different people
Shame that they did not bring up the topic of people not being able to distinguish features of people that are a different race than themselves. White people have great difficulties seeing differences between Asians, Black people and other races.
Exactly, most of these cases are cross racial misidentification.
How horrible to look like someone who did something wrong.
These two men look nothing alike seriously and it’s so sad that many of us know the reason they got grouped but if you look at these two people seriously and intelligently they don’t even look like fourth cousins they have the same eyebrow arch
@@nonya.biznesswhen I saw the real rapists photo I was thinking how? They don’t even look alike.
@@cbryant9078they do not look alike. And it’s a bizarre how a lot of white people cant differentiate black features. I hear them say he looks like so and so on. I’m thinking, where? People need to do a lot better cause cotton did not look like the actual rapist. And the red flags started going up for me when she was picking out her rapist through process of elimination. Either you know who it is or you don’t. Let’s be realistic here.
I blame the cops .. they should not of took eyewitness if she took 5 minutes like that
Agreed.
My question is, how did you have that sperm sample for 11 years and never test it one time
Because DNA testing did not exist at the time. The first time he herd of DNA testing, he asked to have it done. And that's what cleared him.
The didn’t test for DNA in the late 1980s. It’s a good thing they kept a sperm sample.
The state does not think that it's worth the expense to have any DNA tested for all cases.
It was 1984 and 1987 they dna testing wasn’t common and they had a eyewitness so they didn’t think it was necessary
Someone should be paying him for losing all that time in jail and being no guilty at all that time .......the proof was locked away for all that time ...Shame on the police they always fail to do the right thing and be 110% sure ....the DA and police just want to convict that's all the do ....this is not right
I am black and could have come to the same conclusion because he does look a bit like him. However if there was even a smattering of doubt, I would say I'm not sure
The fact that she said it was between 4 and 5 meant she was not certain and she took 5 minutes to make the recognition, too long if your sure. I would rather .let that person go than be wrong and somebody suffer for my mistake.
But when you’ve been brutalized and harassed for hours by cops and doctors and family, you want it all to be over with.
“The perp may or may not be in this lineup”. This process is meant to be 1 of many.
Ronalds asked for the DNA test because he knew that he didn't do it.!! Who in their right mind would ask for a DNA TEST if they are guilty.!!??
Kindness = Biggest downfall
Incredible and heartbreaking story. What a beautiful ending though.
Wow. Wow. Wow. He deserved a lot more than $110k.
It was standard for the 1990s.
Just hearing the piece of this story where Ron forgave Jennifer with, as she put it, " all the Grace & Mercy we're taught about in church", was probably the most powerful spiritual message/lesson I've witnessed in years!! It was so powerful.... Ron really gets it...I can only pray that some day I can 'get it' as much as he does.
That line in the Lord's prayer, where we ask to be forgiven....AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO SIN AGAINST US, I didn't fully understand that part until i was in my 50's. Regardless of one's religion,Christian or not, it makes sense that your spirit cannot be free until you free it of those resentments you carry from those you feel harmed you.
This guy not only cleared his name he did the cops job and found the real perpetrator. $110,000.00 is not enough compensation for 11 years lost with family and frineds.
When I took psychology Memory 312 course I learned so much about how our brains trick us and how certain experiences affect/alter what we feel we remember clearly. It is quite fascinating
The eye opening part is her rapist did DIE in prison as she prayed for. Mr. Cotton, was protected from her prayer, because he DIDN'T do it.
Mr Ronald Cotton don’t Even look like the real rapist now nor back then. Its a dude in that line up that looked more like him than Mr Ronald did.
Whatever reasons they giving “might” be true BUT they all didn’t consider the fact that she might’ve been hurting and mad of course and the actual guy not being in the line up nor pic of him in sight, she second guessed and obviously went ahead and knowingly or unknowingly picked whoever “SHE THOUGHT” looked more familiar… stories like these happen all the time. Cops do it too,fail to get the real suspect and MAKE anybody they choose a suspect. 🤷🏾♂️ this aint nothing new. Them people got alot of innocent BLACK men caged up,Its sad!
Not just black men.
This lady is so evil nothing can change what she did talking about praying who was she praying to
She picked him out through process of elimination which was a major red flag to me. Either she knows and can identify the person or she doesn’t. Instead of based on these people this man looks most like him.
Sad v, beautiful story and study very important , thank you
With forensics, we should not have to rely on eyewitness testimony.
The witness is a liar in some aspects because if the two men look almost alike, there should be some recognition looking at the newer suspect which would create some doubt in her mind so she woukd be less adamant about the first suspect. Instead she said she didnt recognise the face AT ALL. How comes she didnt say something like " he looks like him but it's not him".
It depends on the person trying to visualize.
The scariest part is the journalist learning all of this and still saying ahes sure she can identify a perpetrator.
Sad story: He is a great human being for forgiving this woman. The two men did not even look alike.
Man this stuff was crazy, boi boi The United States Of America owe my people everything Foundational Black American forever
Thats your problem right there Burlington NC sounds racist to me
She just want somebody to pay for what happen to her it's so sad
What a guy.
Another thing that is interesting to me is how she picked out the wrong person but the person that the cops were suspecting? So what kind of body language and questioning was being used to get the pick the police wanted but the wrong guy all together??
When they say all blk ppl look alike 😮
Eyewitness accounts are notoriously inaccurate. Our memories don’t work like a video recording playing back. They are always influenced by our biases, information we have, etc.
Neither of them look anything alike.
She knew when she seen the actual predator she decided to defend her lie because she knew how it would have made her look with white women having a history of falsely accusing black men so decided to let that man continue to suffer. Now they trying to clean up her treacherous actions. A black woman would not have been able to get away with something like that. She would have been made to look like everything horrible in the media for something like this.
Train the public to be more cognizant of their surroundings..
It ended so wonderful ❤
🤔🤔🤔
That is why the bible says you must have 2-3 witnesses, not just one. Forgiving is wonderful and hate is so horrible.
Why would they allow this if polygraphs aren't? That's way more accurate
Amen
Polygraphs are not credible bc it only measure the body's physical response to certain questions. It's based on a moral perception that if you're lying your vitals will increase bc you know youre lying. People can be manipulative liars. They wouldn’t have a physical response in lying. It's also extremely irresponsible to not consider how nervousness, grief, etc. can cause false readings.
8:20 This is why you should never use eyewitness testimony
I love this 🎉
$10K for each year of false imprisonment? That’s hardly restitution.
She should be ashamed of ruining someone’s like
She said that she was ashamed? She even asked for forgiveness. And from the video, it looks like she's doing everything in her power to right her wrong.
It was more the detective’s faults. Line ups are supposed to be one of many identification processes. It also doesn’t help that the cops were in her ear
Is that Leslie Stahl from the Marcel movie? 😊
What is why you can't believe all women
Absolutely. Women can lie. And I say this as a woman 😂 there's a fine line between believing all woman, and being a skeptic
Wow this is crazy! Those memory tests are insane! I thought I was a hundred percent correct and I was wrong😳 I’m mind blown
She should go to jail for falsely accusing someone. Karens word means more than a man’s life. Look how quickly he forgave his Karen. Just like he’s told to.
Only 10,000 a year???? holy cow. That's peanut.
that was powerful
11 yrs . When he was in the prime of his life....Where is God when you need him.
Bro this whole story is bs she don’t know what she’s talking about
What do you mean?
explain?
Ronald Cotton is amazing. Totally amazing.
What a story!
"Im mortified, I feel like Jennifer...." 💀💀💀💀💀
😂😂 Yea Jennifer just sent a man to prison for 11 years, Host does a memory game for a TV show and feels like Jennifer. That was gold!!😂😂
Memories can be manipulated by the devil along with our thoughts that the devil uses the past all the way to the present to manipulate the people that are lost and saved
please stop making excuse for her , stop rationalizing her decision
i wont forgave her 11 years of my life lost
Picking Cotton...😂 The whole episode is a hard hell no, for me
That is CRAZY
The eyewitness was so useless. She didn't even know her rapist was right there in the courtroom.
It was probably dark when she was assaulted, and she already had it in her mind that Cotton was her attacker. She was incorrectly biased and had no reason to believe that Poole was her rapist. Plus, society encourages this "believe all women" idea that insinuates that women are never wrong or lie about being sexually assaulted, so I'm sure that played into it as well.
00:24:58 Who is the blonde girl in red? She's pretty!
Ron, I'm still mad for you!!!!!
This is bull. His situation is what it is with her, but there are so many innocent people in prison for things they did not do I often pray for them.. Excuses excuses. why not try the smell a person smell do not change like that the smell of your clothes.🤬😢💔
Education of those more they're educated of literatures how can justify others are more intelligent to your education system ' ?
Best one
Sometimes 100%. Sometimes not.
😢
Foam from a shoe .. I've never had foam come from a shoe ..
You ever been so poor that you have to buy the cheapest shoes you can afford and where them far longer than you should, even if they're falling apart? If not, be glad you've never been that poor instead of being skeptical of things you've been fortunate for never being in a position to understand.
@@positively_broad_st3780 I hear ya.
@@positively_broad_st3780 amen because I definitely know about foam coming out a shoe
Don't get confuse with foam as a liquid,or spounge which is another name for foam
Jennifer shoud go to jail
"PickIng Cotton "?!
Really 😅😅
YOU WERENT TAUGHT THAT 😳😳😳😳🧐🧐🧐🧐🧐🧐 WOW
You should be ashamed of yourself. you lied on a innocent person. Stop trying to justify it for that lady.they don't look alike.so stop saying all black people look alike
They dnt look alike
🤮
How dare you...The bases of American culture...If you are some people...Smh
He only got 100,000 bucks?
Time is changing!!!!!
They are repeating this mistaken identity case
Not to be a negative Nancy… but he was convicted of rape and breaking and entering already. The man was no saint it’s not like a completely innocent person was done horribly wrong. He probably served a minimal amount of time for his initial rape charge as a teen because of juvenile sentencing guidelines.
You are out here lying and it’s hilarious 😂
You think you’re the first person to magically discover a rap sheet like that. No one else has seen proof of said crimes, just you?
You either saw his record or did not. He was 22 and there’s no juveniles guidelines for grown adults. Questioning whether or not he was held for the full term of these crimes you made up, is proof you made them up.
They detail his past crimes in the video.
@@DakotaTuttle-k3x Again you are slow. You can look him up and look up his record. There’s nothing on it. They are referring to the charges he got for THIS case, all were later dropped.
Why are people feeling bad for this guy when he has a record of breaking and entering and sexual assault? Sounds like he belonged there regardless.
Isn’t that lying Leslie Stahl who did that horrible interview of Trump. Yeah, I would not let her interview me 😢
😂😂 Trump is the biggest liar and conman we've ever seen. Be for real.
@@CorettaJG Maybe, but not while Fani Willis, Leticia James and Tiffany Henyard are out there, but he is a close 4th 😲
Torjacj
Give him a conjugal visit. 😊
On yer bakk! 🙃
Not an old repeat again.....
Jennifer didn't mean too accuse the wrong man of her rape.
She had made a terrible mistake as they did look alike. The hate she felt for this man was justified , after all, she didn't no he was innocent & the man who raped her had an impact on her life, the fear of being killed before during & after the ordeal must have made her feel so strongly toward this man. Luckily for Ronald he came face to face with the very person who had committed the crime & after alot of pleading managed to get his case back to court where justice was done.
No one can be blamed for this mistake. After all,they looked so much alike & her emotions were probably all over the place whilst identifying him. I'm so pleased that Ronald is now able to forgive & get on with his life also Jennifer. I love the ending to their story.🙏♥️🙏🦾
For most visual memory is accurate. As reliable as a lie detector test or psychiatric evaluation. For some it's somewhat accurate. Few not at all accurate. If trauma's involved, memory falters. But, always some sense of accuracy remains. Depends on the individual's age, health, eyesight, day/night, experience, intelligence, perception.
Leslie 🤢🤢🤢🤮🤮