Sunday, February 25, 2007

U.Va. study says older witnesses less reliable

According to this story, "A University of Virginia study suggests that older adults are not only more inclined than younger adults to make errors in recollecting details that have been suggested to them, but are also more likely than younger people to have a very high level of confidence in their recollections, even when wrong, according to a press release. The finding has implications regarding the reliability of older persons' eyewitness testimonies in courtrooms."

Over in West Virginia
, "After faulty eyewitness identifications helped send at least 146 innocent people to prison nationwide -- including three in West Virginia -- in the last decade, the Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed a proposal Thursday to increase the practice's accuracy."

No comments: