view a documentary of the case of Jennifer Thompson, a victim of rape. On the ba

Question

view a documentary of the case of Jennifer Thompson, a victim of rape. On the basis of her eyewitness testimony (but no substantial physical evidence), Ronald Cotton was convicted of rape and served 11 years in prison, beginning in 1984. In 1995, DNA evidence exonerated Mr. Cotton. After watching the video, answer the questions below:

Briefly describe your initial reaction to the story of Ronald Cotton.

Discus several reasons that people’s memory fails. Hint: Use terminology from ch. 7

Given the knowledge that psychologist have revealed about the fallibility of the human memory, what recommendations would you make to lawyers, judges, and jurors to ensure that individuals like Ronald Cotton won’t be wrongfully imprisoned? NOTE: Your response should be related to memory, not DNA or other factors.

Explanation / Answer

My initial to the story of Ronald cotton was that of devestation and surprise, for a man had to spend nearly 10.5 years in prison for crimes he hadn't committed.

Poole memories aren't the only ones that can be accounted for, as often the memory tends to undergo lapses, and loops which create distortion.

Forgetting is a common phenomenon and happens after nine hours of learning a particular new information, which leads to the fabrication of a false memory or in a reterival failure of the given information.

There needs to be extra caution while practicing eyewitness testimonies. There shouldn't be such questions asked which lead to the answer being guided or in lineups there shouldn't be deliberation or plain yes or no answers, but rather how sure they are and split second reactions to prevent them selecting people who look suspicious, but they might have never seen before.

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