"WITNESS FOR THE DEFENSE: The Accused, the Eyewitness, and the Expert Who Puts Memory on Trial"

by Elizabeth & Katherine Ketcham Loftus ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 9, 1991

An intriguing and disturbing work in which forensic psychologist Loftus, a specialist on memory, examines the fallibility of eyewitness testimony in criminal cases. Of all types of evidence in a criminal trial, eyewitness identification is the most damning and, criminal lawyers know, most likely to result in a conviction. Loftus--here writing with Ketcham (Under the Influence, 1983, etc.--not reviewed)--shows convincingly that such evidence is paradoxically the most error-prone and unreliable. Some of the defendants with whose cases she became involved as an expert witness were famous--notably Ted Bundy and John Demjanjuk--while others were more obscure. In all of the cases, however, the positive identification of an eyewitness was crucial to the state's case. Loftus prefaces the actual case histories with a discussion of the imperfect nature of human memory, a summary of the clinical literature on the subject, and a few fascinating exercises that demonstrate that memory is indeed highly subjective. Loftus's discussion of the cases in which she testified reveals that wrongful convictions may actually occur frequently in the American justice system. She shows that the intense stress of being a victim of crime, deliberate or inadvertent suggestions by police that a certain suspect is guilty, outright police or prosecutorial misconduct, and biased lineups or photo displays are a few of the factors that often result in a wrongful identification. Most disturbingly, Loftus argues that memories can actually be ""created"" by the questioner, particularly with child witnesses, who are particularly susceptible to suggestion. A fascinating examination of human memory, with troubling implications for the American criminal-justice system.

Pub Date: April 9, 1991

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1991

Categories: NONFICTION