The Bad Science of Eyewitnesses

Jennifer Thompson was the perfect witness. She was smart, perceptive, and alert during her attack. She made a conscious effort to note every little detail to help police identify the man who assaulted her. She identified him with 100% confidence in a photo lineup, then during an in-person lineup, and again at the trial. 11 years later, DNA evidence proved that Ronald Cotton, who had been sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years, was entirely innocent. How could she get it so wrong? Why do so many eyewitnesses make mistakes that result in innocent people going to prison for a crime they never committed?
A number of factors conspire to erode the truth. From biological realities of memory and the brain’s propensity to fill in gaps with fiction to procedural errors that unintentionally reinforce a false narrative, it’s hard for witnesses to get it right. All the flaws in eyewitness testimony seem obvious, and most of them are. What’s interesting is how long we’ve known and largely ignored them.
More than a century ago, psychologist Hugo Münsterberg wrote detailed essays about the problems with witnesses, including eviscerating his own memory of being a crime victim. And before that, Hermann Ebbinghaus explained the “forgetting curve” that shows how memory deteriorates and how spaced repetition -- of both fact and fiction -- can cement what’s in our minds.
Despite generations of knowledge about the fragility of eyewitness identification and testimony, there’s still nothing more powerful and persuasive than a witness pointing a finger at a defendant in court. In the end, forensic science saved Ronald Cotton. But for an immeasurable number of victims of eyewitness error throughout humanity’s pursuit of justice, the result has been imprisonment and death -- and the truth is that the problem can’t ever be solved completely.
** SOURCES & READING **
“Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption,” by Erin Torneo, Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, and Ronald Cotton: www.pickingcot...
“What Jennifer Saw,” PBS Frontline (1997): www.pbs.org/wg...
“Eyewitness: How Accurate is Visual Memory?” CBS 60 Minutes (2009): www.cbsnews.co...
“Eyewitness Identification Reform,” Innocence Project: innocenceproje...
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[@samuelmendlowitz7276]

Ronald cotton is a bigger man than anyone can hope to be. To not only forgive but be able to befriend someone that cost you him years of his life because he knows it wasn’t her fault. He is truly a strong hearted man.

[@AxxLAfriku]

One thing! Just one thing! Please tell IT to me: WHY tf do I have so many fans even though no KZbinr is unprettier than I am? WORLDWIDE!!!! WHY??? Tell me, dear sma

[@ferociousmaliciousghost]

@@AxxLAfriku I can't. I lost all my brain cells from trying to comprehend.

[@manicflying1289]

@@AxxLAfriku ow my neck

[@Vassilinia]

Ignore that commenter. On topic, Ronald really is a man with a strong and pure heart. The world could use more people like him.

[@elijahhaga32]

And it's also good that when Jennifer was proven wrong she didn't try to keep blaming him or got mad, but was horrified and admitted she was wrong to the whole world so no one else would make her mistake

[@wolfeymf]

The fact that Ronald became such a close friend to his accuser just shows how much CLASS this dude has. Much respect.

[@AlysidaMagica]

Honestly, both of them had the best possible response to the situation. When the dna evidence proved Ronald innocent, Jennifer was horrified that she’d put an innocent man in prison for one of the worst crimes possible. She had the maturity and integrity to accept that she was wrong, and then becoming close friends just solidifies that.

[@orlandomoreno6168]

@@AlysidaMagica the worst crime possible is murder but ok

[@glo8516]

@@orlandomoreno6168 "one of the worst crimes"

[@deviousxen]

The word 'class' is beginning to lose class in 2022 given that capitalism is the root of much evil here. Most of it. People deserve a way better title given that class literally is what caused the corrupt police and miscarriages of justice and inequity in general... It just increasingly feels like the wrong word. Respect tho

[@fetchstixRHD]

@@MrPaxio: "he def wouldnt forgive her if he wasnt paid for his time in jail." A bit presumptuous, a lot of people who have been falsely imprisoned aren't particularly vengeful (and would rather spend that time e.g. catching up on time missed with family etc.) Problem is that anyone can be like her, the moment you start accusing someone or getting angry with them, you're chancing that you're going after someone who's innocent...

[@josephcowan6779]

What's crazy about this case is that Cotton was convicted on NO evidence. There was nothing linking him to the crime because, well, he didn't do it. He and Poole really did look alike, and you can't really blame Jennifer for mixing the two up. But the fact that that alone was apparently enough is totally unacceptable. The blame is not on Jennifer, but the justice system for doing something unbelievably unjust.

[@sirzorg5728]

The justice system is the worst possible solution, except for all the other ones.

[@-Devy-]

@@sirzorg5728 That would be true if the justice system actually did what it was supposed to. But that's the problem; it doesn't.

[@stuff2328]

Well I mean, what can they do? There’s no evidence they did it, but there’s also no evidence he didn’t. Here you have a traumatized woman who is 100% sure this man is her attacker and you’re gonna set him free? It turns out he wasn’t guilty, but it’s a hard decision to make when the only evidence you have points towards him being guilty.

[@josephcowan6779]

@@stuff2328 Our justice system doesn't work on "there's no evidence he didn't do it". You have to prove someone guilty in order to avoid situations exactly like this. She could have accused you, yourself of doing it and thrown you in the clink just as easily.

[@hellopleychess3190]

there's no justice system, there's a law system

[@scalpingsnake]

She made a mistake but honestly them finding the guy guilty largely based off her account is the issue. I feel for the victims of sexual abuse who do correctly identify their attacker and it isn't enough but the law should require proof beyond reasonable doubt.

[@snowballeffect7812]

It does. Unfortunately, the word "reasonable" means vastly different things in America to different Americans.

[@SOSULLI]

"Mistake". Like she said, she would not have done anything differently. The guy looked exactly alike, she saw him in the line-up twice. The law is to blame in this case, the woman did the right thing by describing a person. It's up to the police to investigate all the angles.

[@sandwiched]

It's possible to make no mistakes and still be wrong.

[@andrasfogarasi5014]

@@sandwiched Well technically no. There is a way to give an absolutely correct witness testimony. Simply being every sentence with "I remember that...". As you know your own memories perfectly, this testimony would be completely void of inaccuracy.

[@sandwiched]

@@andrasfogarasi5014 Nobody's doubting that aspect though. She gave a great witness statement, as accurate as she could be. She made no mistakes in her attempts to remember details and recount them. Yet she still arrived at the wrong conclusion.

[@thiccnicc3657]

I’m so happy Ronald Cotton is friends with Jennifer Thompson now. The amount of respect I have for the man for forgiving Jennifer is outstanding.

[@bobthegoat7090]

There isn't really anything to forgive, but the fact that he is able to recognize that is what I find remarkable.

[@Kahandran]

@@bobthegoat7090 Oh there's absolutely something to forgive. Just because it was a mistake on her part that anyone COULD make, doesn't mean that she doesn't shoulder some of the blame (the lion's share lies with the police and investigators). If I accidentally injure someone, just because it was an accident doesn't mean I am not at fault. There are tons of mitigating factors here and I can't find myself able to blame Jennifer, because honestly this is a fault of the investigation itself, but I genuinely can't imagine forgiving the person whose testimony landed me 11 years of wrongful imprisonment.

[@thanosnoctem4473]

@@Kahandran well said

[@Genessyss]

@@bobthegoat7090 she perjured herself. she should have gone to prison.

[@nathanmays7926]

@@Genessyss It is only perjury if you knowingly lie.

[@TechNextLetsGo]

I was mistaken twice in my life. Once I saw a stop sign laying on the ground and tried to put it back in the hole but it was too heavy so I dropped it back down. Someone heard it hit the ground and saw me walking away and called the police, saying they saw me pull it out of the ground. Second similarly I saw an autozone sign blown over by the wind and set it back up. The wind blew it over again, the employee ran out yelling at me that I knocked it over. I learned to never try to fix a sign. I was only trying to help. People fill in the gaps.

[@Amethyst.]

happens alot in life

[@144pinfinity]

man thats really sad, you were just trying to help

[@davisf5389]

If you had a nickel for everytime you were falsely accused of knocking over a sign, you would have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice

[@KamalasNotLikeUs]

I refuse to help people any more. Never know when they’ll sue the Samaritan.

[@darkstarmatter5678]

Same. When folks ask me, "Wouldn't you want someone to help you if you needed help?", I tell them that every time I NEEDED help, no one did. And if I'm ever in a life/death situation when people are around again, I expect to die if I can't save myself.@@KamalasNotLikeUs

[@Da1ienx]

I was witness to a crime several years ago, it was dark, the criminal was wearing dark clothing, i could not see his face at all. cops later showed me 1 (ONE) photo of a guy and tried to push me to agree that this was the offender. I could see the excitement in the cops face thinking i was about to help him close this case. I backed outta there so fast

[@lawrencecalablaster568]

Oh my gosh - did they ever find the perpetrator?

[@wisteria3032]

good call

[@cubicinfinity2]

Where was this?

[@CIA_Killed_JFK]

They always do that, they pressure you to say something. I remember they kept asking my girlfriend if she was scared of me and she said no & they kept pressuring her to say yes and try to trick her into saying yes

[@Handle0108]

@@CIA_Killed_JFKwhy would they even assume that about you? Is there some context?

[@devial9879]

The standard of evidence in a criminal trial is "beyond a reasonable doubt". A SINGLE eyewitness statement in the complete absence of any other evidence, regardless of how sure that witness says they are, is NOT beyond a reasonable doubt. I wouldn't be angry at Jennifer. I'd be angry at the wholly incompetent and idiotic juries who decided on a guilty verdict based only on a single eyewitness testimony.

[@anevenbluerjay]

I served as a juror recently, and we ended up finding not guilty for that exact reason. While there was plenty of evidence that the crime had occurred, the only thing linking that specific defendant to it was one eye witness account.

[@Toranaboy634]

It's not the jury's fault if the prosecution asks them to convict on weak evidence. The prosecutor ought to believe that the accused is guilty beyond reasonable doubt before embarking on a trial.

[@devial9879]

@@Toranaboy634 it's the juries fault if they decide to convict on weak evidence. The juries not just supposed to blindly agree with the prosecution, you know....

[@Toranaboy634]

@@devial9879 A jury should not be invited to return a verdict of guilty when counsel for the state, a public official, believes the case cannot be proved beyond reasonable doubt. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it's wrong. A prosecutor is a minister of justice and he or she is duty-bound to pursue justice, not convictions. Ethical prosecutors discontinue proceedings all the time. So it's not to the point that the jury has been misled.

[@devial9879]

@@Toranaboy634 It's still the juries fault if they convict on weak evidence.

[@RGC_animation]

Wait, you can convict someone to 50 years in prison from an EYE WITNESS!? What if the witness was, I don't know, lying?

[@SgtSupaman]

It is possible, but not very likely. Victims tend to only want their actual attacker to suffer punishment.

[@fos1451]

If the person the victim is accused of is stranger, There’s nothing much to gain by the victim to lyingly accused that person

[@RGC_animation]

@@SgtSupaman But what if it was an staged one and they are both teaming up to convict a random man?

[@fos1451]

@@RGC_animation Again, what are they gaining from convicting a random man?

[@Boredman567]

@@fos1451 Someone could be trying to hide something. For example, in the Jussie Smollett case, many people remarked that, if police had found suspects that matched his description, he might have said they were guilty just to keep his hoax from being discovered. Most times people aren't lying, but it can also happen due to bias, laziness, or corruption in the justice system. A cop might want to get a good arrest, a prosecutor might want to get a win, an emotional jury might want to have someone to hold accountable, and the suspect could end up being truly innocent.

[@ZentaBon]

There are several people I know of who look roughly like me. Eyewitnesses aren't as reliable as one may think. False accusation and subsequent conviction seems like a nightmare.

[@sololeveling7390]

Yeah billions of people on the planet will do that

[@silvsilvsilv]

I once got shown a photo of someone, and my first reaction was "I don't remember anyone taking that photo of me."

[@chriswebster24]

Imagine being a black guy. They all pretty much look the same.

[@0106johnny]

@@chriswebster24 ...to non-black people. Just like to non-Asians people many Asian people look very similiar.

[@admiralkaede]

@@chriswebster24 not really some people look similar to others but that occurs for every race I've missed identified people plenty of times

[@MotoCat91]

I've never really understood eye-witness testimony, especially suspect sketches.. If I was told to describe my own mother to a sketch artist, even with a book of eyes/noses/ears etc I would never be able to do it.. so how do people do this for strangers they meet briefly one time?

[@fangirlfortheages5940]

Oddly enough, I used a real life memory as the basis of a scene I wrote and recently I tried to remember the original memory and I just… couldn’t. I knew that it was fiction because the words I had written came to my mind but it just completely replaced the original memory.

[@Gandhi_Physique]

Yeah I've also found myself telling a story.. then I realize I don't actually remember the details and I'm actually just filling them in. Definitely doesn't help remember what really happened, but can make for an even more interesting story lol

[@PropagandalfderWeiße]

I sometimes remember stories of my wife as my own

[@sirreginaldfishingtonxvii6149]

It was a long time ago, so (ironically enough) it might be a constructed memory. But I've read that memory isn't simply you recalling things from a bank of solid, immutable information. Instead, each time you recall something, it's more like recreating said memory to remembe, it and overwriting what was there with the recreation. Over time one could imagine memories can change quite a bit in that way.

[@Kitteso]

I'm bilingual and multiple times some of my memories of conversations have been replaced with an English version. I remember them in English when I know they 100% couldn't have been, what's worse is when I try to think of how it would have sounded in the original language nothing sounds right, there is no exact translation.

[@dalehenry3859]

Top quality. These are refreshing compared to the usual true crime shows broadcasted on television. I will watch every one of these. Keep up the outstanding work.

[@silvsilvsilv]

Right? Vsauce just took 13 minutes to explain a case true crime would take like 60 to 90 minutes for :D

[@vibaj16]

and yet it still gets demonetized

[@mrmimeisfunny]

True Crime: No False Crime: Yes

[@TheOrigamiGenius]

Ronald has to be one of the nicest people I've ever heard of. He was sent to prison by Jennifer, but befriended her after. What a legend

[@Dougie373]

I feel like it needs to be said that he wasn't sent to prison by Jennifer, he was sent there by a flaw in the justice system, she didn't do anything wrong. I do think they both handled it very well once the truth came out though.

[@Oncopoda]

@@Dougie373 it doesn't need to be said. It is completely understandable to feel disdain towards someone if they mistakenly identified you as their attacker.

[@vez3834]

​@@Oncopoda But prisoners would also mistake those two. They just looked very similar.

[@PlotTwists]

Imagine doing nothing and ending up in prison for years, you keep telling everyone you're innocent but no one believes you, because some random girl swore it was you ... this is nightmare fuel

[@snowballeffect7812]

Kudos to Jennifer for realizing she had made a mistake and work towards preventing similar situations from ever happening again. Meanwhile, we have certain people who wanted the death penalty for the exonerated five and STILL refuse to apologize despite the case having nothing to do with them.

[@GarryDumblowski]

...This seems oddly specific, are the "exonerated five" someone in particular?

[@snowballeffect7812]

@@GarryDumblowski Yes. I think they should show up on a google.

[@GarryDumblowski]

@@snowballeffect7812 Ohp! There they are. Thank you. Time to jot down another entry on the list of reasons to despise Trump lmao

[@cookiecraze1310]

@@GarryDumblowski who are the Exonerated 5?

[@SquirrelTheorist]

@@cookiecraze1310 I was wondering the same thing

[@Boredman567]

This case really shows how even under favorable circumstances, witness testimony can't be taken as flawless evidence. She knew what the attacker looked like, but she couldn't use her memories as an unchanging objective reference. Once she had a similar-looking suspect before her, her memories began shifting to match the suspect.

Once I've been called to the police station because someone saw me beat someone else with a stick, and that someone else was "naked". They weren't wrong, they saw a friend and I practice swordfights (we were in a HEMA club) , except my friend wasn't naked nor was he wearing skin coloured clothes. Surely the person who called made up that detail somehow. I told the police what happened and they just called my friend to confirm. It didn't go further than that, but it still feels weird.

[@theFLCLguy]

When you recall a memory you're actually recalling the memory of the last time you recalled it. And it's like photocopying a photocopy of something and photocopying the previous photocopy. Eventually it will be unrecognizable and you would be just guessing what it originally was.

[@SUPABROS]

exactly

[@YouTubeallowedmynametobestolen]

I would think that once she has chosen a photo from a photo lineup, that would pretty much solidify that face in her mind as the attacker. It should not be at all surprising that she picks out the same face in an in-person lineup. She's not recognizing the face that attacked her; she's recognizing the face she saw (and in her mind, identified as the attacker) in the photo lineup.

[@MrLeeFTW]

My earliest memory is from pre-school meeting my best friend in the art room. He was painting a purple sunflower and I told him I liked his art. That's how I remember it, but he doesn't recall it at all. I'm fully aware that the details of that encounter are definitely blurry and may not even be accurate. We both agree on that, but the symbolism is so touching to us both that we accept that as how things played out and I now sport a purple sunflower tattoo on my wrist as a testament to what is arguably my greatest false memory and it serves as a reminder of friendship, childhood and the flaws of the human mind. 🌻

[@PropagandalfderWeiße]

My earliest memory is the look over my parents shoulder (I don't know who of them carried me) when my parents were on holiday and I was still a toddler and had to be carried, but it is only a very blurry stillframe, a pipe over a road going to a house at the shore, the pipe was either yellow, blue or purple and the house was coated in grey metal, that's all. A friend of mine has a similar story how we met in Kindergarten which I don't remember. I said to her: you're 3 heads higher than me, so you are 6 years old. She was in fact higher than me for most of my childhood, but is half a year younger than me

[@neothepenguin1257]

I have a few early memories like that. Ones that are important to me but remembered by no one else. It’s a very interesting phenomenon

[@Mady0]

@@neothepenguin1257 They are, generally, things you find important, but they didn't find as important.

[@yammytho]

That is an adorable story, thanks for sharing!

[@depagogd1426]

Oh god, 11 years of jail time is such an unfathomable amount for me, that's only a couple years less than my life so far I could never imagine having to spend that long in jail That probably makes me sound stupid but I genuinely can't imagine / fathom that amount of time

[@dusklunistheumbreon]

It gets worse. People still get *executed* even when falsely convicted.

[@pretzelbomb6105]

@@dusklunistheumbreon The justice system doesn’t work unless it assumes it works. Exoneration for a dead man is cold comfort, no argument there, but if you don’t trust the conclusions of the system enough to act on them, it all falls apart.

[@andrewvirtue5048]

That ending quote... For years I've been saying "I'll see when I believe it". Then people respond "Don't you mean you'll believe it when you see it?" I say "No, I'll see it when I believe it."

[@alpheusmadsen8485]

This is why, when someone says "but he was convicted on circumstantial evidence", I want to roll my eyes. "Circumstantial" evidence is the stuff at the crime scene, and the stuff in the person's house, that points to the person having done the crime -- and it *can* be significantly more accurate than eye-witness testimony! I have to say "can", though, because Kevin has a video or two on how *coincidences* can really throw a wrench into circumstantial evidence. The truth *is* there, but sometimes it seems that reality is doing everything in its power to make it hard to find!

[@rohitchaoji]

Another aspect worth mentioning is how similar actual human faces are. We're just attuned to noticing every minor detail, but recreating it without reference is not only difficult, the number of different faces that exist means that even a slight variation in the recreated face can mean that it corresponds to a different person that actually exists.

[@williamblais6082]

I also think you are right over this. I can tell you 100% I cannot describe the face of my mom. However I can recognise her when I do see her (although it did happened once that I didn't 😬). I think in this case, her mind didn't the remembered all the little details (she was stressed and all) and the photo lineup showed her someone who did look like her attacker. Her brain then fill the gaps with the small little details of that photo. Then when the actual lineup happened, she had this new "data", and chose accordingly. So when she met her real attacker, her brain didn't recognise him since her brain has overwriten what she actually remembered. She also probably did remember correctly at first, but the photo lineup was too suggestive.

[@theFLCLguy]

I realized as a kid that my mind would fill in gaps in my memory. So I've trained myself to leave those blank. And when I want to remember certain details I'll repeat key things like color and shape or similarities to other things. This usually let's me recall things nearly perfectly and identify things I don't remember.

[@Isometrix116]

God, that man is a baller. He served 11 years because of her mistake, but was completely willing to forgive her, befriend her, and become incredibly close with her. He is so much more forgiving than I’m sure most of us would be. Sure, you can consciously know it’s not really her fault, but that doesn’t mean you wouldn’t feel anger, frustration, and animosity toward your accuser.

[@ElvisChibundu]

He is a SIMP

[@BlueCyann]

One time in college, my RA had a message left on her answering machine that she swore up and down was from me. When it went as far as the Dean (because the person who made the call had purportedly been distressed and looking for help), she also swore up and down it was me. It was not me. I could not persuade them otherwise. Still one of the most eerie and disturbing events of my life. On the other side, I once had the opportunity to try to create a composite drawing of somebody who had attacked me, and I couldn't do it. At the time I felt like that was a failure but by this point I'm just as happy I didn't contribute to anybody being harassed or arrested over it who didn't deserve to be. There was zero chance of me producing anything useful.

[@stewartzayat7526]

So true! I recently experienced the same thing when I was mugged. I was asked if I could recognize the perpetrator and I thought I did. Thankfully I was aware of this bias, so I told the police that I'm not certain, but that he looked similar. It turned out that it was somebody else actually. I hate that the defendant's attorney is claiming the fact that I didn't recognize him to his advantage.

[@qwerty11111122]

It wasn't just 1 memory mistake, it was multiple. People's faulty memory lost him 11 years of life: "He comes in and gives me a very detailed account of where he was, who he was with that night. As it turns out, that was a false alibi," Gauldin said. "I realized later that I had got my weekends confused, so therefore it gave them reason to think that I was lying," Cotton explained.

[@scrotiemcb5858]

I think it should be taught that 1. what you think is reality is, for the most part, your memory, and 2. memory is only as good as the person making it at the time. Not just in court cases, but in many psychological cases memories people who are under great stress, or who lack the vocabulary to describe what happened, perhaps due to being a child, form deeply flawed memories that torment them for decades. Personally, I'm a recovered pathological liar. As a teenager I would lie to a stranger over anything, just for a rush. In most cases I ended up believing my own lies, and after recovering I'd test my memory of events against empirical evidence like written records and photographs. I can't trust any memory I have before the age of 25 in the slightest. At first, I remembered those false memories vividly, but over the past 15 years, due to not repeating them to myself, they're no longer vivid at all. Just a big nothing. The way I see it, the most critical part of mental health is challenging your own memories, particularly while they're fresh but no memory is too old for an audit. To me, not spending 30 minutes a day on this is to mental health what not spending 30 minutes a day in the gym is to physical health. And it's baffling to me why the treachery of memory is not the bedrock of psychology as a profession.

[@tadeogalvan565]

This story reminds me of the "trust nobody not even yourself" meme. It's crazy how we can convince ourselves that our lies are true, overtime...

[@MikkoRantalainen]

Great video! I think that Neil deGrasse Tyson explained once that if somebody told about a new finding in physics conference and provided personal eye witness testimony as the sole proof for the finding, he or she would be laughed out of the room. There's zero reason why court rooms should be any different.

[@chribu_]

Alright, here is my story on this subject: On one day last year I was on the subway on my way home from the university. Since it was during an online semester and I only needed to get something organizational done there, the subway was pretty empty. There was only one other person in my part of the wagon. As usually I didn't really pay much attention because I was playing a game on my phone. Then suddenly the person came up to me and addressed me. It was a relatively short woman in her mid or late twenties. She had short hair, a slim figure and over all kind of an androgynous vibe. She asked me if she could touch my boobs. I was completely perplex and just said no. Then she went to the back of the wagon. I was like "so this happended", but didn't pay any more attention to her. But then when we reached the next station she was suddenly behind me again, just grabbed my boob and then left the train and ran away. That all happened faster than I could even think. The rest of the day I thought about reporting what happened to the police and talked about it with my roommates. But the following days I didn't really think about it much. It didn't like follow me or take up much space in my mind so I didn't report it. A few weeks later I was on the bus to my working place. The incident wasn't really in my mind anymore. Half the way a teenage boy came up to me. He actually seemed nice and shy and he said that he wanted to apologize for the other day. I didn't answer because I didn't know what he was talking about. He must have seen my confusion and looked like he was wondering if he had confused me with someone. The next moment the bus stopped and the boy rushed off and away. It was only then that I realized the similarity of the two situations and also the two people. They had about the same hight and figure and the hair looked pretty much the same. But when I was at the subway I was convinced I was seeing a woman in her tewnties but on the bus was definitely a teenage boy. Also it was a completely different part of the city and public transportation line. On the other hand it was such a similar tactic to time the action so that they could immediately leave the vehicle and run away. To this day I am not sure if the boy just confused me with someone or if it was acually the same person and my mind was filling up the gaps so I saw two different people. It will probably forever remain a mystery. If it was the same person I think it's a good sign that they apologized and it gives me hope that they reflected their action and wont do something like this again.

[@NobleRanger]

I'm so happy that Kevin is fairly consistent with his Vsauce uploads but it's sad that he's the only one.

[@mrinfinity3163]

yh it is, micheal only makes KZbin red content now at least that's what I heard.

[@markconigliaro]

@@mrinfinity3163 As someone with Premium (been a long time since it was called Red), nope. The last KZbin Premium exclusive video that came out was 4 years ago. He does a lot of shorts though.

[@mrinfinity3163]

@@markconigliaro oh ok then

[@vaszgul736]

In a way they were both victims of the same crime. People don't often think of the falsely accused and falsely persecuted when it comes to crime. But they are also victims.

[@adamplace1414]

Another example of why "speak my truth," at best, really means "trust my faulty perceptions and degrading memories," (and at worst means "tweet my opinions.") Truth is universal - not "mine" or "yours" - has nothing to do with opinion, and, in fact, very little to do with our senses and memories.

[@eagleleft]

Sorry but truth is not universal. Not for humans anyways and not in the case of making any meaningful decisions. No one looks at all aspects of everything, not even the best scientists. There is bias always and truth is only universal to God.

[@captainalieth]

"and at worst tweet my opinions" gave me a chuckle. thanks for that!

[@Madmij]

A great example is when me and a friend tried to escape school when we were about 8. For years I told the story before finding out that I'd been saying it was the wrong friend all along.

[@lafcursiax]

Possibly the most important topic you've ever covered!

[@ailurophilekia6565]

Let this be lesson: retribution is opposed to justice and is opposed to any ideal outcome. Resentment and outrage toward a defendant should not affect the justice system.

[@syedgaming2644]

There is also a heartbreaking story of a man living in prison for 70+ years because of a child’s lie and that’s more heartbreaking Edit:sorry its 39 years not 70 years

[@filler7149]

Bruh?

[@epicstarstv]

This planet is absolute disaster

[@filler7149]

What case is this?

[@syedgaming2644]

@@filler7149 Story of ricky jackson and its 39 years not 70 years sorry

[@filler7149]

@@syedgaming2644 it's ok and ty

[@ItsShatter]

It’s amazing that he maintained he was innocent for so long. It’s not easy to have that sort of conviction.

[@fetchstixRHD]

Kind of related, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone started doubting themselves at the very least. Kind of the reverse issue, starting misbeliebing something that is right...

[@fff1112223]

Fantastic video, we need more people bringing out the truth about witness' reliability. I would just like to dispute the claim "worst evidence ever used in court". In Brazil (where I live), a few murder trials have accepted psychographed letters (letters which a medium claims to have written while under the influence of the spirit of a deceased person) as valid evidence. That's right, the MURDERED victim cleared the defendant from the charges.

[@chrisholmquist7725]

Within one week of starting middle school back in the late 90's, I was called to the principal's office and showed a very low quality CCTV video of a kid hitting another kid at lunch. Then, the kid who was hit, came into the room and said, "yep, that's the guy". I was so confused and even momentarily believed that I *did* hit this kid, but had forgotten about it. I was "sentenced" to a day of in-school suspension. Upon coming home, I was distraught and told the whole story to my mom and brother. By then I was able to realize that it definitely wasn't me! My mom, furious, came in the next morning to talk with the assistant principals, while I finished serving my time. After a short while I was called back into the office, where they told me that they had just checked the time of the incident and it turns out it wasn't even during my lunch period. They apologized "sincerely" and I was free to go. Ever since then I have deeply understood the limits of (a) one's own memory of events when questioned under durress, and (b) eyewitness testimony. I got a day in detention, but as this video makes painfully clear, many other people throughout history have lost much more. What a nightmare.

[@Legitti]

Photographic memory is the thing.

[@ScarletAssasin]

I am in awe of Ronald Cotton. I am confident i would want every plight to fall upon to the person that wrongly convicted me in prison for 11 years.I hope i prove myself wrong one day and let go of toxicity in my life.

[@philip8498]

Being wrongfully convicted is one of my greatest fears ever.

[@ConnieTheo]

Don't worry. Being sexually assaulted and your attacker never facing justice, is far more likely.

[@blueheart9873]

It should be. It's actual torment

[@philip8498]

@@ConnieTheo well, i have the advantage of being a white cis male so all this getting sexuallly assaulted stuff really is beneath me tbh.

[@orppranator5230]

@@philip8498 You say that, but if you ever get falsely accused, the media will dogpile you and demand that you, grapist, should be locked up for hurting that poor girl’s soul. All because you are white and male.

[@-TheBugLord]

@@philip8498 Unfortunately, what you are saying is true.

[@cardboardturtle5470]

imagine having taken 11 years from you in prison because you looked like someone else

[@bradwatson7324]

As a juror, I would never convict someone based on eyewitness testimony alone.

[@Sivet555]

Honestly, good on her. She did something that is all too rare these days. What she caused was horrible, and instead of just shying away, she is trying to make a difference so others wont do the same.

[@moddquad8362]

Yep, and for only $10,000 you too can have her speak at your event. Admitting she was wrong really made a difference... to her bank account.

[@filler7149]

@@moddquad8362 and you should go on and interrupt your work life leaving yourself destitute and dirt poor to speak at these events for free so you dont come off as greedy

[@moddquad8362]

@@filler7149 $10,000 for a few hours work plus travel expenses, sign me up. I got PTO. I would imagine a best selling author on the subject would have a flexible work schedule for this sort of thing.

[@PvblivsAelivs]

@@filler7149 "and you should go on and interrupt your work life leaving yourself destitute and dirt poor to speak at these events for free so you dont come off as greedy" Given that she caused and the fact that she would have taken this poor man's life if she could, even as a mistake, it's a big debt to pay off. If people suspect that she is taking advantage instead of being truly repentant, I can't blame them. And neither should you. The suspicions may be correct or incorrect. But they aren't going to take away 11 years of her life.

[@themanbehindyou.216]

@@filler7149 He made a very reasonable point and your best rebuttal was an insult. The fact that 6 other people liked your comment disappoints me

[@davidci]

Eyewitness evidence, as common and helpful as it is, can be extremely misleading even if the intentions are in their right place

[@alarcon99]

The strength of Mr. Cotton not to plead to a lesser charge for the chance of freedom. I don’t think I could’ve refused

[@avilaazazel8915]

It's very hard to refuse. I took one. Nowadays it's too normal to take a plea. Although your saving grace is in fact that your plea is not solicitude in court. Meaning they can't use it against you. For instance, if the prosecutor wants to make you look greedy or guilty because you didn't take a plea, you or your attorney has all the authority to refute the act of the prosecutor bringing up your plea in court. It can even lead to a mistrial and your case being thrown out. That is because you have constitutional rights and the act of taking a plea is forfeiting your constitutional rights. The state can only give you a plea deal If you forfeit your rrights. Not forfeiting your constitutional rights should not be against you. There are three principles a lawyer learns when cross examining. If the law is in your favor, argue the law. If the facts are in your favor, argue the facts. If the facts nor the law are in your favor, attack the character of the person on the stand. This is how you make an innocent person look guilty and vice versa. This is possible because neither your attorney or the prosecutor are under oath. Because of this, they can lie to the jury so you run the risk of things being said that are blatantly false but that is why you study the law and your attorney has to point it out. ^somewhat off track but a plea isn't always freedom. It's just a lesser punishment but if he would've taken the plea he would've never been able to appeal his charge. Meaninv he would've been one of the thousands of people who have taken pleas with the chance of appealing their case if they're convicted and win it but at what cost? It can take years to appeal. And your appeal has to be approved before your states department of corrections board if it wants to see the light of day. Punitive justice (what our justice system is) will never be justice.

[@avilaazazel8915]

Solicitable*

[@Gandhi_Physique]

@@avilaazazel8915 You can edit your comments by clicking the 3 dots btw, don't have to make an extra comment for correction

[@alarcon99]

@@avilaazazel8915 thank you for your in-depth lesson. You’ve made me better for it.

[@-TheBugLord]

@@avilaazazel8915 This was a very insightful comment. Are you a lawyer by chance?

[@TeenoGames]

At first I just assumed she saw him in bad lighting or whatnot, but after seeing both together you could convince me they photoshopped his face onto a different head. Don't trust me in a lineup.

[@xcoder1122]

I think one thing that should be mentioned as well is the fact that recognizing faces is not comparable to recognizing cars, clothes, or shapes. Some people are extremely good at recognizing faces and some people are extremely bad at at it. I, for example, am extremely bad at doing it. I can rather tell you exactly what clothes someone wore or what car someone was driving than recognizing a person I've seen 3 days ago on a photo, unless I really know that person very well. I'd maybe recognize that person if the photo was also made that day but usually you get photos that are older (several weeks, maybe even months, maybe even a few years) and then I barely stand a chance.

[@dancoulson6579]

That first situation is terrifying. Wrongly accusing an innocent person of rape is twice as bad as commiting the act.

[@carterpoland4450]

I have to say how much I relate to the forgetting over time and filling in. I recently had a dream that contained character’s I’d been writing about, so I decided to include it in my novel. Now, a week later, I’ve unwittingly altered about half of the details.

[@UODZU-P]

All court witnesses and jurors must play on record 10 hours of Among Us

[@PittCougar]

This has always scared me. Not only have I wondered about being in Ronald's position, but I also think about how many innocent people throughout history have been victim to it. How many have been imprisoned or executed while the real criminal walks free.

[@Gandhi_Physique]

"They'll tell you that something is so good that you need to see it to believe, but the truth is sometimes you need to believe it to see it." Simple, but quite profound.

[@kamdaddypurp69]

Can’t trust someone’s memory when that memory was created under extreme stress

[@jasminevanregenmortel4881]

There’s a book about this called Picking Cotton that I read in a high school forensics class. It’s a very good read and I think it’s where most of the quotes in this video came from.

[@WhosParx]

you never fail to surprise me with things i didnt know i wanted to know

[@Nightcrawler333]

Thank you for making this video. I hope governments all over the world revisit the eyewitness trust-worthiness in their laws. Anyone could be wrongly convicted due to eyewitness error.

[@JetADR]

It is a horrible thing that we have evil people who commit such crimes. A trauma victim can sometimes have vivid memories or sometimes they are blurred over time. Interesting to know a principle from the Old Testament says, 'let everything be established in the mouth of 2-3 witnesses.' Sadly there are cases where there aren't more than 1 witness. I wish there were not such cases.

[@RokkeB]

Great video, Kevin! A great eye opening situation that is even more relevant today. Hopefully we continue to learn from these cases and improve justice in America.

[@JunglingFist]

There really is so much more to learn eyewitness testimonies aren't the only thing that can lead to unfair outcomes Sometimes we immediately make judgments about what happened the very first time we were introduced to an incident and when it's a big national story it can directly lead to jailing innocent people The reason why is because we talk about it Entire communities talk about it and usually end up taking a side very early on And then they... never leave that side even though they never had all the evidence and were just... filling in the blanks It's why the actual court process is so important and everyone should be willing to hear all sides of the argument and listen to it very closely

[@andyp315]

Thanks!

[@ProductBasement]

It sounds like she did everything right, she just didn't account for a doppelganger, which is not an unreasonable possibility to find implausible. Thank goodness for DNA evidence

[@briancorvello3620]

Know what's ironic? I remember when DNA identification was a new thing, and some critics actually thought it would ruin due process, deny defendants the right to a fair trial. Kind of makes the movie Minority Report sound even more F-ed up in hindsight, doesn't it?

[@eggjineer]

*CONTROVERTIAL OPINION* Contrary to the consensus of the majority of chat, I actually think that it is not fair how things played out. When I heard the fact in the video where he said Ronald was friends with the accuser, I couldn't believe it. How can he not have any vengeance to her since she is the reason his most productive years of life are gone? If her mind could make an innocent the perpetrator, if she believes in something that is only in her imagination, how is this a justification for the outcome of her action? There is actually not always a crystal clear line b/w mentally ill and normal people. How is the system showing unexplained sympathy in understanding her case saying its not her fault but other uncontrolled circumstances? Every criminal also has an underlying reason due to which they commit the act. The system definitely does not consider any of that while sentencing them. Why is it okay to understand and sympathize with hers? I'm not saying that she intentionally did it. But that does not mean there won't be consequences to your actions. You ignored the fact that there was not a single piece of evidence against him. You wanted to shoot him if you could, you said. If hypothetically we lived in a lawless state, you would surely have shot him. And you figuratively did 'shoot' him after all. If you have to show some real guilt, how about serving for at least 10% of his term voluntarily for your act? You won't. You will show as if you are sorry and befriend him and say all good things about him but you won't serve the term if he would ask you! I'm obviously not going into the flaws in the system that let this happen. And also the greatness of Ronald for bearing all this and not having any ill feelings. But I think regardless, the system should compensate to Ronald and the accuser should have served at least 1yr as well.

[@velicanmaria7772]

You're right!... Only in that this is a controversial opinion.

[@velicanmaria7772]

Lmao

[@datruommi]

As an aside, Cotton and Poole don't look very much alike at all; nose, lips, chin and ears don't match at all. Yet when I first saw the picture my reaction was that they looked really similar. And the reason for this is mostly because their eyes are very similar. Goes to show just how much of a persons looks are attributed to the eyes.

[@ImWoolly]

the solution is to remove eye witness in conviction

[@rambutan3655]

I remember that human memory is not a perfect calculator or a photograph. They tend to interpret what is missing from the details base on their experience why result to make it the truth. Sometimes without even checking the full information available. People tends to answer a question based on their assumption, memory, and experience, most of the time not even waiting for the question to finish. We are flawed.

[@actionshortfilms468]

11 years…same as my age.If I was Ronald,I wouldn’t even see her.I would just go to my lawyers,give em a good hug,and if I would see her on my place,I would change my location and living place entirely!

[@byronsanchez1113]

Being wrongful acused should have the same punishment as being covicted for what ever crime

[@fetchstixRHD]

Only in cases of deliberate proven misconduct (e.g. lying) imo.

[@101Mant]

Perjury is a crime, but you can't punish people for a mistake, in this case the two men looked so similar other people mistook one for the other.

[@jer103]

Under stress and duress, your mind works differently. Think of times you've been totally stressed out, you tend to repress those memories than live them vividly in you mind.

[@DJ11223344]

If prosecutors had to serve time for wrongly convicting people, I guarantee you they would think twice about convicting people on witness testimony

[@Orthane]

This is also one of things that plays a big role in even just relationships. Have you ever heard a loved one or friend say you did something bad in a heated moment you never did and they stay strong saying you absolutely did do it? Your brain feels in the worst possible solution it seems.

[@juanletsplay1550]

It's also very horrible to think that there are several more cases of this, epsically with a man who has been jailed for 40+ years, and has just recently gotten out, even though he has been proven innocent a long time ago

[@orsettomorbido]

Psychology of witness/testimony is a really interesting field. Great video!

[@allan710]

That is the problem with all tests: we have to balance false positives and false negatives. On one hand, it could mean leaving some monsters out of jail. On the other, condemning someone innocent. Yet, the alternative is even more terrifying: recording everything, everywhere, so that there will always be proof, which is something out of a dystopian dictatorship or a black mirror episode.

[@lordhater2]

It’s hard to blame anyone here but the actual attacker. Just a terrible set of circumstances. What’s worst to think about, there’s probably a lot more similar cases of people serving time, even still, for something they had nothing to do with.

[@Bundesverfassungsgehirn]

You can most definitely blame the court convicting someone because of just a witness's account. I wonder if the same had happened if it had been a white man. I doubt it.

[@Ascend777]

Some people wants "justice" so badly that they don't care who pays, even if the person who would pay is not the perpetrator. This horrendous behavior is real.

[@davidhoward437]

They want someone to feel their pain and they don't care who it is. The victim becomes the next perpetrator.

[@JoaquinBauman]

I love these crime videos keep em coming!

[@voidnimbus]

Here's a reason for getting a face tattoo if you ever wanted one.

[@BoogerDad]

This was a really interesting breakdown. I'm desperately curious about how all this information affects a modern world now that it has this knowledge. One of my biggest fears is being accused of something I didn't do. Absolutely terrifying

[@IsYitzach]

This is part of the reason that Hebrew law requires 2 eyewitnesses. Rabbis have even gone so far as to say that if one eyewitness for innocence contradicts 100 for guilt, the 100 are thrown out as inadmissible.

[@A_Chocolate_Cookie]

Why do they arrest him with only one set of "evidence" (1 eye witness)? They should have multiple evidence to back it up. When I write a report for my university I need multiple references to backup what I'm saying. I can't just quote one random person and claim it's true, or read one website and take that as truth, I need multiple sources to make sure it is correct. This guy just lost a decade of his life for a stupid problem in the justice system.

[@awaisyousaf]

I think it's so great of the guy to actually let go be friends with the women who costed 11 years of his life. He's the real hero in this story and should be appreciated...

[@BaalTomekk]

Wait a minute. So she accused Ronald Cotton of a crime and he rejected any guilt. So this was word against word. He should have been found innocent. Or is "In dubio pro reo" not a thing in the US? Is the US justice system not a system of justice?

[@brendanrisney2449]

This pairs well with Last Week Tonight's recent story on police interrogations forcing false confessions.

[@scarletspidernz]

I still can't believe that video & audio recording the interrogation isn't standard, and that police can lie about the evidence like that 😮

[@brendanrisney2449]

@@scarletspidernz Welcome to America

[@lostbutfreesoul]

I always wonder if my memory problems are acute as they are... or if I just don't lie to myself like others do. Having accepted that I forget things, I feel no urge to tell people anything other then that - sorry, no memory found!

[@kermitthedawg1]

Man if I were Ronald I would not forgive someone for taking 11 years out of my life

[@OptimusPhillip]

Another thing that (I think) we should take away from this story: the presumption of the defendant's innocence is not a presumption of the complainant's dishonesty. In a lot of discourse surrounding cases of this nature, there seems to be this binary assumption that either the accused is guilty or that the accusers are lying, completely ignoring the possibility that accusations may be honest but mistaken. You can have full trust in an accuser and still be open to the possibility that they have the wrong guy. They aren't mutually exclusive.

[@salvatronprime9882]

This has become the best true crime channel on youtube

[@MrTnbopp123]

This is the best Vsauce2 video Ive seen so far, I love it. The topics has always been great and interesting but it often feels like im watching a goofy science show for young teens, this was much better

[@triton62674]

How could she identify Cotton but not his doppelganger??

[@mnm1273]

she'd adapted her mental image to him. People forget details.

[@yassineattia6679]

This happy ending about them is so cool. I feel really bad for them, they must have felt terrible

[@DiabloDBS]

Damn i gotta watch Police Adacemy again... And i really love the fact that the two of them are that close now despite her error. It takes a kind heart on both sides for that... two people who deserved better and both got wronged. One by another human the other by a faulty sysstem that enhances confirmation bias.

[@Medabg88]

I can understand her mistake, what i cant understand is convicting someone with 0 physical evidence, relying only on a persons memory, even if he/she is "100%" sure

[@werdwerdus]

I'm sure cross-racial bias didn't help either

[@ginrummy426]

I once asked a criminal defense attorney where is the best place (geographical location) to shoot somebody dead and get away with it. His answer: a room full of people Reason being, half of them won't see it, for one reason or another. And the other half that did see it, no two people will see the same thing