Human Rights Education


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LESSON PLAN


Lesson 9
The Questionable Reliability of Eyewitness Accounts to a Crime

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Materials:

A visitor who is unknown to members of the class

5-7 people with similar physical descriptions to the intruder to pose for a "line up photo" Camera

Time:

One full period and 20-minute follow ups one day and a week later

Overview:

The class will be unexpectedly interrupted by an intruder. Students will be assigned into different test conditions and will be asked to recall details about the intruder.

Objective:

To give students a hands on introduction to the often limited reliability of eye witness testimony

Procedure:

Preparation:

Day 1:

  1. At the start of the lesson (or the end of the previous lesson) inform the class that whatever unusual occurrences happen in the class that day are planned. Let students know that they should not be frightened or take any defensive action.
  2. At a pre-arranged time the intruder will burst into the classroom. He/she should shout at you to "hand over the grade book." While the intruder is exiting he/she should drop something and stop a moment to pick it up before exiting. (Or he/she might trip over the trashcan, or write "Ha! Ha!" on the chalkboard, etc.) Students should have several opportunities to see the intruder's face, but the intruder should always be in motion.
  3. Once the intruder leaves have students take a few minutes to write a description, in as much detail as possible, of what they have just witnessed.
  4. Divide the class into four test conditions.
    • Group A- Will look at line up photo 1 (which does include the culprit) and each student will individually select and write down which, if any, of the people in the line up photo they believe to be the culprit.
    • Group B- Will look at line up photo 1 (which does include the culprit) and the group members will share opinions about which person in the line up is the intruder. After discussing with one another, group members will right down, individually, which numbered person from the line up he/she feels is the intruder.
    • Group C- Will look at line up photo 2 (which does not include the culprit) and each student will individually select and write down which, if any, of the people in the line up photo they believe to be the culprit.
    • Group D- Will be shown no photos but instead asked to sketch a picture of what they remember the intruder to look like. (If it is possible to obtain samples of sketches from the police department, or a set of features for the participants to choose from, that will add to the authenticity of the simulation.)
  5. Students should hand in their votes for the identity of the intruder. These results will be graphed by accuracy verses test condition, by the instructor. Do not show students the graph until the end of the unit. Though Group D's results will not be able to be measured quantitatively, they should still hand in their sketches, which will be displayed with the graphs.

Day 2:

  1. At the beginning of class, students should take five minutes to write down, in detail, what they witnessed the previous day including a physical description of the intruder. Collect the descriptions. Group B, which had conferred with each other on the line up photo, will once again meet together and discuss; They will turn in one description for the whole group.
  2. Show the series of mug shot photos to the class and have students write down, using the identification number, which mug shot they believe to be of the intruder. Collect the answers and again chart accuracy against test condition. Once again, only Group B will be separated and asked to come to a consensus on the one mug shot they believe to be the intruder.
  3. Hand out need to find reading on the reliability of eye witnesses and innocent convictions and such.

After One Week:

  1. Once again show the series of mug shots and ask all individuals to write down, by number, which mug shot depicts the intruder.
  2. Have students state their certainty level about the identity of the intruder. Ask if anyone is confident enough with their identification that they would feel comfortable deciding if the person they allege is the intruder should be killed.
  3. Reveal which mug shot was that of the real intruder and present the statistics for the accuracy of the different test conditions on all three occasions the class was polled.
  4. Have students note differences and trends not only between the conditions, but over time.
    • Did the accuracy change?
    • Did being able to consult peers help or hurt the accuracy of the testimony?
    • Which group was most accurate?
    • More questions
  5. Have a closing discussion about the reliability of eyewitness testimony drawing from the findings of your class.