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Media Coverage
 Identifying the Culprit: Assessing Eyewitness Identification (October 2014)
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July 25, 2017
The science of why eyewitness testimony is often wrong
Ars Technica
Albright has some history in this area, as he co-chaired a study group at the National Academies of Science on the topic. His new perspective is largely a summary of the report that resulted from the group, and it's an important reminder that we have sound, evidence-based recommendations for improving the criminal justice system.
March 27, 2017
Juries Need Guidance on Cross-Racial IDs
New York Law Journal
The recent National Academy of Sciences report on eyewitness identification characterized the research supporting the cross-race effect as "generally accepted" in the scientific community.
March 20, 2017
Ex-Judges and Prosecutors Ask to Join Case on Cross-Racial Identification
New York Law Journal
He supports his argument by citing scientific literature on the unreliability of such identifications, including a 2014 report from the National Academy of Sciences stating that cross-racial misidentification was the culprit in 42 percent of cases studied in which an erroneous identification was made.
January 9, 2017
DOJ just spelled out how to handle eyewitness IDs to try to cut errors
The Washington Post
“Unknown to the individual, memories are forgotten, reconstructed, updated, and distorted,” the National Academy of Sciences reported in 2014 as it made a series of recommendations to prevent wrongful arrests.
January 9, 2017
Are Eyewitnesses Right? DOJ Issues New Guidelines For Identifying Suspects
International Business Times
In 2014, the National Academy of Sciences published a report on eyewitness identifications that recommended many of the changes outlined in the DOJ report.
January 6, 2017
Justice Department Issues New Guidance On Securing Eyewitness IDs
NPR
"It adopts the recommendations of the 2014 National Academy of Sciences report. And it sends an important message that accuracy matters in criminal cases."
September 5, 2016
New policy urged for police lineups
Arkansas Online
Out of the millions of cases investigated by police every year, only in a small percentage will police utilize these lineups, according to a 2014 report from the National Academy of Sciences.
April 13, 2016
Pa. district attorneys urge standards to strengthen witness identification process
Newsworks
A review of scientific literature on eyewitness identification by the National Academy of Sciences isolated confidence statements as a best practice, along with instructions, video-recording the process and blind administration.
April 13, 2016
Pa. investigators take aim at eyewitness errors
Philadelphia Inquirer
A 2014 report by the National Research Council recommended that agencies train law enforcement officers about the science of memory and practices to minimize the warping of memories.
April 8, 2016
NYSP investigator testifies on blood found in Harris' home
WBNG
During testimony on Friday, the defense called into question whether the prosecutions expert witness was actually an expert. According to a study done by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), an expert witness should be considered as someone who has over 200 hours of formal training.
March 12, 2016
Legislation addressing eyewitness misidentification advances
Lawrence Journal-World
The bill also recommends that the policies that police agencies adopt incorporate best practices that the National Academy of Sciences, the International Association of Chiefs of Police and others have endorsed.
March 2, 2016
Wrongfully accused ask lawmakers for better eyewitness identification rules
Lexington Herald Leader
Thirteen other states have passed similar legislation, buttressed by a 2014 report from the National Academy of Sciences on the best available scientific understanding of how witnesses make mistakes.
February 13, 2016
Lawmaker wants to prevent mistaken eyewitnesses leading to wrongful convictions
Lexington Herald Leader
Thirteen states have passed similar legislation, buttressed by a 2014 report from National Academy of Sciences detailing the best available scientific understanding of how witnesses make mistakes.
January 22, 2016
Show me real eyewitness ID reform
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Opinion)
Additionally, in 2014, the National Academy of Sciences, citing decades of research, released the most comprehensive report to date on eyewitness identification and recommended these best practices, leading to strong consensus that the science is settled.
January 20, 2016
Eyewitness IDs getting scrutiny
Lincoln Journal Star
Pansing Brooks' bill would require that by 2017, all law enforcement agencies in the state must develop written policies on eyewitness identification, following practices recommended by the National Research Council, International Association of Chiefs of Police and the American Bar Association. January 5, 2016
Nebraska lawmaker wants to standardize practices on police photo lineups
Omaha World-Herald
In 2014, the National Academy of Sciences issued a report that cited research documenting the “malleable nature” of human perception and memory. November 9, 2015 Why we can't trust Ben Carson's memories — or anyone else'sWashington Post “Through such scientific research, we have learned that many factors influence the visual perceptual experience: dim illumination and brief viewing times, large viewing distances, duress, elevated emotions, and the presence of a visually distracting element such as a gun or a knife,” the National Research Council wrote last year. August 9, 2015 (Don’t) speak, memoryAl Jazeera AmericaLast year — in response to a growing number of exonerations tied to faulty eyewitness testimony — the National Academy of Sciences called for sweeping reforms to improve the reliability of eyewitness testimony, largely by adding safeguards to lessen outside influences on witness testimony. April 13, 2015 Setting the record straight on eye-ID reformSt. Louis Post-Dispatch (Opinion)Decades of social sciences research, which includes a comprehensive report last year by the National Academy of Sciences, recommends the best practices in SB 303 as the best way to prevent against misidentification. April 1, 2015 When Eyewitness Testimony Goes Horribly WrongVICEIn 2013, IAPC recommended police departments adopt the double-blind sequential photo lineup method, and last year the National Academy of Science endorsed the blind administration of witness lineups, while remaining neutral on the issue of sequential versus simultaneous photos lineups. March 28, 2015 Keaveny’s bill will not allow the guilty to escape justice
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
For example, “Eyewitness Evidence — a Guide for Law Enforcement” by the U.S. Department of Justice (1999) and the National Academy of Sciences’ Report “Identifying the Culprit” (2014) set out the science and best practices, many of which are captured in Sen. Keaveny’s bill. March 16, 2015 Eyewitness ID with Tom Albright
Reddit Q&A As a co-chair of a committee that undertook a study for the National Research Council, Tom is an authority on the limits of human perception and how that affects crime investigation... February 26, 2015 States Weigh Overhauls of How Police Lineups Are HandledWall Street JournalThe National Academy of Sciences said in an October report that witness memories can be manipulated by a variety of factors, including law-enforcement identification procedures. February 10, 2015 Is it Possible to Misremember? The Science Behind Your MemoriesWTOPThe science also sheds light on why the U.S. National Research Council recently recommended tighter control over eyewitness testimony in court, Nutt says. February 5, 2015 The Science Behind Brian Williams’s Mortifying Memory FlubThe Washington PostThese findings are just one reason that last year, the U.S. National Research Council recommended that the criminal justice system exert tighter control over the use of eyewitness testimony in court and come up with a more scientific approach to the identification of suspects in police lineups. February 4, 2015 You Have No Idea What HappenedThe New YorkerPhelps was recently asked to sit on a committee for the National Academy of Sciences to make recommendations about eyewitness testimony in trials. After reviewing the evidence, the committee made several concrete suggestions to changes in current procedures. January 30, 2015 Eyewitnesses aren’t as Reliable as You Might ThinkThe Washington PostBut in recent decades, extensive scientific research — which we reviewed while co-chairing the National Research Council committee that wrote the recent report “Identifying the Culprit: Assessing Eyewitness Identification” — have identified a number of factors that can lead an eyewitness to make a mistake. December 2, 2014
Vagaries of Memory Mean Eyewitness Testimony Isn't PerfectThe Epoch Times (Opinion)This year, however, a blue ribbon panel of the National Academy of Sciences conducted an extensive review of the science on eyewitness identification. December 1, 2014
Why Our Memory Fails Us
New York Times (Op-Ed)
Erroneous witness recollections have become so concerning that the National Academy of Sciences convened an expert panel to review the state of research on the topic. December 1, 2014
What Science Says About The Ferguson Case: Memory Can Be Hacked
Forbes
The legal community is beginning to adapt to the realization that our memories are not unchanging and faithful. In October of this year, the National Academy of Sciences produced a report on eyewitness testimony and its limitations.
November 28, 2014
Report Details Ways to Improve Eyewitness Testimony's Value
Arizona Daily Star
To strengthen the value of eyewitness accounts, the National Academy of Sciences in October issued a report titled “Identifying the Culprit: Assessing Eyewitness Identification,” which provides a list of recommendations designed to set a national standard of best practices for police and courts in handling eyewitness accounts.
November 19, 2014
The End of Eyewitness Testimonies
Newsweek
An extensive body of research with similar findings has become increasingly perplexing for the nation’s judicial systems, leading the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to release a sweeping report last month calling for an overhaul of how the courts and law enforcement deal with one of the most powerfully persuasive pieces of evidence that can sway a jury: eyewitness identification.
November 18, 2014
New Recommendations Could Improve Eyewitness Testimony
NPR
The National Academy of Sciences reviewed 30 years of research into the subject and recently issued new recommendations for police and court procedures
October 26, 2014
Colorado Mulls Changes to Photo Lineups After Report Urges Caution
The Denver Post
Efforts by law enforcement to improve and standardize the practice of photo and physical lineups are falling short, according to a recent report by the National Academy of Sciences.
October 21, 2014
Va. Crime Panel Backs Stronger Police ID Policy
Associated Press
The use of blind lineups is one of the recommendations of a study released earlier this month by the National Academy of Sciences. October 21, 2014
Should Police Believe Eye Witness Accounts?
Twin Falls Times-News
The group, a non-profit legal organization that works to exonerate the wrongly convicted, based its suggestions on findings of a National Academy of Science Report released in September.
October 19, 2014
Study: Eyewitness ID Policies Not Uniform
Richmond Times-Dispatch
An assessment of research into eyewitness identification and related law enforcement practices by the National Academy of Sciences recommends many of the same written standards and procedures urged for police in Virginia. October 18, 2014
Ada Sheriff Works to Improve Eyewitness Procedures
Associated Press
It's precisely those issues that a new report — released this month by the National Academy of Sciences — hopes to address. October 12, 2014
Efforts Made to Reduce Eyewitness Misidentifications
Arizona Republic
Last week, the National Academy of Sciences released a report evaluating the scientific research on memory and eyewitnesses, underlining key variables that can lead to flawed identifications. October 10, 2014
Casting Reasonable Doubt on Eyewitness Testimony
Philadelphia Inquirer
In 1863, Lincoln signed the authorization establishing the non-profit National Academy of Sciences (NAS), with the objective of having an independent advisory group - the best and brightest - on science and technology. The link between these two stories of the almanac and the academy came to fruition on Oct. 2, when the NAS issued its latest report: "Identifying the Culprit: Assessing Eyewitness Identification." October 5, 2014
Wrongful Convictions Prompt New Police Rules
The Courier-Journal
The policies also omit a key recommendation in a National Academy of Sciences report issued last week — that witnesses be required to state in their own words how confident they are in identifying a suspect, so they don't exaggerate their certainty when they testify months or years later at trial.
October 5, 2014
Scientists Study Eyewitness ID Errors
Pensacola News Journal
After studying 30 years’ worth of data on police identification procedures, the National Academy of Sciences has released a list of recommendations designed to prevent mistakes like the one that stole half of Dillon’s life.
October 4, 2014
National Report on Witness Identification Does Little to Settle Pittsburgh Dispute on Best Procedures
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A highly anticipated report released Thursday on witness identifications from the National Research Council failed to settle the question of how best to conduct a photographic lineup.
October 3, 2014
New National Academy of Sciences Study Critical of Eyewitness Testimony
Washington Post
This week, a team of researchers at the National Academy of Sciences released a comprehensive report on eyewitness evidence. October 3, 2014
How Reliable is Eyewitness Testimony? Scientists Weigh In
Science
After a year of sifting through the scientific evidence, a committee of psychologists and criminologists organized by the U.S. National Research Council (NRC) has now gingerly weighed in. October 3, 2014
Behind the Messy Science of Police Lineups
TIME
On Thursday, the National Academy of Sciences, a non-profit organization of experts and academics around the U.S., released the first comprehensive report to review decades of literature on lineups while offering sweeping recommendations on how they should be conducted, including ensuring that those administering them are not aware of the suspect’s identity, developing standard instructions for witnesses so as to not bias their pick, videotaping the ID process and recording confidence statements from witnesses at the time of an identification. October 3, 2014
National Research Council Urges Police, Courts to Use Caution in Eyewitness Identifications
TribLive News
A new report from the National Research Council urges police and the courts to use caution in eyewitness identifications of strangers but leaves unanswered the question of whether sequential or simultaneous lineups or photo arrays are most reliable. October 3, 2014
AM Roundup: Texas Abortion Clinics Face Closure After Ruling; Insiders Lead AG Short List; Turtles v. Pandora
Wall Street Journal
Eyewitness reliability study: The National Academy of Sciences released a groundbreaking report that provides strong scientific confirmation about the reliability of eyewitness identifications: They’re not nearly as reliable as we’d like to think. October 2, 2014
Reform Eyewitness Identification
USA TODAY
The National Academy of Sciences released a groundbreaking report Thursday that provides strong scientific confirmation and explanation of what we've long known about the reliability of eyewitness identifications: They're not nearly as reliable as we'd like to think. October 2, 2014
Why Police Lineups Will Never Be Perfect
The Atlantic
Some helpful guidance came today from the National Academy of Sciences. Last year the Academy asked a panel of top scientists to review technical reports and expert testimony about eyewitness identifications and make some solid recommendations. October 2, 2014
How Eyewitness IDs Lead to Wrongful Convictions and Calls for New Methods
Seattle Weekly
So says a National Research Council report released this morning that builds upon what it describes as “an increasingly clear picture of the inherent limits in human visual perception and memory.” October 2, 2014
How Reliable are Eyewitness Accounts? It’s Complicated
Tampa Bay Tribune
On Thursday, the National Academy of Sciences released a report recommending the best ways for law enforcement and courts to improve the accuracy of eyewitness identification. October 2, 2014
The End of the Old School Suspect Line-up
FOX 9 KMSP-TV
The influential National Research Council published a report Thursday recommending double-blind line-ups everywhere. The Innocence Project says the changes could have made a difference in countless cases, including one they're fighting now.
February 9, 2014
Prince George’s Police to Transform Photo Lineups
Washington Post
Last week, the country’s top social scientists, legal experts and criminal-justice advocates convened in the District to discuss eyewitness identification and lineup changes at the National Academy of Sciences. After months of study, the committee will issue a report and recommendations on the debate.
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