Department of Psychology

What if you were accused of a crime you did not commit. Imagine getting a knock on your door from the police asking you to verify your whereabouts at some previous date and time – could you do it? And what if the police told you that despite your alibi, they have eyewitnesses that swear they saw you do it. My research explores what happens in the justice system from a social psychological perspective. For example, we know that memory is much less accurate than many people believe. It is often quite difficult, if not impossible, to recall information that at the time did not seem terribly important – our memories may be distorted (biased memory) or non-existent (poor encoding). We also know that if someone believes that you are guilty of something, their beliefs can cause your behaviour to change. And they are more likely to look for evidence of your ‘guilt’ than your innocence. For example, the stress of having someone suspect you of a crime may lead you to appear anxious; this in turn may look like ‘evidence’ of your guilt (behavioural confirmation).  From an examination of both U.S. and Canadian cases where individuals have been wrongfully convicted, we know that all kinds of errors can occur along the road to (in)justice.  In a large majority of cases – at least 75% - an eyewitness claims he/she saw the actually innocent person commit the crime? Were they lying? Probably not – as noted above, memories can be inaccurate.  We also know that in at least 30% of the cases, the individual provided an alibi demonstrating he/she could not have done it. Why weren’t they believed? Because it turns out that alibis are considered ‘weak’ if someone you know supports your alibi. It looks suspicious if your mother, brother, or friend provides an alibi as that person could theoretically be motivated to lie for you. Even when they are telling the truth.  So by the time the case reaches a jury, there may be witnesses providing heartfelt but inaccurate eyewitness evidence, a string of ‘weak’ alibi witnesses, and even your own behaviour that can lead a jury to believe you are guilty, even when you are not. This has happened to more than 200 individuals, some of whom spent more than 20 years behind bars for a crime they did not commit.  We are currently examining the case files of those who have been wrongfully convicted, with the goal of determining what systematic biases there are along the way that are leading to these erroneous convictions; hopefully this will help lead to system and policy changes that reduce the likelihood of such miscarriages of justice occurring.