Every year more than 75,000 eyewitnesses in the USA identify criminal suspects, but studies suggest that as often as one third of the time the witnesses are actually wrong. So why do we continue to use eyewitness evidence in court? The human memory is changeable and easily influenced. And while it’s true that witnesses are generally honest and well-meaning, they simply misremember what they saw. There was a 1974 experiment where over 2000 people were shown a video clip of a crime. Just 14% of viewers correctly identified the criminal in a lineup. A success rate lower than that of just guessing. Things like fear, poor lighting, the presence of a weapon during a crime and time have all been shown to cause mistakes in identification, even when the witness is the victim of the crime. And yet judges and jury still rely on this kind of evidence. Some people argue that eyewitness evidence is important because it’s been a part of the legal system throughout history. But in my view this system must change now that we have more access to accurate scientific evidence.