Imagine That You Are on a Jury That Is Deliberating

Essay

Imagine that you are on a jury that is deliberating a rape case. The defendant is an African American man accused of raping a White woman and holding a gun to her head during part of the assault. The victim identified the defendant from a lineup after a few minutes of viewing the lineup of men, all of whom had criminal records. After the victim identified the defendant, one police officer said, "Good, we thought it was him." The victim then testified that she was sure it was defendant who raped her. Most of the jurors want to vote to convict, but you have reasonable doubt that the defendant was the actual perpetrator. What could you say to the other jurors to convince them that there is reasonable doubt of the man's guilt? Use what you have learned about eyewitness memory to make a well-reasoned argument.