Question

When the eyewitness is simply making a mistake—“Look, I was there, this is what I saw, I have no motive to lie”—it’s simply the usual problems with eyewitness identification: lighting, the ability to do cross-racial identifications, the emotional anxiety we have in the midst of a crime.

–“Wrongful Convictions,”
Jon Gould

Which statement best expresses the main idea about eyewitness testimony in this excerpt?

Eyewitness testimony should not be trusted because it is often motivated by self-interest.
Eyewitness testimony should not play a role in determining guilt or innocence.
Eyewitness testimony is usually well intended but frequently inaccurate.
Eyewitness testimony is usually affected by a witness’s inability to see clearly.

Answer 1

Eyewitness testimony is usually well intended but frequently inaccurate.

Explanation: The excerpt emphasizes that witnesses honestly believe what they saw but make mistakes due to factors like lighting, cross-racial ID difficulty, and emotional anxiety—not because of motive to lie or that testimony should never be used.