Eyewitness Testimony Case

The Globe and Mail reports on a case that occurred on Feb. 11, 2015 in which a 15-year-old boy, whose name is banned from publication because he is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was found guilty of criminal negligence causing death in a judge-only trial after he pushed a fellow schoolmate, 18-year-old Christopher Chafe down a snowy embankment, the victim ended up under the wheels of a moving bus. This incident killed the teen instantly in front of horrified on-looking classmates. Chafe was pronounced dead at the scene. The trial relied on eye witness testimony from the bus driver and child witnesses.
The court heard from witnesses (classmates) that the boy had pushed Chafe once before the final and fatal shove sent him sliding down the bank onto the snowy, slush-covered street below, near the rear, before wheels of the bus rolled over Chafe’s head and crushed it. (Globe and Mail, 2015) Most of the testimonies came from students
They take into consideration how simple or difficult it is to mislead those who give eye witness testimony but also research ways that enable the optimization of children’s accuracy when recounting details about an event and make preparations to prepare a child for court.
Psychological research exists on how well children can retain and remember events. Memory fades over time and their memory like adults', are not infallible. There is some research that the memories of children fade more quickly for some events than do memories of adult but further research indicate that children have good memory ability. Memory is also affected by stressful events. Factors affecting accuracy including stressful events make a person unfocused as core features of highly stressful events are often retained in memory with particular durability. Peripheral details may or may not be