Witnesses likely to 'choose faces they dislike' at ID parades

London, Sep 13 (ANI): A new research has suggested that people are more likely to point the finger at a suspect in a line-up if they dislike the person and less likely to identify someone they like.

Psychologists Hartmut Blank and Jim Sauer, of the University of Portsmouth, have been awarded 100,000 pound to examine what may influence people when picking out a possible perpetrator in an identification parade.hey say that such decisions are automatic and spontaneous rather than being though of.

"It's natural that we don't enjoy creating trouble for someone we like by identifying them as a perpetrator," the Telegraph quoted Blank as saying.

"The feeling of liking can definitely influence judgment.

"The liking bias is a subtle effect though otherwise the justice system would have long been aware of it," he said.

Sauer said that this "liking bias" might be behind a growing number of documented cases in which mistaken identifications contributed to the convictions of people who were later proved innocent through DNA testing.

"The legal system finds eyewitness identification evidence compelling but it has contributed to many wrongful convictions over the years.

"Eyewitness error represents a significant cost to society and criminal justice system," he said. (ANI)