What the brain saw: The case of Trayvon Martin and the need for eyewitness identification reform

The shooting of Trayvon Martin caused many to question what exactly led to the death of an unarmed seventeen-year-old African-American teenager. This Essay discusses one piece of the puzzle: the brain, in creating and preserving memories, can distort our perception of events and people around us. This distortion of perception and memory can later influence eyewitness testimony-often the most riveting and misleading information for a jury. Bringing these two separate but connected moments of inaccurate perception and inaccurate recollection together, this Essay examines the role of memory and perception in the death of Trayvon Martin and in eyewitness identification in criminal cases, ultimately supporting broad reform in our criminal justice system.