Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1905-10-03
INACCURATE OBSERVATION.
Why 1t Is So Easy md So Common
For Witncsacs to Err.

Why 1t Ia So Easy md So Common
For Whncsacs to Err.
Professor Ccsarc IOmbroso, the IA
has this to say on the errors that are
apt TO be found in the testimony of
witnesses in court Apart from the
frequency of the pathological lie (the
lie told by those who are inclined to
falschood without reason. it is neces.
sary TO remember that many have been
led into error through inaccurate OBJ
scrvation. 1t is well known fact that
n square divided horizontally appears
greater in breadth than in height, but
when divided vertically It appears
greater in height than in breadth. Sim
ilarly II man dressed in black seems
smaller and thinner than when clad in
white. We know, too. that when OBJ
jcctS suddenly loom upon us on II dark
night we sec them magniiicd cxtraordi-
narily. The causes of psychological
error are numerous. Fear and sorrow
intercept sensations and fa!sify them.
An ordinarily courageous man. I'M
lcrvcd in railway smash. declared
that he had seen II hundred bodies
wcGgcd between tho carriages. As Il
matter of fact, there was only one. On
tho same occasion another man fed
away. imagnin" that he could hear tho
tcrailcd engine behind him for three
quarters of an hour. a criminal named
Gusio threw himself upon his wardcr,
and the wardcr took to his heels in the
belief that nc saw Il knife I'm tho prIs-
| oncrS hand. In reality it was Il fish.
"rhc image Of Il moving object is tho
sum total of Il series of images of par
tIal movement. Some of these images
nrc perceived only hy one set of per-
sons, Others ly another set. Grassi
records in his Criminal Psychology
how. assisting Mt an execution where
tho hangman wore gloves. he asked
-four others present of what color the
gloves were One said they were
white, another deposcd they were
black n third was sure they were gray,
while the fourth swOrc that the hang
man wore no gloves at nll In Il game
Of domlnOs tho player docs not count
tho spots one by one, but, having be-
fore his eyes ~ focused image. decides
that there are seven or nine, rs tho
case may be. I5ut. supposing these i'm
ages did not conform to type, the
player would be obliged to ascertain
carefully each time before making his
total, and he would still he liable to
make mistakes. Something like this
happens in all our perceptions.
Professor Lutz. who has applied to
Jurisprudence so many Of the conclu-
sions reached by criminal anthropol-
ogy, one day had homicide with
dagger TRUSTS enacted unexpectedly
in school by two students. Immcdl-
atcly nftcrward he assembled all his
pupils who had witnessed this sham
tragedy and made them give evidence
us if In court. OF sixty eycwitncsscs
OF the same age. and all of them well
educated. scarcely ten gave really ac-
curate evidence. All the rest fell into
more or less important errors OF detail
More recently Weber has related his
experience with the members of the
Society Of Legal Psychology at Got
tingen. Weber requested from each
OF them written statement of sham
crime pcrpctrntcd under their very
eyes. Over half their number gave
ineXnct Information, while many of
them gave imaginary details and
agreed about the affair only on general
lines"