Gary Wells, distinguished professor of psychology and an internationally recognized researcher, will present his lecture “Improving Eyewitness Evidence and Avoiding Wrongful Convictions” at 8 p.m. Thursday in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union.

During the lecture, Wells will be addressing the lack of reliability of eyewitness testimonies while detailing his research involving the matter.

“It’s an interesting intersection between social science and the legal system,” Wells said.

Wells’ research began when, as a graduate student, he was approached by an area defense attorney who claimed that eyewitnesses had shown patterns of unreliable behavior. Wells was bothered when he was unable to provide substantial backup for the attorney’s claim.

“Memory had been studied since the 1800s, yet we didn’t know anything about that,” Wells said.

The lack of knowledge concerning eyewitness testimonies sparked curiosity in Wells, causing him to begin experiments investigating the reliability of eyewitness identification in criminal cases. He continued with the studies, and, now, Wells’ research has become widely recognized, proven by his appearances on the widely known television shows “Oprah,” “60 Minutes” and “48 Hours.”

Although Wells received quick acceptance and attention from the psychological science community, not everyone was initially impressed.

“The legal system wrote my work off as a mere academic exercise with no significance to the real world,” he said. 

However, with advances in DNA forensics leading to proof of eyewitness mistakes, Wells’ research slowly began to gain credibility. Today, Wells is involved in working directly with law enforcement, judges and prosecutors in numerous criminal cases, and, as one result, an estimated 40 percent of jurisdiction departments have implemented reforms that were developed through his studies. 

Students will have a chance to hear about Wells’ research firsthand during his lecture Thursday night. The lecture will address an overview of his eyewitness studies, specifically his research with police lineups and photo spreads. Wells encourages the audience to look out for some new research results in his lecture, as he will be sharing some brand new data right out of the lab.

Although the lecture acknowledges the serious lack of reliability of eyewitness memory and identification in criminal cases, Wells plans on creating a positive tone overall.

“This is really a success for social science to have provided some solutions to real-world problems,” he said.

Susan Cross, professor of psychology, emphasized this point.

“Rare is the person who can do both,” Cross said.

Cross has been encouraging her psychology classes to attend Wells’ lecture Thursday night.

“He is a premier person who we are lucky to have,” she said.