Informants v. Innocents: Informant Testimony and its Contribution to Wrongful Convictions

Informant testimony is a leading cause of wrongful convictions. The Supreme Court has recognized the questionable reliability of informant testimony but has generally held it admissible while emphasizing the existing safeguards built into the legal system. Psycholegal research has demonstrated the overwhelmingly persuasive nature of informant testimony on jurors’ decisions and has questioned the adequacy of existing safeguards. We present results from a content analysis of Innocence Record cases involving informants to understand their role in wrongful convictions. Based on these results, we provide an overview of relevant psychological mechanisms that could explain why jurors rely on this inaccurate testimony.