On September 15, 1993, 3-year-old Courtney Smith was murdered.
She was abducted from her home late at night while her two sisters were in the room. Two days later her body was found 80 yards from her home. She had been sexually assaulted.
Levon Brooks was charged with her murder.
The Police thought Levon was a suspect because he was the ex of Courtney’s Mum.
It didn’t look good for Levon:
Bite marks found on Courtney matched Levon
Courtney’s sister identified Levon as the attacker
Levon was sentenced to life in prison
But he was innocent
Years later, DNA evidence showed Levon couldn’t have committed the crime. And so, after 16 years in prison, Levon was finally a free man again. Which begs the question: What went wrong in the investigation?
Confirmation bias.
Because the Police thought he looked like the usual suspect (he was the ex-boyfriend) they didn’t consider other evidence. Evidence like Levon had an alibi, and the bite mark evidence was questionable.
And so an innocent man spent years in a jail cell.
How To Reduce The Impact Of Confirmation Bias:
In Julia Galef’s book ‘The Scout Mindset’ she suggests asking yourself these questions:
What evidence would convince me I’m wrong?
Have I looked for evidence that contradicts my beliefs/hypothesis?
Could I be wrong about this?
The questions are simple, but how often do we ask them?
How Confirmation Bias Put An Innocent Man In Prison For 16 Years
On September 15, 1993, 3-year-old Courtney Smith was murdered.
She was abducted from her home late at night while her two sisters were in the room. Two days later her body was found 80 yards from her home. She had been sexually assaulted.
Levon Brooks was charged with her murder.
The Police thought Levon was a suspect because he was the ex of Courtney’s Mum.
It didn’t look good for Levon:
Bite marks found on Courtney matched Levon
Courtney’s sister identified Levon as the attacker
Levon was sentenced to life in prison
But he was innocent
Years later, DNA evidence showed Levon couldn’t have committed the crime. And so, after 16 years in prison, Levon was finally a free man again. Which begs the question: What went wrong in the investigation?
Confirmation bias.
Because the Police thought he looked like the usual suspect (he was the ex-boyfriend) they didn’t consider other evidence. Evidence like Levon had an alibi, and the bite mark evidence was questionable.
And so an innocent man spent years in a jail cell.
How To Reduce The Impact Of Confirmation Bias:
In Julia Galef’s book ‘The Scout Mindset’ she suggests asking yourself these questions:
What evidence would convince me I’m wrong?
Have I looked for evidence that contradicts my beliefs/hypothesis?
Could I be wrong about this?
The questions are simple, but how often do we ask them?