Falsas memórias e reconhecimento fotográfico como meio de prova no processo penal

Abstract

From the perspective of studies on False Memories, this undergraduate thesis questions the credibility of photographic eyewitness identification and its use in the course of criminal prosecutions and in the ordering of provisional detention, especially in cases which they are the exclusive evidence, concerning the possibility of an influence of the false memories phenomenon. Any study that seeks to understand, slightly, the complexity of the human mind, will face the complexity of the human being itself. This work therefore, does not intend to decipher the occurrence of false memories or propose ultimate solutions. In this sense, recognizing the potential fallibility of the human mind and understanding the principles that govern the Brazilian criminal procedure, this study outlines the paths that should be avoided or used to make the testimonial evidence resulting from criminal recognition more secure and consistent, concerning the ratio decidendi of the judging authority’s findings and hence prevent the occurrence of faulty photographic identification and subsequent violations of rights. Therefore, research is justified for being a field scarcely studied by jurists and for it is a remarkably interdisciplinary topic, since there is no way to talk about memory without the intersection with neuroscience and psychology. The paths, necessarily, undergo the correct application of statutory procedure laws by government agents, especially the security forces, and a guaranteeing operation by judges who need to recognize the eventual occurrence of false memories and guide their actions by the principles of in dubio pro reo and presumption of innocence, in addition to the human dignity, all of great value to the Rule of Law and to the 1988 Federal Constitution.