False Memories…The buzz term catching my attention this week is “false memories.” The term is easiest to understand by reading a few studies on the subject.
Information can also be found under the terms memory retrieval and recovered memory. Science informs us that the hippocampus is the place in the brain which stores memories, real and imagined. It is also the location for obsessions. Clearly, the hippocampus is a very busy multi-tasker who could understandably get mixed up or be misunderstood.
The term False Memories arose in the early 1990’s following a group of parents trying to understand the false accusations their children made about sexual abuse that couldn’t be substantiated and/or hadn’t occurred. There had been earlier periods in our collective history of false reports of alien abductions and satanic ritual abuses that investigators had been unable to verify. I am not saying there have never been real events of abuse and abductions. A few of the claims which were investigated revealed hidden memories which might have been actual, yet, most were unquestionably false.
There remain many hypnotherapists who hold to the belief that those reporting traumatic events are telling the truth. I can see that they might be, but from which lifetime, and who’s life did it take place in? Referring to Jane Robert’s Seth writings; our consciousness returns to the Soul soup pot and blends with those in our Soul group to become more than we once were. It is not a simple process to sort out our experiences under her system of life’s progression.
Humans are very suggestible, no argument there. Our imaginations are limitless. Yet there are known cases of trauma which prove beyond any doubt that the mind will protect its host from more painful experience than they can accept. It is perfectly natural for the old wound to appear years later when the person is better able to deal with the events that were once overwhelming.
One study focused on retrieving lost memories, another on implanting nonexistent memories in individuals who later reported them to be factual. Reports of assorted researchers vary between 30%-70% on those who participated in research. Some participants were shown to be suggestible and pliable enough to accept false memories and report them as truth. We are complex and multi-faceted beings, charged with focusing on this earth plane and current events when reporting facts and events to authority figures, family and friends. False Memories can interfere for sure.
A portion of the research participants, I discovered, were shown traumatic events and told that they had been victimized in those ways when they were young, but had suppressed the memories. Others were told that they had witnessed traumatic events and suppressed those memories. Yet, when questioned, most provided convincing reports of being present at the time the traumatic events took place. Researchers consulted with the parents of the participants before granting them access to the control groups. None of those reporting false memories had a current life history of the events they reported according to their parents.
People lie for many reasons; sometimes we aren’t lying when it seems we are, other times we are attempting to protect or defend ourselves or another. The truth is sometimes elusive and changeable as if it is evolving in our understanding, throughout our lives. Authority figures are not interested in the metaphysical/philosophical view of truth or facts. It is incumbent upon us to be able to separate the hard cold objective facts from the feelings and implanted or imagined thoughts or false memories when reporting about someone or something.
False Eye Witness Reports account for about 70% of the false court convictions reported to the National Registry of Exonerations. Were most of these reports made by liars or people with another agenda, or perhaps people who thought they saw something that didn’t happen as they reported it? The commonality is that they were wrong. Their reports were wrong. Innocent people and their families suffered because someone made a wrong report. To date, there have been 1615 innocent people cleared of false convictions and there will be many more to come. Trading information to get off on lesser charges is routine in legal prosecutions. Police learn important information about crime and criminal by employing this tactic routinely. Defense attorney’s plea bargain information for reduced sentences regularly. The system moves ahead because of information trading, deal making works. Sometimes the information discovered is real and helpful, other times it’s wrong and innocent people are ruined.
Do we want to eliminate the plea bargains? Who is investigating the information? Apparently, it isn’t being investigated worth a darn in many instances. The important thing to keep in mind is a snitch can be valuable only if what they give law enforcement and prosecutors is a bigger criminal than they themselves are. There are times when this process helps to protect the public and there are other times when the bad guys walk away while an innocent scapegoat suffers for years. Let’s never mind the death penalty issue!
Do some snitches make up false tales to trade, you bet they do. Do juries then listen to convincing prosecutors present their false tales as factual evidence? YES! Are they trained to convince juries of facts? YES! Do juries rely on the state to present the truth? Yes!
Malicious prosecution is another term I’m seeing more often. When I looked into the source just slightly I found it was coming from those falsely convicted who had been exonerated finally. Now they want to prosecute their prosecutors. I understand it is very difficult to prove a case of malicious prosecution but it is being attempted by some.
I recently overheard an attorney remark that the only people on juries anymore were those too dumb not to figure out how to get out of it. If that is a truthful assessment of the situation, our problem is far more critical than just criminals lying.
We, Americans, have the birth right of citizenship. We are citizens of a free country settled by Quakers who were dedicated to reforming prisons and educating women in the new world. It is still we the people who must accept the responsibility to hold our elected officials, public servants, judges, lawyers, prosecutors, police and criminal investigators to carry a passionate torch for the truth in each and every case they come into contact with. It is we the people who must respect the public, trust and serve with our whole being when called for jury duty. Please pay attention to your police, courts and officials. We the people are their conscience. If you or your loved one were falsely convicted you would pray for nothing less.
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