The Nature of Memory

The case of the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier revolves around hundreds of witness statements taken over many months. Some people were interviewed several times, and sometimes these interviews were held years apart. Memory is a fragile thing. Police interviews are stressful, formal occasions. At the time, Irish police did not tape record interviews, so nearly all of them only exist on paper as typed up by the police and signed by each witness.

I contend that no weight at all can be attached to precise timings of events. Humans are not good at remembering time, unless there is some…