There are a variety of reasons why an eyewitness may have falsely identified Mr. Cotton as the perpetrator of a crime. It is important to note that false identifications by eyewitnesses can lead to innocent people being wrongfully convicted of crimes they did not commit, and this is a serious problem in the justice system today.

One possible reason for an erroneous identification is that the eyewitness’s memory was distorted due to factors such as stress, fatigue, or external influences like media coverage or leading questions from investigators. When someone experiences extreme stress, their body releases hormones like adrenaline which can cause them to feel more alert but also make it harder for them to accurately remember details about what they saw. Likewise, fatigue can interfere with one’s ability to recall details correctly because the brain does not have enough energy and focus to properly store information in its short-term memory for later retrieval. Finally, external influences like media coverage or leading questions from interviewers can bias an eyewitness’s memory; if they hear something multiple times (e.g., news reports linking Mr. Cotton with the crime) it may become embedded in their mind even if originally it wasn’t actually true and/or if interviewers ask loaded questions then it could shape their response accordingly without realizing it at first instance itself thus resulting in false identification of suspects like Mr Cotton here..