Credible witnesses

Throughout John’s gospel, the author (John), and the defendant (Jesus), call various witnesses. These include people, like John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene, and even God himself. Jesus also acts a witness on his own behalf.

But to what extent can we trust these witnesses? Barrister, Esther Harrison, shares some questions we can ask ourselves.

The most important questions are:

1. Is this witness ‘credible’, i.e. are they doing their best to tell the truth?

2. Is this witness ‘reliable’, i.e. is what they are saying factually accurate?

In seeking to establish credibility and reliability of a witness, we might want to consider:

Have they got something to gain from saying this? If not, this makes them more credible. Their credibility is strengthened if the witness is willing to share something to their own harm, which could potentially damage their relationships, finances, or reputation.

Is there internal consistency to what they are saying? Do they report roughly the same facts to different people at different times, or does the story keep changing?

Is there any corroborating evidence? To what extent does their testimony tie-in with other available evidence, such as DNA, CCTV footage, or the testimony of other witnesses?

Does the witness have any sensory memories from when the alleged incident occurred, such as how they felt, or what they could smell?

Do they share seemingly inconsequential details, which could be checked out?

Are they trying too hard, or are they simply answering the questions?

Does what this person say have ‘the ring of truth’?. Does it pass the ‘sniff test’?