Erros honestos: as falsas memórias, o Processo Penal brasileiro e o caso do “Maníaco da Moto”

Abstract

The present study seeks, by literature review, to discuss the phenomenon of false memories in criminal trials, starting from the question: can false memories be an obstacle to the search for truth in Criminal Procedure? Are there any mechanisms to avoid them? Considering that human memory can be influenced by several factors, whether internal or external, it would be no different with victims and witnesses. After witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event, misrepresentation in the acquisition, storage, or retrieval of memory may occur and, thus, possibly imply, in the court, as the witness could honestly make mistakes that would result in the conviction of an innocent person. This happened to Antônio Cláudio Barbosa de Castro, accused of being the “motorcycle maniac”, jailed for 4 years and 11 months based on a false memory of one of the victims. This case will be briefly analyzed in this work, for exemplification. The present work adopts premises from the rational theory of proof about approximate truth, and studies of cognitive and testimony psychology about false memories, to demonstrate how false memories occur within the Criminal Procedure and how to mitigate the phenomenon, aiming to minimize errors of trial and conviction of innocents.