The legal system could have come close to a miscarriage of justice in Watt's case (who would very likely have been hanged if convicted) and the evidence of these two witnesses is still not easy to explain even now. However one possible explanation is that the ferryman was a fantasist who had already seen Watt's picture in the papers, although he claimed that he had not. The other witness admitted that he did not get a clear look at Watt, but identified him based on the way he held his cigarette.