Polygraphs?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygraph

Would you support a motion to have the accused, in court, take one of these, whatever the allegation happened to be?

Not to replace other evidence, but to merely add something else to the mix, for the jury to think about.

Could they serve a purpose in that role?

No. The Polygraph can be fooled by anyone with the self control to remain calm or who is absolutely convinced their lie is true. It's more show than anything else...

PaulM wrote:No. The Polygraph can be fooled by anyone with the self control to remain calm or who is absolutely convinced their lie is true. It's more show than anything else...

Hmm.

Reading up on them, it appears they are less reliable than is often claimed?

I have read of a 95% accuracy, and were that so, then I would be for it.

But I am reading here of other research that showed only about 60%, not much better than tossing a coin.

Hey, there is a show here in the UK.

Usual thing.

Presenter gets couples on who don't believe who the baby belongs to, or they think there is cheating, and they use these tests, and effectively determine people's lives through them.

They claim 95% accuracy, but if it is only 60 or less, then they shouldn't be permitted to use it to make television.

I agree with Paul. I have actually seen the test beaten. That is not to say that every one can beat it, but if it can be done then any and all results may be useless.

Totally agree with Paul. The polygraph is a worthless contraption from the early 1900s that assumes everybody's body reacts the exact same way when they lie. There's a reason it is not admissable in court.

Those legendary truth 'serums', the kind you might see in a spy movie?

Also nothing like as effective as you might think.

Indeed, one source commented that they have about as much effect as simply getting a person drunk!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_drug

Big Slick wrote:Totally agree with Paul. The polygraph is a worthless contraption from the early 1900s that assumes everybody's body reacts the exact same way when they lie. There's a reason it is not admissable in court.

... but it makes for GREAT daytime TV. Ever see 'The Maury Show'. Paternity tests, cheating lovers/spouses, etc... That polygraph is television's best friend

I was just reading a great history/trivia piece in Uncle John's Bathroom Reader about the history of the lie detector...

A sherrif's department, while interrogating a prisoner, placed a metal collender, with wires running to a printing machine on his head...Every time they thought he was lying they would press the print button, and it would spit out a sheet of paper with the words, HE'S LYING printed on it ...The guy ended up confessing...

But yeah, they say that simply curling your toes up during the neutral questions, can throw off all of the data...

OMG... you get Uncle John's as well!!! It's one of the best book series around. It's got something on everything!

http://www.bathroomreader.com/

My dad is a police officer and he told me a story one time of a K9 officer who convinced a suspect that his dog could detect lies. He sat the suspect on the curb and sat the dog in front of him. The officer made the dog sit on the toe of his boot. He started questioning the suspect and everytime he though the suspect was lying he would raise his toe under the dog's butt and the dog would start to lean forward and growl. The suspect believed it so much that he ended up spilling his guts to the officer because he thought the dog knew when he was lying.

Hahahahah...Now that's what I'm talkin' about Slick!

In India, they would close a suspect in a dark room with a sacred donkey. They told the perp to gently pull the donkey's tail, and the animal would bray if the suspect was guilty...What they would actually do is coat the donkey's tail in black powder, assuming a truly innocent person would pull the tail without hesitation, while the guilty would not touch the tail at all.

I remember seeing MacGyver make a lie detector out of an alarm clock and a blood pressure tester

PaulM wrote:OMG... you get Uncle John's as well!!! It's one of the best book series around. It's got something on everything!

http://www.bathroomreader.com/

I was given my first one as a gift many years ago...Since then (when at home) I pee sitting down, so I can read one of the one page articles ...I actually heard an interview with John on the talk radio show I listen to on my way to work...Apparently, they have just put out one that deals exclusively with music and the industry!! I am so all over all that!!