“Only Problem: They Don’t Detect Lies”

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Jon Carroll comments on polygraphy. Excerpt: PERHAPS BY THE time this column appears, Rep. Gary Condit will have taken his lie-detector test. Lovers of justice will be able to rest easy, comfortable in the knowledge that we have learned not a thing more than we knew before. Friends, here we have … Read more

“Lie Detector Tests Are Hard to Beat”

So says Modesto Bee staff writer John Gorenfeld in an article thus titled. Clearly, Gorenfeld has not yet discovered “the lie behind the lie detector” (and the polygraphers with whom he spoke didn’t clue him in). Excerpt: Just how much does Rep. Gary Condit know about the disappearance of Chandra Levy, the Modesto woman last … Read more

“Truth Is Elusive in Debate Over Lie Detectors”

Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn comments on polygraphy. Excerpt: The lie detector is a powerful tool. So powerful, in fact, that it doesn’t even have to exist to be effective. This story of the telephone scam allegedly run by two Cook County Jail inmates underscores how the reputation of this technology is its strongest asset. … Read more

“Attorney Says Condit Passed Polygraph Test”

Washington Post staff writers Allan Lengel and Petula Dvorak report. Excerpt: Rep. Gary A. Condit’s attorney announced yesterday that the congressman had passed a privately administered lie detector test that asked critical questions about the disappearance of Chandra Levy, but police officials immediately questioned its validity. The announcement that Condit had passed a polygraph — … Read more

“Condit Takes Private Polygraph”

CBS News reports that Abbe D. Lowell, Rep. Gary D. Condit’s attorney, has announced that the congressman has taken and passed a polygraph “test” in connection with the whereabouts of Chandra Levy. Excerpt: (CBS) Gary Condit’s lawyer says the embattled congressman has taken and passed a lie detector test – one administered independently, and not … Read more

“Machine Usually Right”

In an article replete with misinformation, Richard Sisk of the New York Daily News Washington bureau reports on polygraphy. Excerpt: WASHINGTON If they do it right, the cops would be about 96% sure whether Rep. Gary Condit was involved in Chandra Levy’s disappearance after hooking him up to a lie detector, polygraph experts said yesterday. … Read more

“Detecting Lies in Lie Detectors”

Howard Fienberg, a research analyst with the Statistical Assessment Service (STATS), a non-profit, non-partisan think tank in Washington, DC writes for The Providence Journal. Excerpt: The parents of missing Federal Bureau of Prisons intern Chandra Levy do not believe that U.S. Rep. Gary Condit, D-Calif., has revealed all he knows of her whereabouts. Although police … Read more

“Police Seek Polygraph of Condit”

Washington Post staff writers Arthur Santana and Bill Miller report. Excerpt: Law enforcement authorities have asked Rep. Gary A. Condit to submit to a polygraph examination and accepted an offer from Condit’s attorney to search his apartment, D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey said yesterday. Investigators also plan to interview members of Condit’s staff and … Read more

“County Uses Lie Detectors to Supervise Sex Offenders”

North County Times staff writer Scott Marshall reports in a lengthy article on the use of polygraph “testing” to supervise sex offenders on probation in San Diego County, California. Be sure to see the full article. Excerpt: VISTA —- San Diego County probation officers are using lie-detector tests to help them supervise the roughly 600 … Read more