Original reporting and commentary about polygraphs, voice stress analyzers, and other purported "lie detectors."
ScienceDaily reports on an article published in the journal Psychophysiology describing a technique adapted by Maastricht University doctoral student Ewout Meijer and others for use in combination with polygraph-based concealed knowledge testing. The abstract of Meijer et al.’s “Combining skin conductance and forced choice in the detection of concealed information” is cited here: An advantage …
Gannett correspondent Michael Rispoli reports for the Asbury Park Press in “Conviction overturned due to polygraph test”: A New Jersey appellate court on Tuesday reversed the sexual molestation conviction of a Union County man due to the unreliability of a lie detector test given to him before he was charged with the crime. The defendant, …
The Washington Post reports the passing of Chris Gugas, Sr., a founding member and past president of the American Polygraph Association who worked for the CIA in the early 1950s. Mr. Gugas died of congestive heart failure on 20 October 2007. The most prominent of his more than 40,000 polygraph examinations was that of James …
Colorado television station KUSA 9News investigative reporter Jace Larson examines the use of the “Computer Voice Stress Analyzer” (CVSA) in the state: KUSA – A device used by Colorado law enforcement agencies to identify when someone is lying, may not work and may be costing taxpayers money. Computer Voice Stress Analyzers (CVSAs) claim to measure …
New York Times journalist Alan Feuer reports on the case of polygraph victim Abdallah Higazy in “Lawsuit Is Reinstated for Man Wrongly Suspected in 9/11”: A federal appeals court in Manhattan yesterday reinstated a lawsuit against the F.B.I. that was brought five years ago by an Egyptian student wrongly suspected of aiding the Sept. 11 …
New York Times reporters Duff Wilson and Michael S. Schmidt report: The former track star Marion Jones, one of the most accomplished female athletes in the world, is expected to plead guilty today to lying to federal agents about her use of performance-enhancing drugs, two lawyers connected with the case said yesterday. The admission would …
In Elyria, Ohio, 18-year-old Willie Evans IV is standing trial as an adult for the 2006 murder of Michael Smith. Evans, who was a minor when the crime was committed, is being tried as an adult and faces the possibility of a life sentence. Ohio is one of a number of states in which polygraph …
In “Web of Suspicion: An Agent’s Career Ruined,” Los Angeles Times staff writer H.G. Reza reports on the case of retired FBI special agent Rita Chiang, whose career was cut short in the aftermath of a failed polygraph screening examination. This case is eerily similar to that of former FBI special agent Mark Mallah and …
New Orleans Times-Picayune staff writer Kate Moran reports that a former prostitute who claims to have been patronized by U.S. Senator David Vitter (R-LA) has passed a lie detector test paid for by pornographer Larry Flynt and administered by polygrapher Edward Gelb of Los Angeles. It should be noted that Gelb was exposed by AntiPolygraph.org …
In “Telling the Truth About Lie Detectors,” the Vaguely Logical blog does a fine job dissecting ABC News’ recent uncritical reporting on fMRI-based lie detection.