Original reporting and commentary about polygraphs, voice stress analyzers, and other purported "lie detectors."
Effective today, Wednesday, 1 September 2021, polygraph operators need no longer be licensed in the state of Texas. A notice on the Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation website advises: Effective September 1, 2021, Polygraph Examiners are no longer required to be licensed by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). Texas House Bill …
On Friday, 12 March 2021, the Texas Department of Public Safety Polygraph School graduated its 29th class. In the midst of the most deadly pandemic to hit the United States in a century, and in defiance of current U.S. Center for Disease Control guidance and the city of Austin’s and Travis County’s mask mandates, participants …
Jennifer Muir and Emma Perez-Treviño report for the Brownsville, Texas Herald in an article titled, “Sheriff holds off on staff changes.” Excerpt: Administrative debates temporarily staved off Sheriff Conrado Cantu’s plan to restructure a troubled county jail staff Monday, but Cameron County’s top lawman said his department will continue considering options this week as his …
Jim Henderson of the Houston Chronicle Dallas bureau reports. Excerpt: FORT WORTH — Sometime in the next few days, James Byrd will take the most important test of his life. If he passes, he soon could walk out of prison, free for the first time in nearly five years. If he flunks, he could stay …
Fort Worth, Texas Star-Telegram staff writer Mike Cochran reports. Excerpt: FORT WORTH – It was going to be James Byrd’s day of vindication. After spending almost five years in prison for a crime that he and his older brother Donnie Johnson say Johnson committed, Byrd took a polygraph test Tuesday in the special crimes unit …
The Associated Press reports in this article published in the Amarillo Globe-News. Excerpt: DALLAS (AP) – This is a story about two brothers and a crime that changed their lives. One brother is serving a 30-year sentence for aggravated robbery. The other is living with the agonizing guilt that he put his younger half brother …
In an article titled “Whistle-blower finally gets trial,” Rosanna Ruiz of the Houston Chronicle reports on the case of Houston Police Department officer Paulino Zavala. Excerpt: A former Houston narcotics officer’s whistle-blower lawsuit will go to trial today after lingering in court for four years and benefiting from two appellate rulings that kept it from …
Waco Tribune-Herald staff writer Tommy Witherspoon reports. Excerpt: Waco police have asked family members of Orville and Ruby Loving to take polygraph tests as the investigation into the deaths of the elderly couple continues. While some polygraph tests have been administered, Waco police report that arrests in the May 12 slaying of the Lovings at …
The Corpus Christi Caller Times reports in an article titled, “County clerk’s office employees asked to take polygraph tests.” This short article is reproduced in full below: From staff reports Employees at the Nueces County Clerk’s office are being asked to submit to polygraph exams as investigators continue to probe the disappearance of $4,700, said …
Humble Observer managing editor Martin L. de Vore reports on a talk given by Humble, Texas police polygrapher Kelly Hendricks. Excerpt: Braving cloudy skies and a light misty rain, North Harris County Criminal Justice Association (NHCCJA) members who attended the organization’s April meeting got an inside look at the controversy surrounding the use of voice …