{"id":1712,"date":"2016-07-22T14:01:53","date_gmt":"2016-07-22T19:01:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antipolygraph.org\/blog\/?p=1712"},"modified":"2026-05-17T14:20:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T19:20:35","slug":"drew-richardson-rip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antipolygraph.org\/blog\/2016\/07\/22\/drew-richardson-rip\/","title":{"rendered":"Drew Richardson, RIP"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Drew<\/a>
Drew Richardson speaking at Georgetown University in 2013 (Georgetown University Journal of Health Sciences photograph)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It is with deep sadness that we report that retired FBI scientist and supervisory special agent Dr. Drew C. Richardson, who has for many years been a friend and mentor to AntiPolygraph.org’s co-founders, was killed in a tragic accident at his home in Greenville, Virginia on Thursday, 21 July 2016. He was 65 years old.<\/p>\n

Dr. Richardson, who spent his FBI career in the Bureau’s laboratory division, was also a polygraph expert and the Bureau’s most outspoken internal critic of polygraphy. In 1997, speaking before a subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Dr. Richardson testified<\/a> that “[polygraph screening] is completely without any theoretical foundation and has absolutely no validity” and that “anyone can be taught to beat this type of polygraph exam in a few minutes.”<\/p>\n

In February 2001, after the arrest of FBI Robert P. Hanssen on espionage charges, Dr. Richardson sent a memorandum to then FBI Director Louis Free advising him that “there is NO evidence whatsoever that polygraph screening has any validity as a diagnostic tool”<\/b> (original emphasis) and cautioning against any temptation to embrace polygraph screening. Director Free regrettably chose to ignore Dr. Richardson’s advice.<\/p>\n

In October 2001, Dr. Richardson was an invited speaker at a public meeting of the National Academy of Sciences\/National Research Council Committee to Review the Scientific Evidence on the Polygraph. The critique of polygraphy<\/a> he provided then remains as pertinent today as it was fifteen years ago.<\/p>\n

In 2002, Dr. Richardson issued his challenge to the polygraph community<\/a> to prove their claimed ability to detect polygraph countermeasures. No polygraph operator ever exhibited the confidence to accept Dr. Richardson’s challenge.<\/p>\n

We cherish Drew’s memory.<\/p>\n

Among other pursuits, Dr. Richardson was an avid paraglider. We leave you with his most recent posting to his YouTube channel<\/a>:<\/p>\n