I'm reading an interesting book I came across in the bookstore, "Surviving Justice - America's Wrongfully Convicted and Exonerated", by Lola Vollen and Dave Eggers.

The book contains several cases of people who were wrongfully convicted and who were consequently sentenced to long periods in prison, including death row.

One of the cases which called my attention was that of Beverly Monroe who has a masters in organic chemistry aand who was accused of murdering her lifelong partner of 13 years.  The coroner ruled his death a suicide but one particular agent with the police department thought that  Beverly Monroe murdered this person for various reasons - based on his own perceptions.  He then had the case re-opened, and lured her into the police station to take a polygraph because it's "normal procedure".  He told her that everyone has to take a polygraph exam, even though they still considered the case a suicide, but just in case.  All the while this agent Riley was just suspecting her and overzealously wanted to collar her.  He and the polygrapher used deceitful and coercive interrogation practices including those found on the edition of "Criminal Interrogation and Confessions" written by Fred E. Inbau, John Reid and Joseph Buckley.  

Although the account does not mention what went on the polygraph room in detail, Monroe mentions how only the last 17 minutes of the interrogation was recorded even though the polygraph exam lasted for 1.5 hours (although she was in the police station for a longer time). 

I (and the reader) can only imagine what went on in that room as Monroe says, and I quote directly from the book, "...somebody talking to you for two hours can make you want to get away from them, just in order to let your brain think.  It's so forceful... so disconcerting, its intimidating.  That afternoon, when I left the police station, about four thirty, I could barely talk - that's how bad the pain was.  I could not even walk.  Agent Riley had to help me down the stairs and help me with my coat.  I was literally a basket case.  I really thought something was wrong with my mind.  It never occured to me to say that something's wrong with Agent Riley..."

The book on a side note warns against any citizen waiving their miranda rights, by the way.  She didn't have to go take a polygraph, but I guess her ignorance in that field made her comply.

Needless to say, Beverly Monroe was eventually sentenced  to 22 years in prison.   Evidence came up which later exonerated Monroe, but she still served 7 years behind bars.   
I had to put the book down after 2 days of reading because it's really upsetting, having been through a "failed" polygraph and overzealous interrogation tactics myself.  But my final thoughts are that others, such as Monroe have it a world of a lot worse than us job applicants did - allthough we should not exclude ourselves from ever experiencing  such further similar injustices in our lives.