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I am still on probation from a conviction 10 years ago. Routinely (about once a year or so) I am required to subject myself to the polygraph.
I have had depression for a very long time and occasionally, over time, I "think" I am "okay" to come off of the medication I am using (Zoloft). Just about this time last year, I wanted to "kick the meds" and see if I was within a state of being "myself".
The true test would come at the beginning of May when I learned of my brothers death and my fathers serious health decline from a massive stroke which left him not knowing who I was anymore. On May the 4th, I hung myself. The attempt left me passed out on the floor as my "support system" gave way and I dropped.
Hence, I was wrong to self-diagnose. After a stint in the hospital, I was back on my favorite survival companion, Zoloft and Remeron.
After my restart on Zoloft at 100mgs and Remeron at 40mgs, I was asked to take a maintenance polygraph of which the results were found to be inconclusive. After the polygraph, I told the polygrapher that I felt, prior to coming in, that my ability to endur the test staying perfectly still was going to be a problem.
An agreement was reached to wait until I "settled into" my meds. However, what I found extremely disturbing was my probation officer asking me to switch to other meds that would allow me to pass the polygraph. Go figure! I was actually being asked to put aside the benefits of my existing meds for the benefits of passing a polygraph!
Of course my probation officer was quick to throw in the disclaimer, "Of course I am not a doctor". So, I am left with interesting questions:
"Do I switch to the meds that my probation officer wants me to take in order to pass a polygraph (and quite possibly risk my mental health)?"
or;
"Do I continue with my first priority; my mental health and let the cards fall where they may where the interactions of drugs and polygraphs force both probation officers and polygraphers to come to grips with the variables of unreliability such a test expose.?"
The problem with the first question should seem obvious.
The problem with the second consideration might be a little more elusive than the first. If I continue with what my physician and I think is right for me, I stand the potential for more inconclusives which equates, within the minds of the probation officer and polygrapher, to "lack of credibility". In a rational world, it seems impossible to make the leap from "inconclusive" to "lack of credibility".
However, before I could make it to the followup of my last inconclusive, I started having seizures and visual changes during those episodes. After talking with my doctors (Kaiser-Permanente), I was started on Klonopin to control my seizures while a schedule of tests were set up to diagnose my condition. Within the last few months, I have taken a CT scan, An MRI, and a Positron Emmission Tomography (PET) scan with results pointing to anomalies regarding the bone of my skull (being one and the same) and a sinus disease.
It was during the scheduling of these tests that I was confronted by my probation officer that I must take the followup test on the 20th of December with no exceptions. (things are a bit tight with our finances and spooling out $200.00) five days prior to Christmas was rough. However, what was even psychologically tougher for me, was that the fiancial obligation of the test put into jeopardy my ability to proceed, in a timely manner, with my schedules for tests regarding my seizures, etc. Hence, I had to cancel some appointments and defer them until after the first of the year because we simply did not have the "copay" available after the $200.00 for "junk-science".
The conclusion of the last test: I was using countermeasures. I was shocked! This was absolute nonsense. The polygrapher started the test off by, after asking only two questions, telling me that I was trying to control my breathing. Again, nonsense. However, he had know set me up to "think" about my breathing. As soon as the polygrapher made the accusation at the beginning of the test, I felt like walking away from it. I knew where it was going and felt that the test was already predetermined. In the mind of the polygrapher as well as the probation officer, the formulae goes something like this:
"allegedly using countermeasuress" = inconclusive = no credibility = take test again and again and again.
I indeed passed the last test but that does not matter IF the polygrapher "wants" to believe countermeasures were deployed. It seems to me that there should be 3 possible findings at the end of a polygraph:
1. countermeasures deployed
2. inconclusive (meaning that a determination of deception could NOT be made)
3. Pass
Problem with the above is that a finding of "countermeasures deployed" works against the validity and reliability of the polygraph. Hence, "countermeasures deployed" is refined as "inconclusive" in order to protect the "integrity" of the test. Even a finding of "inconclusive" is wrong inthat the finding ends up being a negative against the person being tested. Rather, a finding of "inconclusive" can only mean "PASS". So, there truly (in a rational world) can only be 2 outcomes, PASS or FAIL.
My story to you could have been longer or shorter but my main reason for posting this here is to find out if there is something that I can do legally about probation officers putting the polygraph ahead of my health. There is something seriously flawed about what has been happening and I need to consult with someone in the legal profession.
Any help would be gratefully appreciated,
-Alan
* Incidentally, I am still in the process of going through another CT Scan this week along with seeing a Neurologist for the first time to discuss the results of all of my scans.
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