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Posted by George W. Maschke
- Apr 08, 2009, 01:47 AMQuote from: notruthinlies on Apr 08, 2009, 12:37 AM...The prosecution contacted the defense attorney offering a polygraph to be conducted between both individuals because neither story corroberates the other. The accused accepted with the belief that finally he had an opportunity to prove he was telling the truth when he says there was no incident involving him and this man. The polygraph offer was with stipulations that the regardless of the results they would be used in court,and that the cost was to be self paid. There was no offer or guarantee of charges being dropped if the accused passed a polygraph.
Your friend needs a new lawyer. Any attorney who would advise his client to agree to a polygraph "test" under such circumstances is guilty of legal malpractice. Prosecutors in some states (especially Ohio) may propose such "stipulated" lie detector tests when they know they have a weak case in the hope that the polygraph results will help 1) to get a conviction or plea agreement if the accused "fails" or 2) help justify any decision by the prosecutor to drop charges if the accused "passes." The accused has little to gain by agreeing to have his honesty evaluated by the pseudoscience of polygraphy, and potentially much to lose.
QuoteThe day of the test, the accused took his test (the accuser took his a few hours before) and was told the examiner had one more test that day and then the results would be scored and charted, probably later that afternoon. A few hours later my friend received a call from his attorney saying he failed the test. He was told both had shown deception however his degree of deception was higher than his accuser.
There is no basis in the polygraph literature (let alone in science) for looking at the polygraph charts of two different people and saying, "They were both deceptive, but this one was more deceptive than the other one." The polygraph operator is making this up.
QuoteAfter a week or so the defense attorney finally recieved the report which was merely a one sentence statement that stated something along the lines of, a comparative analysis of the computer polygraph algorithm of the 2 relevant questions shows a response that indicates deception in the accused. Has anyone ever heard of this type or test or procedure?
Typical polygraph reports aren't much more informative than that. But your friend should have received not just the report of the results, but also the charts and a copy of the video or audio recording of the polygraph session. (I would be happy to review these for him and provide commentary that might be useful.)
QuoteDoes this method seem to be fair?
No. Polygraphy is patently unfair. It has no scientific basis and is inherently biased against the truthful.
QuoteIf my friend had been more educated on polygraphs and what exactly causes these responses that are said to be deception he would never have taken this test.
Your friend should have been better educated. His attorney badly disserved him.
QuoteFalse accusations out of nowhere, arrested and charged with a crime, loss of his job, facing a trial and being asked to prove yourself with a polygraph is enough stress and emotion beyond control to not expect some type of reaction or response when asked anything related to what has caused so much grief in your life.
Precisely. Dr. Alan P. Zelicoff ran a statistical analysis (255 kb PDF) of the best published field studies of polygraphy. The results indicate that "if a subject fails a polygraph, the probability that she is, in fact, being deceptive is little more than chance alone; that is, one could flip a coin and get virtually the same result for a positive test based on the published data."
QuoteHe was also told that an examiner can tell the difference between general nervous anxiety and deception.
That contention is completely untrue. Polygraphers can see whether a person's breathing, perspiration, blood pressure, and heart rate change when asked a certain question. But they cannot tell why such changes occur. This was dramatically illustrated in television show Lie To Me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEZTt_Ciiws
If you or your friend would like to discuss this matter further, please feel free to contact me either by private message through this message board or by e-mail to maschke@antipolygraph.org.
Posted by notruthinlies
- Apr 08, 2009, 12:37 AMThis involves two individuals, one the accuser and the other the accused. Since an arrest and arraignment of the accused, almost 4 months ago, a pre conference hearing and a pre evidence hearing have been rescheduled by the prosecution. The accusor claims he was assaulted in an unwarranted attack. The accused has no idea where the accusation came from and has repeatedly denied any altercation or confrontation ever took place. The prosecution contacted the defense attorney offering a polygraph to be conducted between both individuals because neither story corroberates the other. The accused accepted with the belief that finally he had an opportunity to prove he was telling the truth when he says there was no incident involving him and this man. The polygraph offer was with stipulations that the regardless of the results they would be used in court,and that the cost was to be self paid. There was no offer or guarantee of charges being dropped if the accused passed a polygraph. The day of the test, the accused took his test (the accuser took his a few hours before) and was told the examiner had one more test that day and then the results would be scored and charted, probably later that afternoon. A few hours later my friend received a call from his attorney saying he failed the test. He was told both had shown deception however his degree of deception was higher than his accuser. After a week or so the defense attorney finally recieved the report which was merely a one sentence statement that stated something along the lines of, a comparative analysis of the computer polygraph algorithm of the 2 relevant questions shows a response that indicates deception in the accused. Has anyone ever heard of this type or test or procedure? Does this method seem to be fair? If my friend had been more educated on polygraphs and what exactly causes these responses that are said to be deception he would never have taken this test. False accusations out of nowhere, arrested and charged with a crime, loss of his job, facing a trial and being asked to prove yourself with a polygraph is enough stress and emotion beyond control to not expect some type of reaction or response when asked anything related to what has caused so much grief in your life. He was also told that an examiner can tell the difference between general nervous anxiety and deception.