failed polygraph not sure what to do? please help

[jpi]

Help
I was asked to take a polygraph to show my innocence in a criminal case and was told i failed. I always belived a innocent person has nothing to hide and agreed to take it. Now i have no faith in there system at all. I moved out of our home we were renting and over the weekend someone had vandalized our home that we just moved out of. I talked to the police and gave them all the information i had to further there investigation. I soon found out i was the prime suspect and they wanted me to take a polygraph so they could eliminate me. I was more then willing to take it to help them pursue the correct path in there investigation. Well now i wish i didint. At the end of the test i was told i failed! How could this be. I know in my heart that i had nothing to do with this. I`m looking at his computer and it is saying liar. I plead my innocence and ask how in the world this could happen, in response i get because i had something to do with the vandelism. Then he starts to suggest that i work with them and if i would be willing to except paying a fine if no criminal charges were filed. I`m completly outraged and dont know what to do. How to fight this. Please somebody help me and direct me on how to go about clearing my name.
thank you and I await any and all information
jim
pissed off in oregon

[Sluggo]

Sorry to hear about what happened to you.  False positives are not as uncommon as the poly community wants everyone to believe.

I had the same attitude as you did when I initiated (yes, initiated) my polys: "I won't research polys... since I'm telling the truth, I'll be fine! ".  And like so many others that come to this site, I learned I was wrong on that assumption, but it was too late.

Can't help you out on what to do now, accept to tell you do NOT admit to something you haven't done.  

Polys are crap, but are a GREAT instrument for interrogation and getting people to admit things (sometimes, even if the examinee didn't do anything!).

George M runs this site, and maybe he'll see your email on here and respond.  If not, you can email him directly, his email is somewhere on the site.

[George W. Maschke]

Jim,

I think at this point it would be prudent to hire a lawyer and not speak with the police in the absence of legal counsel. Martindale offers a free on-line "Lawyer Locator" service that may help you to find one in your area:

http://www.martindale.com

If any friends or family members now doubt you because of your polygraph results, you might refer them to this site. There is a broad consensus amongst scientists that polygraph "testing" has no scientific basis. Not surprisingly, this invalid test frequently yields inaccurate results, as you (along with me and many others) have unfortunately learned the hard way.