Polygraph Testing In The Criminal Case Of US V. Frye

Characteristics of a pedophile’s typical victim consist of usually one sex, male or female; and typically under the age of puberty. “Females were [sic] the most commonly abused . . .” sexes (Hall, 2007, p. 461). There are more reports of female victims than male victims with the typical offenses. Males, however, are at a higher risk with “forced sodomy” (Hall, 2007, p. 461). At young, impressionable, and instable ages these youth are set with inappropriate views of what love is and what their bodies were made for. Younger victims are much easier to manipulate than adults. “The gender of the child also plays an integral part in the selection” female youth, in particular, are very impressionable and for an older male figure to take notice

In this experiment we used a polygraph, which examined heart rate, respiratory rate, and electrodermal activity (EDA), and tested its ability to perform as a reliable lie detector. Physiology data such as skin conductance, blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration can be utilized in polygraph tests (Lewis and Cuppari 2009). A polygraph measures the changes in physiological measures, or arousal, to a set of questions given to the participant. There are two main types of questions utilized during a polygraph: The Control Questions Test (CQT) and the Guilty Knowledge Test (GKT). The CQT usually has a subject, in most cases a suspect in a case or criminal, is asked two sets of questions, control questions and relevant questions. Within criminal

PrimePoint Polygraph is a self-owned company that provides adequate polygraph, and investigative services. Tim Ruby is both the owner, and operator of PrimePoint. Ruby is a full time forensic psychophysiologist for the government. He has been a polygrapher for six years. In addition, he conducts testing for post convicted sex offenders, and pre-employment for law enforcement. Ruby got interested in the polygraph field as a former police officer, and criminal investigator. He was given the opportunity to attend the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s polygraph school, which sparked his interest in the field. He then pursued the field by earning an Associate Degree of Criminal Justice Administration, as well as a Bachelors Degree of Science and

A lie is a false statement with the purposely intentions to deceive, a falsehood or falsification. Since the beginning of time when Adam and Eve were created by god, and Adams fibbed about eating the apple, lying and deception has been the consistent future of human behavior or sin. The history of the polygraph has a similar long history with the reliable means of detecting deception. Researchers believed that this type of work must be viewed with care and cautiously being that the ones who tell the lies know that they are undergoing research and likewise know they do not comparatively behave as they would in real-life settings. There has been numerous of studies that attempt to identify specific verbal and nonverbal behaviors associated

An example of these cases include the interrogations of Ryan Brunn. In the case where Ryan Brunn was questioned, he lied and failed. He denied lying and was then administered another test, where he confessed that he had killed 7-year-old Jorelys Rivera. He realized that the he could not pass the test unless he confessed, which he did. He confessed to raping the girl, cutting her throat, wrapping her in a garbage bag, and dumping her body into a trash compactor. Another example of a case that has been solved by the polygraph test is the murders of Skyla Whitaker and Taylor Paschal-Placker. These two women were murdered by Kevin Sweat, who had agreed to take a polygraph test because he thought he could outsmart the test. During his interrogation, police discovered that he had burned the bodies on his father’s land. When the police went to investigate, they found the burned remains of his fiancee and .40 caliber shell casings. On the contrary, there are also many cases that have used the lie detector test in which they were not accurate. A case where the polygraph test has been proven wrong would include the interrogation of Gary Leon Ridgway. In 1984 he was accused of murdering 48 women and he passed the polygraph test. Later, after DNA confirmed his criminal activities Gary confessed to murdering almost twice the number of women and girls he was initially accused of killing. If the court would have

Victims of sexual assault suffer from a wide variety of mental and emotional issues throughout their lives as a result of the experience. Results can range from depression, anger, feelings of loneliness, and difficulty when trying to formulate relationships of trust (Hyde 45). Victims experience a wide variety of psychological issues as a result of sexual crimes, which they will have to carry with them throughout their entire lives. Also, “Psychological problems can start later in life with changes in behavior- vague fears, feeling unprotected and helpless, nightmares, bedwetting, sleeping problems, fear to loss parents approval/love, need to please others, poor self esteem, anger, depression, withdrawal from activities, daydreaming, difficulty concentrating, behavior problems” (Hyde 47).

The polygraph test is one of the most controversial criminal investigative techniques of all-time. From the initial years of the invention to today, there is not a consensus about the investigative tool. That is why there are many people for and against the administration of polygraph tests. Therefore, in order to develop a clear picture of the polygraph test the history of the test must be established. Although, there are many sources that have well documented concerns about the invention, the polygraph test is still around after almost 80 years.

Compulsive pedophiles will act upon their urges at any costs despite of the consequences they may have to face. In Predators: Pedophiles, Rapists, and Other Sex Offenders, a pedophile explains his uncontrollable desire, "I didn't suspend my conscience, I carried right into the action with me . . . if I had believed with all of my mind and heart that the earth was going to open up and swallow me in hell, I would have went ahead and done it anyway." This man was a minister and was convicted for molesting his grandchildren. He knew with all his conscience that it was wrong, yet he would have faced any consequence if it meant he would get to touch a child. The mind of a pedophiles acts similarly to that of a drug addict. Even if they know what the consequences are, they will stop at nothing to get what they desire.

With the Pandora’s Box opened, we may find ourselves forced to rediscover morality due to our natural tendencies. This does not mean accepting adult-child relationships. Figure 3 indicates if we are serious about protecting children, then that ultimately requires some level of understanding, which is a problem for most because that is dangerously close to compassion. On the contrary, the risk they pose is the very reason why we need to support pedophiles who do not want to become sex offenders. We all want the same thing. We do not want them to offend nor their potential victims to offend. In 2008, Michael Seto, a forensic psychologist, published a book stating that the onset of pedophilia is right around the stages of puberty, as with any other sexual orientation. I believe we can prevent a greater number of victims if we put more energy into early detection and providing support before the first offense occurs, rather than solely relying on punishment after the fact. We need to be thinking about the children that pedophiles once were and catch them at their vulnerable stages, which are during puberty. There we can find a sense of compassion and support to want to help. In 2014, Margo Kaplan, an associate professor at Rutgers School of Law, wrote an op-ed in New York Times stating that pedophilia is neurologically rooted, supporting Cantor’s research.

Across the United States it has been debated, for several years, which standard should be utilized in the court system: the Frye standard or the Daubert standard. It basically comes down to whether expert testimony should be presented in court based on wide acceptance or scientific proof. Both articles explained the Daubert standard as basically a stricter Frye standard, which could also be gathered from their definitions. It is due to the stricter and more outlined restrictions that the Daubert standard should be utilized in the Florida court system. The Daubert standard bases its criteria for expert testimony on proven scientific fact and reliability.

The polygraph is a device that is used by law enforcement to see if a suspect is lying. It measures a person`s emotional response, assuming that a person will be anxious while lying. This device is commonly used by law enforcement and has been shown to work, although it has made errors, as well as suspects, have found techniques to beat the test. Another test has been created the Guilty Knowledge Test (GKT), which does show promise, and is harder to beat.

Most people consider pedophiles to be anyone who has committed a sex offense against a child and that all pedophiles will commit this offense. In both cases that is, at best, a half truth. The DSM-5, which is a tool that outlines the diagnostic criteria for a given disorder, defines pedophilic disorder as, “a paraphilia involving intense and recurrent sexual urges towards and fantasies about prepubescent children that have either been acted upon or which cause the person with the attraction distress or interpersonal difficulty.” With the latter half of this definition, we begin to open up to the idea that there are those who have sexual interests in children who have had no form of inappropriate contact with a child, but rather just have their daily life affected by the feelings that they are having toward

The American Psychiatric Association has declared that pedophilia is no longer thought of as a mental disorder. In early studies, (DSM-III-R), pedophilia was characterized as a disorder if "the person acted out on the urges, or was markedly distressed by them" (Medinger 2). Nowadays, the diagnostic description is that pedophilia is a disorder if the offender is mentally impaired, agitated, or experiencing guilt as a result of what he is doing. In other words, a pedophile can "play" all he wants until he becomes irrational about it. Outwardly, the pedophile may, in today's society, seem to be a perfectly normal human being. Pedophilia, like homosexuality and transvestitism, is just a sexual preference (APA).