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Polygraph Argumentative Essay

748 Words3 Pages

Tanya Short
Professor Huffman
Information Literacy 119.40
27, September 2015
Polygraph: Science Fact or Science Fiction? The roots of polygraph testing have a humble beginning at Harvard in the year 1915. A Harvard psychologist by the name William Marston paved the way for the polygraph we know today. Marston’s device monitored blood pressure of one under interrogation. John Larson, a medical student, added respiration to the device and created the first polygraph in the 1921. The polygraph machine of today measures a person’s heart rate, sweat forming on the skin and rate of breathing. The examiner asks several control questions. Questions where the subject is likely to tell the truth. These responses are then compared to relevant questioning responses. The premise of the polygraph hinges on; people who lie are nervous, heart rates elevate, breathing gets faster and they sweat. Polygraph use is vast. Its customers range from law enforcement to private business. It is utilized to determine guilt or innocence, as a mandated pre-employment tool, and to protect national security, just to name a few. With a test that is being utilized over such a large spectrum and with so many irreversible implications one would imagine the polygraph would most likely …show more content…

One of the founding fathers of the polygraph finds himself in the middle of a courtroom battle. The case of Frye v. United States. Marston is testifying as an expert witness for the defense to convince the court to admit polygraph evidence. The accused in this case initially denied having anything to with the murder. Then confessed to the murder, recanted that confession and underwent a polygraph examination administered by Marston. The results of the polygraph exonerated the accused. Frye was convicted of murder after the judge excluded all polygraph testimony from the trail. The appeal was denied and became the standard for courtrooms across the

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