Recent literature has shown that polygraph testing does not have a strong scientific backing, yet it is still commonly used to screen new employees and as an investigation tool with criminal suspects. The technique associates changes in breathing, blood pressure, and skin conductivity due to sweating with deception by the examinee, but there are many reasons for these physiological indicators that vary outside of the act of lying. Each human is unique, meaning we all react in different ways to events and in this case we all lie differently. For this project I analyze and discuss how interrogators use polygraphs as an interrogation tool to elicit false confessions in criminal investigations. I also discuss different types of false confessions and how interrogators can manipulate suspects into believing they were the person that committed the crime. Since jurors and criminal justice officials treat confessions as more probative than any other piece of evidence in cases, it is crucial that who is confessing to a crime is the true perpetrator. The number of false confessions that are elicited by polygraph testing is alarming, and the criminal justice system should understand the research and background of polygraph testing, re-evaluate their use, and consider alternative interrogation techniques.

This paper aims to delve into the perspectives of jurors regarding the NGRI (not guilty by reason of insanity) plea in cases involving individuals with psychosis and delusional thinking who premeditate a crime. By examining how these individuals can plan a crime despite their mental illness, we seek to understand the complexities of their criminal responsibility. The paper also explores various case studies, the legal duty to warn statute, competency to stand trial, the insanity defense, distinguishing delusions from radical political beliefs, and the impact of premeditation on juror decision-making. This project aims to establish a deeper understanding of the interaction between mental illness, criminal intent, and legal responsibility, and provide insights that may inform future policy and legal considerations.

People use lie detectors in many different places but they have their most profound impact when law enforcement tries to get the “truth” out of someone to see if they committed a crime or not. In these examples, it’s always assumed that the results from the lie detector test are 100% accurate when determining if the person was lying about the question they were asked. I will be evaluating the validity of the polygraph test or simply the quality of the test and how accurate it is in measuring whether or not a person is being deceptive. Those being examined under the polygraph may trust that the results are trustworthy and if they are told something other than what their memory remembers, this will lead them to believe and later falsely confess to the crime. The focus will be more on whether or not polygraphs cause false memories, leading people to think that they have committed the crime they are being accused of. There will be a review of 56 exoneree cases and I will be looking deeper into those who have persuaded confessions. I hypothesize that polygraph tests and interrogation tactics used by investigators lead some examinees to believe that they have committed the crime they are accused of, due to both the environment they are put in and the current state of mind that many accused may be in.

The purpose of this project is to investigate the complex relationship between law enforcement and individuals living with mental illness in Austin, TX. Compared to the 15 largest cities in the United States, Austin had the highest per capita rate of police shootings during mental health crises (Office of City Auditor, 2018), and the state of Texas ranks last in access to mental healthcare (Reinert et al., 2021). The combined impact of these issues pose devastating outcomes for people living with mental illness in this state. Using qualitative interviews with community members, practitioners, law enforcement, criminal and social justice scholars, and other key players in the field, I seek to investigate methods to improve responses to mental health crises at the local community level and find violence-reducing alternatives to policing in response to psychiatric emergencies. To supplement my qualitative analysis, I analyze public data on police violence and response to resistance to further examine the scale of these disparities as they relate to location, sex, race, and access to mental healthcare services. The desired outcome of this project was to design a website meant to educate the local community on challenges faced by people living with mental illness, and what can be done to protect or improve one’s livelihood should they encounter a mental health crisis.