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The latest
technology in forensic science uses details known only to investigators and
the criminal to prove a suspect's guilt or innocence. Developed by
Harvard-trained Lawrence Farwell, brain fingerprinting uses brainwaves to
measure what Farwell calls the "a-ha" of recognition.
Traditional lie detectors rely on reading emotional reactions such as
sweating or heart rate as a suspect is asked questions. The problem is that
well-practiced liars can control these reactions before the polygraph has a
chance to detect them.
That's
not a possibility in a brain fingerprint test, says Farwell, chief scientist
and founder of the Seattle, Washington-based Brain Fingerprinting Laboratories.
Identifying ‘A-ha’ in
the Brain
During
the test, the suspect wears a headband equipped with sensors to measure
activity in response to recognition of a word or image relating to the crime
in question. When the brain recognizes a word or picture, it releases an
involuntary wave called a P 300/Mermer®,
explains Farwell. That's used to determine whether suspects were ever at the
scene of the crime.
"People
remember the very major events in their life, even a serial killer," says
Farwell. "That tends to have a very solid record in the brain."
The
technology may sound like science fiction, but it has been tested by the FBI
and used as evidence in U.S. courts.
According to Farwell and his brain wave results, accused killer Terry
Harrington didn't have the details of the 1978 murder he was convicted of
stored in his brain. An Iowa judge allowed the new technology into evidence
in Herrington's appeal in 2003 — and now he's a free man.
In
Missouri, J. B. Grinder confessed and was sentenced to life in 1998 after a P
300/Mermer revealed he did have special knowledge of the 1984
rape-murder of which he was accused.
Now
Farwell's technology could exonerate Jimmy Ray Slaughter, a convict on
Oklahoma's death row for the murder of his ex-girlfriend and their infant
daughter.
Farwell
tested Slaughter on details Slaughter claimed he didn't know. When Farwell
questioned Slaughter on the location of the bodies at the murder scene and
the position of the woman's body on the floor, there was no brain wave of
recognition.
The
Supreme Court is due to issue a verdict soon on Slaughter's appeal.
Farwell
adds that brain fingerprinting could also be used to address the
controversial issue of repressed memories of sexual abuse by testing those
accused of the abuse.
Acceptance Too Swift?
This
isn't the first time investigators have turned to advanced technology to
gauge a person's innocence. Researchers have experimented with other
computerized brain scans that reveal the amount of blood flow to different
sections of the brain. Early tests suggest people use more sections of their
brain when they lie than when they tell the truth and this is evident in
increased blood flow throughout the brain.
Other
law enforcement agencies have used a device that measures changes in the
voice. Computer voice stress analyzers are designed to detect lies by
monitoring voice frequencies. However, there is a movement in the United
States to ban the use of these devices, since there are concerns the
analyzers are inaccurate and flawed.
Some
argue that acceptance of brain fingerprinting technology has also moved too
fast and needs to be refined and tested more before it's used to convict or
exonerate suspects.
"There's
a lot of value in looking at brain wave activity, but there's also a lot of
hype," Frank Horvath, a professor of criminology at Michigan State
University told the Seattle Times.
The
National Academy of Sciences recently issued a brief assessment of the
technology, saying it showed promise, but still needs more study.
Farwell
contends plenty of studies have already been done. He invented the test more
than 15 years ago and then conducted research with the FBI, the CIA and the
U.S. Navy.
"The
government spent over $1 million on brain fingerprinting," he says. "We
showed not only in the laboratory but in over 100 actual real-life
situations that the technology was effective." |
