Colorado’s State Supreme Court’s polygraph hypocrisy
According to Colorado Politics, the Colorado Supreme Court decided in 1981 that polygraphs are scientifically unreliable and are therefore inadmissible in criminal court. Yet, Colorado continues to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on polygraphs for the supervision of people on probation who are released for a sex offense.
In the meantime, “polygraphers have financially benefited from this practice by serving on the Colorado Sex Offender Management Board.”
Polygraphs are required twice a year for probationers in Florida as well. At least my sex offender probation rules stated so on the general rules form that all sex offender probationers receive at sentencing.
If you don’t pass any of them you will not graduate from your counseling sessions. I presume this can go on forever even after your probation period is over, because you can not be released from probation until you “graduate” from therapy.
These “sessions” do not have an ending designation. The councilors can keep you in group or personal counseling as long as they please with no recourse for getting them to remove you or graduate you.
In my case, I passed all of my polygraphs, but councilor still required me to do over 5 years of useless group therapy… Nothing new here!
Oh, and of course in Florida, the sex offender that is on probation pays for all counseling and also pays for the expensive polygraphs. If you can’t afford it, you are in violation of probation and will be re arrested according to my former probation officer. No excuses allowed…
Let me guess, ITM?
This scam happens with the feds too!
If I had wanted to “take the fifth” when I was polygraphed for ‘counseling’ 25 yrs ago, my case would have been sent back to court and I would have been sent to prison, according to my sex offense counselor and crummy lawyer. These unreliable tests could send you to prison whether you lied or told the truth.
Wow, Mr. Maes didn’t hold any punches when he exposed this ridiculous practice. You would almost think he was on the registry, until you see his byline and realize he’s just a very well respected, articulate, and intelligent individual who is perhaps, as knowledgeable about this subject matter as any expert out there in the field.
Good article, but a little aggravating that these former judges don’t have these epiphanies until after they leave the bench.