The Last Archive
Detection of Deception
May 21, 2020
In this podcast, James Frye, charged with murder in 1922, puts his trust in a lie detector. The episode explores the lie detector's inventor, William Moulton Marston, and the connection to Wonder Woman. It also touches on the science of testimony, the historical context of social scientists and crime statistics, and Fry's struggle for innocence.
46:21
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Quick takeaways
- Eyewitness testimony has limitations in discerning the truth, as only 23% of observable facts were accurately remembered in a 1922 experiment.
- The Fry versus United States case in 1923 set a precedent that limited the use of lie detector tests in court trials, despite Professor Marston's attempt to introduce the results as evidence.
Deep dives
Validity of eyewitness testimony questioned in a 1922 experiment
In a lecture at American University in 1922, Professor William Molten-Marston conducts an experiment on eyewitness testimony. He invites an actor to pretend to be a messenger and hands him envelopes and books with different colors. After the demonstration, Marston reveals that only 23% of the 147 observable facts were accurately remembered by the students, highlighting the limitations of eyewitness testimony in discerning the truth.
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