The Case of Troy Davis

[kandrathe]

Don't kid yourself. In science circles, "20 years" is an euphemism for "the far dim future". I'm guessing the "10 years" mentioned in the article really means "the dim future". Better than "far", I guess, but not within breath holding time.

It could be something more like they show you a photo of something and can tell if it is likely you are recalling the image, or seeing it for the first time.

OK, I'll bite. Why not, ethically?

Well, technically, you shouldn't be required to incriminate yourself. DNA, Polygraph, fingerprints are comparable physically observable items, but interpreting what is happening inside the brain (depending on how sophisticated) would be like administering a truth drug during interrogation.

Besides, technically, neither DNA nor fingerprints as presently done can be used to prove guilt. At most, they can be used to group suspects into "possible" and "not possible". I'd suspect that mind reading is going to be very similar.

I'd say in the early stages, yes, it will be more like a polygraph.