Polygraphs and black out drinking
 

Hey everyone! Remember me? I'll have 10 months sober October 3rd, YaY! So anyways, I want to pose a question and no, it is not about me. Do you think a person could commit a crime during a black out and then pass a polygraph because they truly have no memory of it? If so, do you know of any this has happened to? Can the memory ever be recovered? Thanks :0)

My guess, a person may never know! Not sure about a polygraph, a memory can exist in the body & not the brain.

Just heard a speaker tonight share about waking up to go to work only to find her car parked out front half wrecked by her own self, no memory, but not where anyone but the driver could be responsible for it.

Hi Nikkle
congrats on the 10 months :)

I've never taken a polygraph test but I've blacked out a lot - I dunno...even when I couldn't remember details, I always remembered *something* was wrong, or something *bad* happened....

Obviously I wouldn't speak for everyone tho :)

Good to see you back :)

D

If a person says they passed the polygraph with 87%, what does that mean? How is it you can pas without a 100%? How do they score those things?

It's the lowest score for one of several types of polygraphs. They test 6-18 or so responses. Polygraphs are 87-95% accurate. Too many tests & variables involved... This according to my interpretation of 6 internet search readings, quickly. Stop worrying, all will be ok!

Polygraphs are not even admissible in courts in most of the USA:

Polygraph - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I've never taken a polygraph zero expereince on them.

I was a blackout drinker....and it was a miserable time. Did you not ever blackout when you drank? It's certainly not unusual.

Blackouts are explained in "under The Influence" ..check out the sticky post at the top of our Forum.

Well done on your sobreity..:funjump:

This reminds me of a documentary I saw once about sleepwalking. Some sleepwalkers can get violent but not realize it. One guy killed a girl in his sleep and used it as his murder defense, but he was found guilty.

Many cases, different verdicts.

Homicidal sleepwalking - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In regards to your question, like someone else said, polygraphs aren't admissible in court, so how one scores on a polygraph shouldn't matter.

i am still riddled with flashbacks from my last drunk which involved a 6 hour blackout. i don't know which memories are real, i still don't fully know what i said or did, but have some faint memories which are mostly blurry. All i know about my blackouts is that it's further proof that my life had become unmanageable - and yet i still drank to blackout 39 days ago. how could i be so stupid? i'm an alcoholic. That's all i know about memories and blackouts. I do not believe the saying a "sober man's thoughts are a drunk man's words" because I know fully that the evil which spewed out of me during a blackout was not only insane madness, but a whole lot of words connected to a whole lot of hurt that comes from more than 30 years of spiritual bankruptcy fueled by lies.

And even with that bankruptcy, even just 38 days sober, this agnostic thanks God for AA, with or without a polygraph - because i never have to drink ever again, even when i want to.

IMO this is one of those subjects that simply lies outside of the realm of Epistemology.
Along the same lines as Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and Regis Philbin's talent skills.
:lmao

That is certainly an interesting question. In my mind, you can't lie about something you have no knowledge of. Somehow I don't think that a polygraph machine is going to be able to pick up some buried memory in your subconscious.

I'm not sure what kind of polygraph the OP is referring to but if they had to take either a counterintelligence (CI) poly or a 'lifestyle' poly as part of a full scope examination etc., having some sort of partial memory due to a blackout and 'holding back' would probably show up as some form of deception. This happens to people who do not have drinking problems or blackouts when they get quizzed on sensitive aspects of their lives - especially past sexual behavior.

It helps to know the purpose and scope of the polygraph. Many people try to hold back information during these examinations as they mistakenly believe certain sexual behavior or drug use will somehow exclude them from employment or security clearance (it depends).

I always woke up feeling like something was wrong after a blackout even if I had sat on the couch all night watching a movie. The not knowing gave me such extreme anxiety that I decided I had to quit.