Brain Scans Make Their Way To Court

Brain scan evidence that defense attorneys claimed show a defendant’s brain as psychopathic was allowed into the sentencing portion of a murder trial in Chicago, according to a November 23 report, “Courtroom First: Brain Scan Used in Murder Sentencing” from one of my favorite pubs, Wired Science. Not that it helped the intended cause—the defendant was found guilty and sentenced to death. But, with the accuracy rate of brain scan data ranging from 76% to 90% in identifying deception (according to a 2008 University of Pennsylvania Center for Cognitive Neuroscience publication “Detection of Deception with fMRI: Are we there yet?”) the brain scan has equal or better accuracy than lie detectors. And, discerning judges and juries will likely find brain scans to be more credible than hired-gun forensic psychiatrists and psychologists. Look for more diagnostic metrics in the courtroom.