Indian Woman Convicted of Murder By Brain Scan

Kaseijin writes "Neuroscientist Champadi Raman Mukundan claims his Brain Electrical Oscillations Signature test is so accurate, it can tell whether a person committed or only witnessed an act. In June, an Indian judge agreed, using BEOS to find a woman guilty of killing her former fiancé. Scientific experts are calling the decision 'ridiculous' and 'unconscionable,' protesting that Mukundan's work has not even been peer reviewed. How reliable should a test have to be, when eyewitnesses are notoriously fallible? Does a person have a right to privacy over their own memories, or should society's interest in holding criminals accountable come first?"

Comments

5th

[DoofusOfDeath]

Does a person have a right to privacy over their own memories

In the U.S. I would say yes, because we have the 5th Amendment to the Constitution. In Indian law, I have no idea.

At first blush this sounds like a high-tech form of seeing if the witch can float.

Re:5th

[Nuclear Elephant]

Just to play devil's advocate, the courts could argue here in the US that brain scans are evidentiary, and not testimony (hence witness against one's self). My guess is they would argue that brain scans are of the same family of evidence as DNA; e.g. it doesn't "testify against you", but is rather physically relevant to the case. I would hope that this would cause outrage, but judging by the number of other things the government has desensitized us to, it wouldn't surprise me.

Re:5th

[MoonBuggy]

My guess is they would argue that brain scans are of the same family of evidence as DNA; e.g. it doesn't "testify against you", but is rather physically relevant to the case.

I guess it is a grey area (no pun intended!), but really we shouldn't even need to have that conversation. The study hasn't been peer reviewed, it's a new and relatively untested technology, what the hell are they doing admitting it at all, as testimony or as evidence?

Hell, the last time I saw MRI-based lie detection it was on Mythbusters, and even there it failed outright on one of the three people they tested it on.

Re:5th

[elrous0]

If psychics are so real, how come none have come forward to debunk James Randi (the way that he has debunked dozens of them)? It would seem a fairly simple task. He has even agreed to meet psychics on "neutral ground," but still no takers.

Re:5th

[KeithJM]

psychics are real despite what the blowhard freak James Randi would have you believe.

Ok, I will grant that psychics are real. It's just their supernatural abilities that are fake.

Re:5th

[DaveV1.0]

No, it determines if she weighs the same as a duck.

Re:5th

[nomadic]

Let's say you're psychic, or a witch, or some other controller of paranormal/supernatural powers. Let's say you're the real deal. What would you gain by stepping into the spotlight and announcing yourself?

Under the Randi Challenge? A million dollars.

Did anyone else ...

[DikSeaCup]

Did anyone else read that headline and think, "She scanned his brain and it killed him?"

Re:Did anyone else ...

[oodaloop]

Seconded. I think perhaps the title could have been better worded. Like, "Brain Scan Used in Murder Conviction of Indian Woman".

I see Phrenology

[the_skywise]

is alive and well...

DHS has to be involved!

[fishthegeek]

Dang and I thought the DRM in Vista was bad. I had no idea that BEOS could determine if I witnessed a crime.

I knew that it was ahead of it's time but Geesh! Does anyone know what version he is using?

Just goes to show, there is no security by obscurity! Hopefully those Haiku guys will get it up and running soon!

If you don't allow it

[Chrisq]

You will be a terrorist supporter and friend to the paedophiles. Don't even think of preventing use of this weapon against perverts and terrorists.

Think of the Children (but not in that way... we will know).

Justice Field

[Timberwolf0122]

In Red Dwarf Arnold Rimmer has to undergo a mind scan after which he is found guilty of the 1st degree murder of the whole crew of the Red Dwarf. Kryton is able to get Rimmer aquitted by pointing out that the radiation leak was caused by Rimmer being an incompetent half wit anf the mid scan confused the guilt he felt with culpability, in his own mind he tried and convicted himself... How would this mind probe deal this?

obligatory firefly reference

[jedijoe9]

Am I the only one who rad the headline and thought: "Also, I can kill you with my brain."

Re:Three things.

[will_die]

The summary is a little missleading.
The two states in India that allow it have set up labs were the device was/is being tested, the lack of per review is that the people outside of India do not have full access.

This is the second case where the judge has mentioned the test, the first was against a man. In the first case the judge said that the test was not used as "concluded proof" but that the tests backed the other evidence. In this case the judge include 9 pages on why he used the test results and defense of the system.
As for its use, in India to have the test run on you requires that you volunteer. In the US I would guess it usage would have to meet the same requirements that were setup for lie detectors. A quick search shows that their has been no federal ruling, excluding that lie detectors don't work, so you have some locations where the judge can order a person, some where lie detectors were considered no different from taking a persons fingerprints, to others where they said a person could not be forced.

Re:Interesting

[PapaBoojum]

Honor killings as you have read recently about in the media, did not happen in the same country

Are you claiming that 'honor killings' do not occur in India?

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040113/asp/nation/story_2780541.asp

http://www.onlinewomeninpolitics.org/archives/04_0112_in_wrights.htm

Just like any other technology, now that its available, society has to make sense of how best to use it.

Yes, and that is by throwing it in the heap with all the other pseudo-science and outright quackery.

what if

[someone1234]

What if James Randi has a psychic power of neutralizing other para guys?
Then he catches them in an alley and sucks their brain out.
No wonder they don't dare to fight him.
Ooops, sounds like i watched too much Heroes...

Re:They think...

[KillerBob]

India's legal system, like the USA's, is based on the British Common Law system. In it, a suspect is innocent until proven guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt.

It's a miscarriage of justice, even if this technology is ultimately vetted and proven 100% reliable, because right now, the technology is in question.

Re:They think...

[phlinn]

Beyond a reasonable doubt, not beyond a shadow of a doubt. There is a huge difference there.

Re:James Randi challenge

[forgot_my_nick]

Actually if you bothered to JFG, to would find that the $1,000,00.00 is in an endownent fund account administered by Golman Sachs, so bar the bank collapsing or it getting embezzeled, the money is real qand is going nowhere.

See http://www.randi.org/joom/challenge-info.html for further info