Truth Wins Out’s Wayne Besen has challenged Alan Downing to take a lie detector test following claims that he engaged in sexual misconduct with two male clients:

In light of his public denial, Truth Wins Out offered to pay for both a polygraph and a No Lie MRI for Downing, so he can prove his alleged innocence. … We believe that Alan Downing is not telling the truth and that his brain would light up like a Menorah if he took a No Lie MRI.

I’m not convinced either lie detector test is the way to go. No evidence exists that the polygraph is reliable, and investigations into the validity of MRI (or fMRI) method of lie detection, despite having generally positive results, are still at an early stage.

Of course,  Besen’s motivation is equally or mostly to get the allegations out in the open, which is fair enough. But if Downing is guilty of this unsavory sexual abuse, a court–not a machine–will do the work of proving it.

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