In what is believed to be a legal precedent, the Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging scan, or FMRI, of a convicted rapist and murderer will be used against him during his sentencing phase. Brian Dugan, who was convicted in Chicago of the rape and murder of a 10-year-old, received the FMRI and entered it into evidence in an attempt to avoid the death penalty due to mental illness. It didn’t work.
Apparently, a FMRI scan is as accruate as a lie detector test when it comes to determining if someone is telling the truth or not. Experts believe that is where FMRIs might become more common in court proceeding as our understanding of the brain and brain functioning grows. There’s still a lot about the brain that we don’t understand, but most juries didn’t understand DNA evidence or any of that stuff when it first came around. All we need is CSI to start using CAT scans and whatnot, and then everyone will start buying into them.
Tags: FMRI, Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging scan, MRI used in murder trial, fMRI used in sentencing, brain scan used in court, Brian Dugan, Chicago, Illinois, law and order, unusual evidence