Truth serum in interrogation
Truth serum refers to a range of drugs that depress the central nervous system and are purported to reduce inhibitions during interrogation. Common agents include scopolamine and barbiturates like sodium amytal and sodium thiopental, which law enforcement has historically employed in an attempt to elicit confessions or intelligence. However, the term "truth serum" is considered misleading, as individuals under these substances may still lie. The origin of the term dates back to the 1920s, introduced by Dr. Robert House, who noted that scopolamine caused increased talkativeness in patients. Notably, in the 1963 Supreme Court case Townsend v. Sain, the use of truth serum was ruled inadmissible in court, emphasizing that confessions obtained this way could lack voluntary consent. Interest in truth serum surged following the September 11 attacks, with some advocating for its use on suspected terrorists, leading to ethical debates regarding human rights and international treaties. Critics argue that employing truth serum could violate individual dignity and bodily autonomy.
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Truth serum in interrogation
DEFINITION: Any of a number of drugs that depress the cerebral nervous system and reduce inhibitions.
SIGNIFICANCE: The search for methods to secure intelligence, confessions, and details of criminal acts led law-enforcement agencies to employ pharmaceutical products such as scopolamine and barbiturates (notably sodium amytal and sodium thiopental) to try to induce persons to reveal information that they would not disclose voluntarily. The designation “truth serum” is misleading, however, as subjects under the influence of such drugs may lie. Success sometimes results when the persons interrogated come to believe that they can only tell the truth.
The term “truth serum” was introduced into forensic language during the 1920’s by Dr. Robert House of Ferris, Texas. When House administered scopolamine to induce what was called “twilight sleep” to ease the difficulties of childbirth, he noticed that the drug made patients talkative and that they often revealed information that they otherwise would not have disclosed.
In 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Townsend v. Sain that information acquired in after the use of a “truth serum” is not admissible in court in criminal cases. Charles Townsend, a addict suspected of murder, suffered severe withdrawal pains while being interrogated by law-enforcement investigators. After a doctor injected Townsend with scopolamine and phenobarbital, allegedly to treat the effects of the withdrawal, Townsend confessed to the murder. The Court declared that, because of the use of “truth serum,” Townsend’s failed to meet the constitutional requirement that it be voluntary.
Two developments that followed the terrorist attacks on New York City and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, focused renewed attention on the use of truth serum in the United States. The first was a U.S. Supreme Court opinion that stated that the fight against might require “heightened deference to the judgment of the political branches with respect to matters of national security” (Zadvydas v. Davis, 2001). Second, William Webster, a former chief of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), urged the Pentagon to administer truth serum drugs to defiant Taliban and al-Qaeda prisoners to obtain information that could prevent fresh terrorist attacks. Webster’s critics maintained that the use of truth serum constitutes a violation of international treaties in that such use invades the privacy of, inflicts indignity on, and compromises the bodily integrity of the subject.
Bibliography
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