John Augustus Larson
His great insight was to integrate a test for blood pressure, developed by William Moulton Marston, with measurements for pulse, respiration and skin conductivity, to make a comprehensive lie detection tool.He performed psychiatric evaluations of parolees in the Illinois State correctional system, and then worked at various mental health institutions including in Detroit, Seattle, and Indiana.[11] Larson married Margaret Taylor, the freshman victim of the College Hall case[clarification needed] and the first person he ever interrogated on the lie detector.Over the next fifteen years, he collected hundreds of files on successful criminal cases where his polygraph solved murders, robberies, thefts and sex crimes.Due to differing methods of using his device that Larson felt were incorrect and abusive by some law enforcement, he eventually came to regret having invented it, writing in 1965: “Beyond my expectation, thru uncontrollable factors, this scientific investigation became for practical purposes a Frankenstein’s monster, which I have spent over 40 years in combating.”[14] His contributions to the development of the polygraph are featured in the documentary film The Lie Detector which first aired on American Experience on January 3, 2023.