Florida Terror-Alert Students Refuse Lie Tests

NewsMax.com ^ | 9/18/02 | Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff

[kattracks]

Three Muslim medical students who were stopped by police on Friday and interrogated for 17-hours after allegedly making jokes and threats related to the 9-11 anniversary have declined to take lie detector tests to back up their denials.

The refusal came after their accuser, Georgia resident Eunice Stone, said she'd be willing to submit to a lie test to prove her story, challenging them to do the same.

"While the young men were willing to take a polygraph.... we didn't want them to take a polygraph at this time," said the students' lawyer, Khummar Wahid, in an interview Tuesday night on MSNBC's "Phil Donahue Show."

"There's some scientific problems with taking a polygraph," complained Wahid, who is part of a legal team representing the three students assembled by the Council on American Islamic Relations.

Wahid said he also feared the test may be used as evidence against his clients, explaining, "at this time we're not 100 percent confident that the FDLE or Georgia or the FBI won't be in some way trying to file some sort of criminal charges here."

While he didn't expect his clients to be charged with a crime, the CAIR lawyer said he has yet to be told officially that they're in the clear. "We haven't gotten any real assurances publicly from (law enforcement) that they're not going to pursue anything here," he told Donahue.

The three Muslim students claim tipster Stone got it wrong when she called law enforcement on Thursday to report she overheard them while dining at a Georgia Shoney's restaurant making what sounded like plans for another terrorist attack on America.

"If they mourned 9-11, what will they think of 9-13?" one of the three said, according to the earwitness. "Do we have enough to bring it down?" the same student added, Stone said. "If we don't have enough to bring it down, I have contacts. We will get enough to bring it down," a second student allegedly replied.

According to reports the next day, a bomb sniffing dog in Florida later detected the presence of explosives in one of the students' vehicles after they were detained, but the FBI released the trio Friday without charges.

The students maintained that they made no references to 9-11 while dining at Shoney's and claimed that Stone had misinterpreted the rest of their comments.

Mrs. Stone told Donahue that if she had it to do over again, she'd do the same thing.

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:

War on Terrorism

[toenail]

I wouldn't take one, either; they're completely unreliable. Some states, to my knowledge, still have statutes and processes in place where the police departments can decline to investigate a rape complaint if the rape victim doesn't take and pass a lie-detector test. Would you want your mother or sister or daughter to depend on the "accuracy" of a lie-detector test in such a case? Polygraph tests are useful almost exclusively if the subject actually believes that they work and is thereby motivated to confess. Otherwise, they're just bad sci-fi.

[Hildy]

Shut up.

[toenail]

Such engaging conversation, Hildy....

[Hildy]

You're either with the us or with the terrorists.

[freebilly]

"While the young men were willing to take a polygraph.... we didn't want them to take a polygraph at this time," said the students' lawyer, Khummar Wahid, in an interview Tuesday night on MSNBC's "Phil Donahue Show."

BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[toenail]

"You're either with the us or with the terrorists."

And?

[The FRugitive]

Please tell me you're jokeing.

[Michael.SF.]

"Wahid said he also feared the test may be used as evidence against his clients,

Where did this numb nuts go to law school?

[goody2shooz]

These young men really have nothing to hide by taking a polygraph test. They committed no crime. So why not take the test?

By the way, they're all liars. I can tell. Know how?

Their story is too pat. In real life people squabble over what they discussed in the near past. These three were in total agreement and so, totally unreal. They are liars.

[toenail]

Hildy's not joking. If you're in a movie mood, "High Crimes" isn't half bad. The DVD's special feature section has a "Lie Detector 101" interview with a (if I'm not mistaken) former FBI agent, saying what one would think is common knowledge: polygraphs are used to elicit confessions from subjects who actually think that polygraphs work. Hildy will probably want Ashcroft to round her up for collusion....

Polygraphs? Ames.

[Texasforever]

Where did this numb nuts go to law school?

Nadine’s internet college for airline pilots, lawyers and manicurists.

[Oztrich Boy]

Polygragh tests have a high rate of false positives. If you really innocent it's better to refuse, rather than give them a reason to "believe" that you are guilty.

[The FRugitive]

Yea, I would never under any circumstances agree to a polygraph. Does that mean I'm a terrorist?

There are some scary people on FR.

[toenail]

My gripe here is that NewsMax think's it's newsworthy for someone to decline to take an unreliable, subjective test. If they were reliable, I might agree with you, but there's a reason they're not admissible in court. This is a non-story.

[goody2shooz]

They are not suspects in a crime. They have not been accused of breaking laws. Last I looked, gross stupidity wasn't on the books as a felony or misdemeanor.

In short, they have nothing to lose by being truthful.

In fact, they have a great deal to gain by telling the truth. Apologizing publicly to Eunice Stone for jerking her chain, scaring her out of her wits, and causing an alert in two states will go a long way to healing wounds right now. And further demonstrate that they are responsible, clear thinking and contrite young men who intended no harm.

The majority of Americans don't care if they are Arab or muslim, just that they be honest.

[CyberAnt]

You tell 'em Hildy!! LOL

[Travis McGee]

They are not perfect, and can be beaten by some people with special training, and by certain conscienceless psychopaths, but they are a valuable tool.

The NSA and CIA use them day in day out as a term of emplyment to check for undeclared foreign contacts etc.

[CyberAnt]

Since you just got to FR on 9/1 - I bet you are the one who is joking; or else you're just a joke!!! LOL

I agree with Hildy - you're either with us or with the terrorists. So far the conversation appeared to be for the terrorists. So ... shut up!!

[CyberAnt]

Very perceptive!!