The identification of pathological liars in the criminal justice Essay

The identification of pathological liars in the criminal justice system - Essay Example It is very important for the courts to determine whether a witness is telling the truth because he may make the courts sentence an innocent man. Therefore, detection of liars is of paramount significance in order to serve justice. It cannot be said with certainty whether pathological lying is really a disorder. There have been opposing views in this regard. This debate has some serious implications on the criminal law because if pathological lying is not a disorder and is deliberate, it should be punishable by law as far as witnesses are concerned. There is no reliable definition of pathological lying as yet but there is agreement in respect of certain core elements that constitute it. This concept was first described by a German physician, Anton Delbruck, who observed that some of his patients could not help themselves from telling such outrageous lies that he had to put them in a special category. These lies were later described by him as "pseu- dologia phantastica." (Dike, 2008) T he first step to determine whether a person is a pathological liar is to take a look at his history. The history of a pathological liar is full of lies that are told without any purpose. Normally, a lie is told in order to obtain a certain benefit or advantage. For pathological liars, telling lies is a disease and they tell them even if they provide no benefit to them. What makes this behaviour even more questionable is the fact that some lies play a role in incriminating their teller. This means that yet another feature of pathological lying is that lies are told without any regard to what their consequences might be. There are many real-life stories in which people have lost their jobs because of their pathological lying. Probably the biggest problem with a lie is that it needs many other subsequent lies for support. The people who have this problem do not only include the unfortunate; many successful people have also succumbed to this problem. Judge Patrick Couwenberg of Californ ia, for instance, was removed from his office because he lied both in his official capacity and while being under oath to speak the truth during the investigation of his behavior. He was later diagnosed with pseudologia phantastica (Dike, 2008). Being a judge is one of the most prestigious of statuses in the society. One who has achieved this status would never do anything to sabotage it in normal circumstances. Therefore, it was a curious situation that Judge Couwenberg deliberately compromised his position and, all things aside, damaged his reputation. His case makes a strong argument in favor of pathological lying being a mental disorder. Pathological liars are also known as compulsive liars or mythomaniacs. While detecting a pathological liar, there is a great danger of making a wrong diagnosis. However, there are a few very common symptoms of a pathological liar. Firstly, a pathological liar uses a lot of detail in his lie. He fears all the time that he might not be believed by others. This is why he uses a lot of extra information to supplement his lie. Secondly, pathological liars usually want to make their lives look better than they actually are. They feel that they are not being given the right amount of respect by others. Hence, they tell such lies that help them look important and more respectful. Thirdly, pathological liars are in a desperate need of attention. While some of them lie about how great their life is, others lie to make their liv