Neuroscience and behavioral genetics in US criminal law: an empirical analysis
نویسنده
چکیده
The goal of this study was to examine the growing use of neurological and behavioral genetic evidence by criminal defendants in US criminal law. Judicial opinions issued between 2005-12 that discussed the use of neuroscience or behavioral genetics by criminal defendants were identified, coded and analysed. Criminal defendants are increasingly introducing such evidence to challenge defendants' competency, the effectiveness of defense counsel at trial, and to mitigate punishment.
منابع مشابه
Neuroscientific and behavioral genetic information in criminal cases in the Netherlands
In this contribution an empirical approach is used to gain more insight into the relationship between neuroscience and criminal law. The focus is on case law in the Netherlands. Neuroscientific information and techniques have found their way into the courts of the Netherlands. Furthermore, following an Italian case in which a mentally ill offender received a penalty reduction in part because of...
متن کاملIs Psychological Research on Self-Control Relevant to Criminal Law?
During recent years, scholars have asked whether scientific discoveries should have implications for criminal law. Specifically, some argue that findings in genetics and neuroscience will or should alter our assumption that most adults are responsible for their conduct. Criminal law should rest on a proper understanding of human behavior, and, therefore, scholars should mine scientific explanat...
متن کاملLaw and Contemporary Problems
In April of 2005, a group of scientists, scholars, policymakers, and legal professionals gathered at Duke Law School to discuss the implications of attempts to introduce behavioral biology evidence into the criminal justice system. The conference, entitled “The Impact of Behavioral Genetics on the Criminal Law,” was sponsored by Law and Contemporary Problems; the Institute for Genome Science an...
متن کاملWhat Real-World Criminal Cases Tell Us About Genetics Evidence
Rapid advances in genetic and neuroscience research over the past few decades have fueled a focus on how such information is viewed and used by the criminal justice system. Researchers at the University of Utah recently conducted an unprecedented experimental study indicating that psychopathic criminal offenders are more likely to receive lighter sentences if a judge was aware of genetic and ne...
متن کاملThe relevance of neuroscience to forensic psychiatry.
As we move further into the 21st century, few would deny the contributions made by the neurosciences to the modern world. Part of the significant progress in neuroscience is based on its notable success in merging approaches from the biological, the psychomedical and the social sciences, a development often referred to as cognitive and social neuroscience. Applied neuroscientific knowledge is f...
متن کامل