A growing body of literature suggests that violent behavior, especially when it is episodic, explosive, and out of all proportion to the provocation, can be a manifestation of what is currently termed the episodic dyscontrol syndrome. As elaborated by Monroe (1970, 1978), it represents a subgroup of the more general category of episodic (vs. continual) behavior disorders, and is defined as an "...

There is now substantial evidence that heritable biological factors play a role in the genesis of repetitive antisocial behavior. The differing conceptual frameworks of behavioral genetics and the law are described, and the implications that current research in behavioral genetics may have for assigning responsibility for unlawful behavior are discussed.

Imagine a defendant who has been charged with murder, the intentional homicide of a victim he was robbing with a weapon. He has a history of three previous convictions and imprisonments for armed robbery. Prior to being released from the third term, he publicly threatened to kill any future armed robbery victims who might be able to identify him. When the current victim looked our armed robber ...