In this issue of The Journal, Dr. Peter Ash offers the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law some ideas on developmentally informed assessment of criminal culpability during adolescence. After highlighting issues that complicate the definition and assessment of criminal culpability, Ash lists 10 constructs that he believes should be carefully considered by forensic clinicians in developing...

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...

Much of the public debate surrounding the intersection of neuroscience and criminal law is based on assumptions about how prosecutors and defense attorneys differ in their use of neuroscience evidence. For example, according to some commentators, the defense’s use of neuroscience evidence will abdicate criminals of all responsibility for their offenses. In contrast, the prosecution’s use of tha...