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Chapter 9 - Causality and Responsibility in Mentally Disordered Offenders

from Part III - Free Will Skepticism and the Criminal Justice System

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 August 2019

By
John Callender
Edited by
Elizabeth Shaw ,
Derk Pereboom  and
Gregg D. Caruso
Elizabeth Shaw
Affiliation:
University of Aberdeen
Derk Pereboom
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
Gregg D. Caruso
Affiliation:
Corning Community College, State University of New York
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Summary

This chapter is based on descriptions of three mentally disordered offenders. The first had a history of severe traumatization and the second suffered from a psychotic illness. They were both sent to prison and both committed suicide. The third suffered from Asperger syndrome and was sent to a secure psychiatric facility. I argue that the two deaths arose from a prescientific, retributive response to crime that was wholly inappropriate in these individuals. In the case of the trauma victim, the system responded by inflicting further trauma on her. The tragic outcome in the psychotic offender arose from the application of a legal definition of insanity that does not allow for complex clinical realities. I conclude that these cases point to a need to move from a retributive response to crime to one based on achieving the best outcomes for victims, offenders, and society. Legal concepts and definitions of insanity should be dropped. Instead, we should adopt an approach that is therapeutic rather than punitive in all cases where mental disorder has been a necessary causal factor in the commission of the offence.

Keywords

mental disorderoffendersretributionsuicideinsanity
Type
Chapter
Information
Free Will Skepticism in Law and Society
Challenging Retributive Justice
 , pp. 177 - 191
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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References

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