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A Matter of Intent: A Social Obligation to Improve Criminal Procedures for Individuals with Dementia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

Jalayne J. Arias  and
Lauren S. Flicker
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Abstract

The relationship between dementia and criminal behavior perplexes legal and health care systems. Dementia is a progressive clinical syndrome defined by impairment in at least two cognitive domains that interferes with one's activities of daily. Dementia symptoms have been associated with behaviors that violate social norms and constitute criminal actions. A failure to address a gap in policies that support appropriate management of individuals with dementia reflects a failure in our social obligation to care for those who are most vulnerable amongst us. Categorical protections, informed by precedent models applied to juveniles and individuals with psychiatric illness, could help meet a social obligation to provide protections to individuals with dementia. We propose an approach that integrates affirmative defenses to mitigate criminal liability and sentencing restrictions to prevent cruel and unusual punishment.

Type
Independent Articles
Information
Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics , Volume 48 , Issue 2: Opioid Controversies: The Crisis — Causes and Solutions , Summer 2020 , pp. 318 - 327
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics 2020

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