Criminal Accountability and the Essay example -- Biology Essays Resear

Criminal Accountability and the "I" Function The prevalence and misuse of the insanity defense in our legal system is astounding. Cases upon cases site drugs, brain tumors, car accidents involving head injury, blackouts and antisocial behavior as circumstantial evidence of a crime that was committed. These crimes involve murder, rape and robbery. The question of where criminal accountability lies and how we are able to hold someone accountable for an act may boil down to the brain itself. Where in the brain do reason, morality and inhibition lie? If these areas are affected by some disorder does that then mean that a criminal is no longer held accountable for their actions? Is there a specific area of the brain where accountability itself may lie? These seem to be questions that are not only debated in the classroom, but hospitals and courtrooms as well. The classic example of this dilemma is the case of Phineas Gage. Phineas lived circa 1845 and was a railroad worker known for being a kind and generous family man. However, Phineas suffered from a unfortunate accident. After a dynamite explosion caused a metal rod to be passed through Phineas's head, he was a changed man. Phineas no longer was interested in family life, his personality seemed somehow changed. He became a drifter and a rebel and has left scientists wondering to this day how he was able to be totally unaffected by a metal rod being passed through his skull despite the obvious change in his moral reasoning and values (1). This has led neurologists to believe that moral reasoning and the existence of values may be localized to one are of the brain. How else can we explain Phineas? Neuroscientists at the University of Iowa were interested in this phenomeno... ...ing of the brain itself. The legal system has to follow brain research. While we may not find exactly where the "I" is, we can become much closer to understanding what disorders truly effect the ability to understand one's actions and be held accountable for them. WWW Sources 1) Cyberpunks.org , http://cyberpunks.org/display/176/article/ 2) The Biological Basis of Morality part 2 , http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/98apr/bio2.htm 3)"> The Biological Basis of Morality , http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/98apr/biomoral.htm 4)"> Aggression and Insanity , http://www.forensic-psychologist.com/pub/or12-3.html 5)"> Mincey vs. Head , http://www.law.emory.edu/11circuit/mar2000/97-9078.man.html 6)"> Mental Illness and Criminal Responsibility , search results for "insanity defense" and "mental illness" https://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/,