Lighter sentence for murderer with 'bad genes'

Feresin, Emiliano

doi:10.1038/news.2009.1050

Cited by 46 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…This is also possibly becoming relevant to legal systems in some Western countries as DNA analysis has been rarely used as evidence in criminal trials, 16 but may increase in its use in the next few years. Therefore, we systematically reviewed genetic association studies of aggression and subjected all polymorphisms studied in more than three independent samples to meta-analyses.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systematic meta-analyses and field synopsis of genetic association studies of violence and aggression

2013

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A large number of candidate gene studies for aggression and violence have been conducted. Successful identification of associations between genetic markers and aggression would contribute to understanding the neurobiology of antisocial behavior and potentially provide useful tools for risk prediction and therapeutic targets for high-risk groups of patients and offenders. We systematically reviewed the literature and assessed the evidence on genetic association studies of aggression and related outcomes in order to provide a field synopsis. We searched PubMed and Huge Navigator databases and sought additional data through reviewing reference lists and correspondence with investigators. Genetic association studies were included if outcome data on aggression or violent behavior either as a binary outcome or as a quantitative trait were provided. From 1331 potentially relevant investigations, 185 studies constituting 277 independent associations on 31 genes fulfilled the predetermined selection criteria. Data from variants investigated in three or more samples were combined in meta-analyses and potential sources of heterogeneity were investigated using subgroup analyses. In the primary analyses, which used relaxed inclusion criteria, we found no association between any polymorphism analyzed and aggression at the 5% level of significance. Subgroup analyses, including by severity of outcome, age group, characteristics of the sample and ethnicity, did not demonstrate any consistent findings. Current evidence does not support the use of such genes to predict dangerousness or as markers for therapeutic interventions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systematic meta-analyses and field synopsis of genetic association studies of violence and aggression

2013

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“…I have termed it the 'fundamental psycholegal error' [8]. In the few legal cases in which genetic information has been used to mitigate responsibility, this error has been common [9,10].…”

Section: Tics-mentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetics and criminal responsibility

Morse

2011

Trends in Cognitive Sciences

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“…By 1995, a convicted murderer sought unsuccessfully to have his death sentence overturned on the basis that the trial court had refused to authorize payment for a test of his MAOA allele ( Mobley v. State , 1995). Soon some forensic evaluators began to obtain MAOA data routinely in serious criminal cases (Bernet, Vnencak-Jones, Farahany, & Montgomery, 2007), and reports appeared of sentence reductions on the basis of genetic evidence in Italy (Feresin, 2009; Greely, 2011) and the U.S. (Denno, 2011). A lively debate continues in the legal and philosophical literatures on the relevance of genetic data to claims for exculpation and mitigation, centered on whether the genetic findings are closely enough linked to excusing or mitigating conditions traditionally recognized by the law (Baum, 2011; Farahany, 2009; Morse, 2011; Slobogin, 2014).…”

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confidence: 99%

Effects of behavioral genetic evidence on perceptions of criminal responsibility and appropriate punishment.

Appelbaum¹,

Scurich²,

Raad³

2015

Psychology, Public Policy, and Law

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Demonstrations of a link between genetic variants and criminal behavior have stimulated increasing use of genetic evidence to reduce perceptions of defendants’ responsibility for criminal behavior and to mitigate punishment. However, because only limited data exist regarding the impact of such evidence on decision makers and the public at large, we recruited a representative sample of the U.S. adult population (n=960) for a web-based survey. Participants were presented with descriptions of three legal cases and were asked to: determine the length of incarceration for a convicted murderer; adjudicate an insanity defense; and decide whether a defendant should receive the death penalty. A fully crossed, between-participants, factorial design was used, varying the type of evidence (none, genetic, neuroimaging, both), heinousness of the crime, and past criminal record, with sentence or verdict as the primary outcome. Also assessed were participants’ apprehension of the defendant, belief in free will, political ideology, and genetic knowledge. Across all three cases, genetic evidence had no significant effects on outcomes. Neuroimaging data showed an inconsistent effect in one of the two cases in which it was introduced. In contrast, heinousness of the offense and past criminal record were strongly related to participants’ decisions. Moreover, participants’ beliefs about the controllability of criminal behavior and political orientations were significantly associated with their choices. Our findings suggest that neither hopes that genetic evidence will modify judgments of culpability and punishment nor fears about the impact of genetic evidence on decision makers are likely to come to fruition.

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Lighter sentence for murderer with 'bad genes'

Cited by 46 publications

References 2 publications

Systematic meta-analyses and field synopsis of genetic association studies of violence and aggression

Systematic meta-analyses and field synopsis of genetic association studies of violence and aggression

Genetics and criminal responsibility

Effects of behavioral genetic evidence on perceptions of criminal responsibility and appropriate punishment.

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