Mind: Brain Scans May Help Fix Criminal Responsibility

Will we ever get to the point where a brain study will cause someone to be restrained because it is proven that he will some day do something bad?

A few years ago, 17-year-old Christopher Simmons was convicted of breaking into Shirley Crook's house in St Louis, Missouri, tying her up and throwing her off a bridge. The evidence was overwhelming and Simmons confessed to the murder. When the jury recommended a death sentence, Simmons's defence referred to scientific papers that suggested a the brain of a typical 17-year-old was not yet fully mature. Not only did Simmons escape the death penalty, the US Supreme Court changed the law so that only those over 18 can face death row.

Now neuroscientists claim we are closer to being able to estimate brain maturity using brain scans, which might prompt lawyers to offer a defence of immaturity based on an accused individual's own brain scan.

"It's not to do with knowing the difference between right and wrong," counters Blakemore. The group argue that because the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is the last part of the brain to mature, a child is unable to understand the long-term consequences of their actions. A child may be unable to suppress potentially dangerous behaviour, and make bad decisions. "It's the PFC that stops you doing 200 miles an hour down the motorway," says Blakemore.

For more, see Brain Scans May Help Fix Criminal Responsibility by Jessica Hamzelou, September 22, 2010 at NewScientist.