However, the neuroimaging process would have to be performed exactly when the criminal performs a crime in order to understand more about his brain status, as mental states change and the criminal can think differently in diverse circumstances. In contrast to mental states, however, genes remain the same throughout one's life and authorities can actually understand if a criminal had a criminal mind or not by studying them (Gregoriou, 2003).
There have apparently been cases when criminals received less severe sentences on account of their nature, as psychiatrists determined that their genetics predisposed them to committing violent acts when they were provoked. "Abnormalities were found in five genes that have been linked to violent behavior. One of these genes encodes an enzyme called MAOA -- metabolizing enzyme monoamine oxidase a. Previous research has associated low levels of MAOA expression with aggression and criminal conduct in boys raised in abusive environments" (Arnold, 2009). In spite of the fact that virtually anyone is capable of committing a crime if presented with the right environment to do so, some people are apparently more likely to do so than others. It is difficult to determine if some people are either unable or unwilling to comply with the rules that society tries to impose on them.
Especially considering the existence of criminal gene, some might consider that it is immoral to lock people up for the crimes that they commit, as the respective criminals would probably put across normal behavior if it was not for their genes. However, it does not seem right to justify one's behavior just by relating to the person's genes. Considering the nature vs. nurture debate, it is only safe to assume that an individual is also influenced by the environment that he or she lives in when performing a crime.
A particular type of individual has troubled society even from the early ages, as the general public was unable to understand why some people are inclined to put across anti-social behavior which is directly responsible for violating the rights...
The correctional system is useless in dealing with people who have a criminal mind, as regardless of the time they spent in jail or of the psychiatric assistance that they receive, certain persons will not be prevented from engaging in criminal acts. In the recent years, authorities have developed a system through which they can identify individuals who are prone to become criminals. Such people were recognized on account of their "inclination to lie, lack of remorse, callousness, manipulativeness, impulsivity, impatience and a lack of long-term goals" (Gondles, 1999, p. 6). Inclination is apparently essential in determining the presence of a criminal mind in an individual, as some of these criminals commit illegalities for no actual reason. Even with that, both someone who is compelled by the circumstance to behave immorally and someone who does so because of their genes can easily refrain from behaving unethically.
Therapy is certainly extremely problematic in the case of people who are congenital criminals. Eugenics is one of the concepts coming into mind when considering removing criminal genes from society. Surely, it would be unethical and against everything that the contemporary society stands for to prevent people with criminal genes from reproducing. Instead, such individuals should be provided with psychiatric treatment in order for them to gradually ignore their tendency to commit criminal acts.
Bibliography:
Arnold, Paul. "NATURE vs NURTURE of a CRIMINAL MIND." Retrieved April 4, 2011, from the BrightHub Website: http://www.brighthub.com/science/genetics/articles/55218.aspx
Brown, Teneille and Murphy Emily, "Through a Scanner Darkly: Functional Neuroimaging as Evidence of a Criminal Defendant's Past Mental States," Stanford Law Review 62.4 (2010)
Gondles, James a. "The Criminal Mind: A Challenge to Corrections,"Corrections Today Feb. 1999: 6
Gregoriou, Christiana "Criminally Minded: the Stylistics of Justification in Contemporary American Crime Fiction," Style 37.2 (2003)
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