I retired from the magistracy in 2015 after 17 years mainly as a presiding justice

United Kingdom
My current blog can be accessed at https://thejusticeofthepeaceblog.blogspot.com/

DO CRIMINALS HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO COMMIT CRIME?

  12. Feb. 2010. – 12:27:04

The debate about whether "nature or nurture" has the most effect upon our personality and behaviour has been around in its current form for over a century. Whilst the Freuds and Jungs of this world relied upon dreams, memories and ephemeral considerations of family life, behaviourists, physiologists, bio-chemists, biologists, anthropologists and geneticists amongst others are increasingly opening up opinions of what makes us what we are. The upshot of their researches is that we are the product of the electrical and bio-chemical reactions within our brains. If this research continues to discover evidence of what could be termed pre-determination then what lessons does it have for our current thinking on an individual`s innocence until proved guilty in court of law?

The first Intellectual Disabilities and Criminal Justice Conference, organised by the University of Chester Faculty of Health and Social Care will take place on July 8, 2010. It will analyse the relationship between intellectual disability and the criminal justice system.

For "intellectual disabilities" it is easy to substitute "low IQ" and to progress to a situation where in the name of "crime prevention" action is taken against those whose "likely criminal behaviour" is considered to have breached a threshold. The film "Minority Report" starring Tom Cruise explored this subject with some critical success. What the academics conclude at Chester will make for interesting reading.



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