Scientific knowledge that connects brain injuries to violent crime is an even better reason to end the death penalty.
Traumatic brain injury damages self-regulation and changes social behavior. Uninhibited or impulsive behavior, including problems controlling anger and unacceptable sexual behavior, leads to crime. The concept of insanity used in the US criminal system is based on science 130 years ago, combined with the religious concept of sin and soul. The thinking is that if a person knows what they do is wrong, they could choose to not do it is BS. With brain injury person can lose that ability.
>In another study, of 14 juveniles sentenced to death, the researchers found that all had suffered head trauma, most in car accidents but many by beatings as well. 12 had suffered brutal physical abuse, 5 of those sodomized by relatives.
>According to jail and prison studies,
25-87% of inmates report having
experienced a head injury or TBI 2-4
as compared to 8.5% in a general
population reporting a history of
TBI.
Traumatic brain injury damages self-regulation and changes social behavior. Uninhibited or impulsive behavior, including problems controlling anger and unacceptable sexual behavior, leads to crime. The concept of insanity used in the US criminal system is based on science 130 years ago, combined with the religious concept of sin and soul. The thinking is that if a person knows what they do is wrong, they could choose to not do it is BS. With brain injury person can lose that ability.
Damaged Brains and the Death Penalty https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/stories/damaged-brains-and-the-...
>In another study, of 14 juveniles sentenced to death, the researchers found that all had suffered head trauma, most in car accidents but many by beatings as well. 12 had suffered brutal physical abuse, 5 of those sodomized by relatives.
Traumatic brain injury: a potential cause of violent crime? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6171742/
Traumatic Brain Injury in Prisons and Jails: An Unrecognized Problem https://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/pdf/prisoner_tbi_pr...
>According to jail and prison studies, 25-87% of inmates report having experienced a head injury or TBI 2-4 as compared to 8.5% in a general population reporting a history of TBI.