Genetic decisions
November 5th, 2009 by rbanks
Behavioral Genetics in the Court Room
“A court in Italy has shortened the prison sentence of a convicted murderer due to the prisoner’s heightened genetic predisposition for violence, according to Nature News. Specifically, the appeals court judge held that because the prisoner had five genetic mutations linked to violent behavior, as well as brain scan abnormalities, “would make him particularly aggressive in stressful situations.” Though this isn’t the first time that attorneys have tried to use genetic data to sway verdicts, this marks the first time a court has factored genetics into its holding, and in the process, it opens up some huge questions about how we’ll navigate genetic data in our daily and instituional worlds.”
The Institute For The Future
