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The human brain is amongst the most compound and most significant organs in the body, comprising more than a hundred nerves communicating in trillions of links called synapses. The brain consists of different specialized regions that work together in a coordinated manner. An example of the region is the cortex which is the outermost layer of brain cells and plays a crucial role in voluntary movements and thinking. The brain is also divided into lobes which include frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes. Each lobe has its own function, and the frontal lobe functions in judgment, problem-solving, and motor functions. Damaging some brain regions can change an individual’s personality, which can lead to them committing a murder crime.
Damaged Brain Regions Causing People to Commit Murder
The brain regions that deal with the behavior control in an individual include the orbitofrontal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and anterior cingulate cortex. Structural changes in these regions, located in the brain’s frontal lobe, can bring violent or antisocial behavior to an individual. According to research, the three prefrontal structures in violent people are reduced in both function and size (Bransfield, 2018). Also, the violent individuals who have committed homicide have minor grey matter in the brain regions, which aids in emotional processing, social cognition, and behavioral control (Hodgins, 2017). People who experience injuries to the prefrontal areas will have psychopathic behavior and reduced decision-making abilities (Ouerchefani et al., 78). For example, war veterans who experience penetrating prefrontal brain injuries can be more aggressive than those without a single injury.
The alteration in brain structure can be brought by a brain tumor or a traumatic injury, and the damage can lead to personality change. The personality changes resulting from brain structural alteration include depression, increased impulsiveness, inappropriate sexual behavior, aggression, violence, and inability to control thought (Darby, 2018). An individual’s structural brain changes can be seen through imaging to monitor the brain’s affected regions as different parts control different behaviors.
Differences in Brain Activities Between Homicide Offenders and Nonviolent Criminals
There are a number of differences between homicide Offenders and nonviolent criminals. Apart from the difference in gray matter and brain volume, there is also a difference in regional gray matter in the lateral and medial temporal cortex, including the posterior insula and the hippocampus. The posterior insula helps in intensity encoding, recognition, localization, and memory of painful somatic situations and aids in learning (Williams et al., 2018). The regional gray matter in people who commit murder is low compared to nonviolent criminals (Hodgins, 2017). Therefore, the decision to kill for them is influenced by various internal factors.
In homicide offenders with antisocial personality disorder, the reduction of gray matter is more concentrated in the temporal lobe. The existing gray matter shortages are more particular to the behavior and extreme violence associated with homicide offenders (Hodgins, 2017). The antisocial personality disorder is a form of tenacious maladaptive temperament style that hinders a person’s operation and can be characterized by a neglect of others’ rights and often illustrated by criminal behavior. Therefore, the individuals who have an antisocial disorder are mostly to be involved in a homicide crime.
The posterior insular cortex is responsible for interoceptive awareness, agency, and self-sense. According to research, emotional experience and interoceptive understanding are strongly related (Williams et al., 2018). An example is a schizophrenic person is termed to have a volume of white matter and superficial cortical area of the right posterior insula be negatively linked to insight. In the case of homicide, the gray matter deficits in the violent criminals may be linked to deficient emotional states, which involve insight, appreciation of interpersonal harm, and one’s actions seriousness. The posterior insula represents homeostatic states associated with risk experiences; hence, homicide offenders, as compared to nonviolent criminals, experience deficient risk monitoring thus are more likely to kill.
Legal System Position in Judging and Sentencing People with Brain Damage
The research on people committing murder will help the judges in the court of law determine whether there was the intent behind a homicide action or was a result of brain damage. According to criminal law, “a crime consists of both a mental and physical element; a mens rea and an actus reus” (Williams et al., 2018). Mens rea, which can also be called “guilty mind,” is a person’s mental status when they committed a crime and can attest to all the differences in a conviction. For the court to pass judgment and sentence to a homicide case, it is significant to do a brain scan to identify the criminal intent. In the case of a positive brain damage result, the convicts do not need to be sentenced, but they need hospital therapy to correct their behavior.
It is significant for criminal responsibility to evaluate neurological, psychiatric, and neuropsychological factors that might have prejudiced an individual’s behavior being accused of a crime. If an individual seems to have undergone a personality change suddenly or acted entirely out of character in a strange manner, the possible relations to brain damage should be assessed. History of traumatic brain injury might shed light on the convicted person and their emotional and cognitive capacities (Hodgins, 2017). Though brain injury may fail to show evidence of insanity, it is of help to explain criminal behavior even if it does not seem necessary. Brain injury evidence can be a factor that affects whether an alleged crime is categorized as a lesser offense or a serious felony. Therefore, evidence of brain injury can be considered a mitigating factor regarding the type of punishment.
Health professionals, primarily neurologists, neuroscientists, and neuropsychologists, can conduct evaluations in diagnosing a brain injury. Neuro-imaging techniques, including MRIs, CT scans, psychological testing, and PET scans, can help explain an individual’s behavior (Roberts et al., 2019). As a diagnostic procedure becomes more precise and our comprehension of how brain damages might influence behavior increases, the court of law should acquire the new knowledge to consider criminal responsibility assessment.
Development of Public Policy
A public policy should be introduced to detect anyone with brain damage to prevent the occurrence of homicides. Public policy should be established because many people are not aware of what may be happening before they engage in a specific behavior. It will bring self-awareness to individuals; hence, those affected can search for interventions before committing violent crimes (Hodgins, 2017). The policy will also help reduce the incarceration of individuals with brain damage but rather get medical intervention.
Conclusion
The coordination of several brain regions determines personality behaviors in an individual. Any alteration of the parts of the brain that can be due to several factors, including traumatic injuries and tumors, can result in a change of behavior in an individual. The transformation of behavior can involve an individual turning to be violent and homicidal. Therefore, brain status assessment to individuals who commit murder cases is of great significance as it can help identify if the crime was secondary to brain damage.
References
Bransfield, R. C. (2018). Aggressiveness, violence, homicidality, homicide, and Lyme disease. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 14, 693.
Darby, R. R. (2018). Neuroimaging abnormalities in neurological patients with criminal behavior. Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports, 18(8), 1-7.
Hodgins, S. (2017). Aggressive behavior among persons with schizophrenia and those developing schizophrenia: attempting to understand the limited evidence on causality. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 43(5), 1021-1026.
Ouerchefani, R., Ouerchefani, N., Ben Rejeb, M. R., & Le Gall, D. (2021). Impaired perception of unintentional transgression of social norms after prefrontal cortex damage: Relationship to decision making, emotion recognition, and executive functions. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 78.
Roberts, S., Henry, J. D., & Molenberghs, P. (2019). Immoral behavior following brain damage: a review. Journal of Neuropsychology, 13(3), 564-588.
Williams, W. H., Chitsabesan, P., Fazel, S., McMillan, T., Hughes, N., Parsonage, M., & Tonks, J. (2018). Traumatic brain injury: A potential cause of violent crime. The Lancet Psychiatry, 5(10), 836-844.
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