Authors

John S. Callender

Neuroscience and Criminal Justice: Time for a "Copernican Revolution"?

Abstract

The main purpose of this Article is to argue for a fundamental change in the conceptual orientation of criminal justice: from one based on concepts such as free will, desert, and moral responsibility, to one based on empirical science. The Article describes research in behavioral genetics, acquired brain injuries, and psychological traumatization in relation to criminality. This research has reached a level of development at which the traditional approach to criminality is no longer tenable and should be discarded. I argue that mental health legislation provides a model that could be adapted and applied to offenders.

Repository Citation

John S. Callender, Neuroscience and Criminal Justice: Time for a "Copernican Revolution"?, 63 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 1119 (2022), https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmlr/vol63/iss4/3