During a trial involving an
offender with a mental disorder, jurors are often required to evaluate
information on the disorder and its characteristics. This evaluation relies on
how jurors understand and synthesize psychiatric and other evidence on the disorder
and this information's impact on the case, an offender's culpability, and the
rendered verdict. The importance of this evaluation is further highlighted when
jurors are faced with evaluating a disorder that may be associated with
criminal actions of diagnosed offenders, such as high-functioning autism
spectrum disorder (hfASD).
We designed a three-part survey to assess potential
jurors' attitudes concerning an offender's diagnosis with hfASD in terms of
perceptions and decisions surrounding legal and moral responsibility, personal
characteristics of the offender, the introduction of psychiatric and genetic
information, and the condition's influence on the facts of the case. A sample
of 623 jury-eligible U.S. adults completed the survey.
We found the majority of
participants were influenced by the information provided on hfASD. Most
respondents indicated that hfASD diagnosis should generally not affect the
legal responsibility of an offender, but many reported the disorder as a
mitigating factor when evaluating moral responsibility and legal consequences
for criminal actions. Respondents reported favorable and sympathetic
perceptions of individuals with autism and associated characteristics but were
unsure, even after the presentation of psychiatric information on hfASD, if
these disorders should be classified as "mental illness." Further,
the majority reported their views were in some way influenced by the fact that
hfASD has potential genetic origins.
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By:
- 1Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics Stanford University, and Department of Criminology University of Pennsylvania.
- 2Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics Stanford University.
- 3Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society Vanderbilt University, and Department of Pediatrics Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
- 4Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics Stanford University, and Department of Pediatrics Stanford School of Medicine.
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