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The “my genes made me do it” defense is not solely reserved for Law and Order SVU. At least, not for long.
As science continues to tell us more and more about genetics, geneticists and medical ethicists believe it’s only a matter of time before people start using genetic predispositions to get them out of guilty verdicts. A precedent has been set with a number of recent cases, but scientists and lawyers alike flag that a poor understanding of genetics and behavior could result in a dangerous misuse of science in the legal system. That’s what Dr. Paul Appelbaum, the director of Columbia University’s Center for Research on Ethical, Legal and Social Implications of Psychiatric, Neurologic and Behavioral Genetics argues in an essay published today in the journal Neuron.
The problem is that a genetic predisposition for, say, violence, is not the same as a diagnosed mental disorder. “The ‘my genes made me do it’ argument is problematic because there is no evidence that genes make a person behave in a certain way that is beyond their capacity...
As science continues to tell us more and more about genetics, geneticists and medical ethicists believe it’s only a matter of time before people start using genetic predispositions to get them out of guilty verdicts. A precedent has been set with a number of recent cases, but scientists and lawyers alike flag that a poor understanding of genetics and behavior could result in a dangerous misuse of science in the legal system. That’s what Dr. Paul Appelbaum, the director of Columbia University’s Center for Research on Ethical, Legal and Social Implications of Psychiatric, Neurologic and Behavioral Genetics argues in an essay published today in the journal Neuron.
The problem is that a genetic predisposition for, say, violence, is not the same as a diagnosed mental disorder. “The ‘my genes made me do it’ argument is problematic because there is no evidence that genes make a person behave in a certain way that is beyond their capacity...
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