Sean Morris

The Biological Factors of Crime

While we typically use the terms “bad to the bone” or “bad blood” as a figure of speech for someone we don’t like, it turns out that the terms might be more literal than what one might assume.  Recently the new science in the world has allowed for studies to be done into the biological factors of a criminal's body to determine what factors can cause someone to become a criminal.

Some of the research that has been found into this subject involves chromosomes. Essentially what chromosomes are threadlike strands of DNA in the cell that carries the genes in a linear order. Alternations in the chromosomes are part of what can lead to disorders in the body like down syndrome. In regards to how this relates to criminal behavior is that having an an abnormal number of chromosomes can be causation for a dictator. With some diseases that are further added in their toxicity based upon environmental situation some people can become a powder keg of crime waiting to go off. Alternatively it becomes up to the legal defense team to prove that their is a direct correlation between the disease and the actual crime, otherwise it's just spectral

Another biological factor that becomes a component into crime is addiction. Addiction is basically and typically when someone takes a certain kind of drug that activates the reward centers of the mind so much so that people have an insatiable desire to recreate and keep that “reward” going. Within the biological underpinnings of this condition is a trait that causes addiction to happen  more due to inheritance from a family member, most likely a parent. However the law will still arrest and prosecute individuals but without seeking any medical assistance for them.

In conclusion the law and neuroscience are still a road from which much distance must be traveled on. While we need to prosecute people who break the law to ensure a more productive society, we must also know when the prisoner of the system may be just as much a prisoner of his body.

Lie Detectors

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Lie detectors come in many ways to detect that someone is lying. Telling someone is lying can be judged on sweat or nervousness. Lie Detection can also be based on the study of the brain and getting wavelengths that spike this is a polygraph. Does looking at the brain instead looking at physical appearance more accurate? The answer to that question would be no it’s not as accurate as looking at a polygraph and examining the brain. A lie detector lets you know the physiological changes considered to be associated with lying. These studies of lie detection only started studies on this last year. The fMRI is not accurate because of course some people will be nervous being there and running tests. The machine will just make them even more nervous causing the machine to spike and incriminate themselves. The court system isn’t allowing the lie detection methods as evidence just yet due to the chance that it’s not accurate and stable.

The background info that the audience needs is that lie detectors aren’t accurate machines and that's why they aren’t brought into court just yet. The viewpoint of the person getting tested is that they are already nervous that they can have a chance to go to jail. The other point is that they are “accurate” but in most cases they aren’t. On the other hand people think that the people are nervous because they are wrong. Imagine being in their position.. First, being on trail would make a person nervous even if you didn’t do it. Then on top of that then being tested on would of course would make you nervous. I believe that these testing have to be further improved before they are used in the courthouse.