News-Record front page article: Brain injury made Summers impulsive, defense says

Jack and Thom,
Good Morning, I love you
110308, 1344

Read today's paper and the blog Doug Clark wrote about it. Then, see the comment/response I made that Mr. Clark posted -

RE: Jennifer Fernandez March 8, 2011 article ‘brain injury made summers impulsive, defense says.’

Psychiatric analysis injected into the determination of a person’s criminal guilt or innocence is a volatile mix of intellectual integrity and emotional reactivity.

Caveat: I, of course, did not see nor read the testimony in this trial. However, my career in psychology and psychiatric hospital management has more than once immersed me in the vortex that is the criminal prosecution of brutal crimes.

The psychiatric testimony reported in this case would exonerate most criminals. The logic argues backwards from the person’s actions to causal attribution to a psychiatric disorder. The statement that “'normal brains and normal minds don’t do these things” is both a tautology and an oxymoron.

This approach would then argue that every person who has had head trauma (do you remember all the times you’ve bumped your head?), has learning disabilities, experienced epileptic seizures, abused alcohol, been abused as a child, and/or lived in foster care are out there committing violent crimes.

Besides, none of these mental illnesses/challenges alleviates responsibility for our impulse control. Not one of these absolves us from knowing and acting on what is right and wrong.

I love you,
Dad
1346

p.s.
obviously, I have too much on my hand today. ora pro me.