I was wondering why , at the pre-sentencing conference, the judge brought up Roof's birth certificate: :thinking:
Chad K. Mills ‏@ChadKMills 2h2 hours ago
They're now talking about how #DylannRoof's birth certificate will be introduced during the sentencing phase. #sctweets @wis10 #RoofTrial
Karina Bolster ‏@KRBolster 2h2 hours ago
Judge Gergel now discusses #DylannRoof's date of birth and wonders if there are any objections from Govt./Defense. #chsnews #RoofTrial
Maybe something about brain maturity? But that would be something that the defense would bring up and since Roof is not putting on any mitigating factors......??????
Is Roof older/younger than he states? If older, the prosecution can say he was old enough to be responsible for what he did; if younger, the defense could say his brain isn't dveloped and not responsible????
If Roof is deemed not competent and Bruck is back to defending him, he might bring in immaturity of the brain as a mitigating factor??
Just wondering what that was all about and just a thought.
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If anyone is interested:
At What Age Is The Brain Fully Developed?
"...Although brain development is subject to significant individual variation, most experts suggest that the brain is fully developed by age 25. For some people, brain development may be complete prior to age 25, while for others it may end after age 25. The mid-20s or “25” is just an average age given as checkpoint for when the brain has likely become mature.
It may seem logical that those aged 18 to 25 are completely mature, the brain still is maturing – specifically the area known as the “prefrontal cortex.” Changes occurring between ages 18 and 25 are essentially a continued process of brain development that started during puberty. When you’re 18, you’re roughly halfway through the entire stage of development. The prefrontal cortex doesn’t have nearly the functional capacity at age 18 as it does at 25.
This means that some people may have major struggles with impulsive decisions and planning behavior to reach a goal. The brain’s reward system tends to reach a high level of activation during puberty, then gradually drifts back to normal activation when a person reaches roughly the age of 25. Adults over the age of 25 tend to feel less sensitive to the influence of peer pressure and have a much easier time handling it..."
http://mentalhealthdaily.com/2015/02/18/at-what-age-is-the-brain-fully-developed/
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Adolescent Maturity and the Brain: The Promise and Pitfalls of Neuroscience Research in Adolescent Health Policy
"
Abstract
Longitudinal neuroimaging studies demonstrate that the adolescent brain continues to mature well into the 20s. This has prompted intense interest in linking neuromaturation to maturity of judgment. Public policy is struggling to keep up with burgeoning interest in cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging. However, empirical evidence linking neurodevelopmental processes and adolescent real-world behavior remains sparse. Nonetheless, adolescent brain development research is already shaping public policy debates about when individuals should be considered mature for policy purposes...
In the last decade, a growing body of longitudinal neuroimaging research has demonstrated that adolescence is a period of continued brain growth and change, challenging longstanding assumptions that the brain was largely finished maturing by puberty [1–3]. The frontal lobes, home to key components of the neural circuitry underlying “executive functions” such as planning, working memory, and impulse control, are among the last areas of the brain to mature; they may not be fully developed until halfway through the third decade of life ...
Impulse control, response inhibition, and sensation seeking
Among the many behavior changes that have been noted for teens, the three that are most robustly seen across cultures are: (1) increased novelty seeking; (2) increased risk taking; and (3) a social affiliation shift toward peer-based interactions [13]. This triad of behavior changes is seen not only in human beings but in nearly all social mammals [13]. Although the behaviors may lead to danger, they confer an evolutionary advantage by encouraging separation from the comfort and safety of the natal family, which decreases the chances of inbreeding. The behavior changes also foster the development and acquisition of independent survival skills [13]..."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892678/
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OR maybe genetic triggers? :
Coast to Coast AM ✔ @coasttocoastam
Are some people born killers?:
Biggest ever brain imaging study of mass murderers reveals they are wired dif...
http://bit.ly/1pVx8ty
9:24 AM - 1 May 2016
Are some people BORN killers? Biggest ever brain imaging study of mass murderers reveals they are wired differently
"Scientists have found chromosome abnormalities in some serial killers
A gene known as the Warrior gene may also play a role in psychopathy
Kent Kiehl has created largest forensic neuroscience library in the world
Found psychopaths tend to have less gray matter and smaller amygdalas
Says 50% of brain abnormalities in murderers is caused by genetics..."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...TheNews+(Feed+-+Coast+to+Coast+-+In+the+News)
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The Evil Brain: What Lurks Inside a Killer’s Mind
"...For as long as evil has existed, people have wondered about its source, and you don’t have to be too much of a scientific reductionist to conclude that the first place to look is the brain. There’s not a thing you’ve ever done, thought or felt in your life that isn’t ultimately traceable to a particular webwork of nerve cells firing in a particular way, allowing the machine that is you to function as it does. So if the machine is busted — if the operating system in your head fires in crazy ways — are you fully responsible for the behavior that follows?
That’s a question that has a lot more than just philosophical implications. No sooner were the Tsarnaev brothers identified as the Boston Marathon bombers than speculation arose as to whether the behavior of older-brother Tamerlan might have been influenced by brain damage sustained during his years as a boxer. The answer was almost certainly no: sports-related brain injury usually leads to volatile and impulsive behavior in people his age, and the bombing was coldly and painstakingly planned. (This was made especially clear by the later revelation that the brothers had originally planned their attack for July 4, but by working hard and applying themselves, they completed their bombs earlier than planned — an illustration of perverse diligence if ever there was one.) But the medical histories of uncounted other killers and violent offenders are filled with diagnoses of all manner of brain diseases and traumas, raising both the issue of whether the perps were truly, fully, responsible for their crimes, and the possibility that the acts could have been prevented in the first place if the illnesses had been treated.
“I don’t think there’s any kind of neurological condition that’s 100% predictive,” says neuroscientist Michael Koenigs of the University of Madison-Wisconsin. “But even when psychopaths know that what they’re doing is a crime, that doesn’t mean they’re in control of their behavior when they offend.”...
People like Morse believe where once we attributed all crime to moral laxity or simple evil, we’ve now overcorrected, too often looking to excuse criminal behavior medically. “I call it the fundamental psycholegal error,” he says. “The belief that if you discover a cause you’ve mitigated or excused responsibility. If you have a bank robber who can show that he commits crimes only when he’s in a hypomanic state, that does not mean he deserves excuse or mitigation.”...
Evil is far too complex and far too woven into our natures for us to think that we can always adjudicate it fairly. But the better we can understand the brains that are home to such ugliness, the more effectively we can contain it, control it and punish it. Now and then, with the help of science, we may even be able to snuff it out altogether."
http://science.time.com/2013/05/03/evil-brain/
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(just some :thinking: on a snowy day) :snowball:
