Legal Psychology Gerhard Ohrband ULIM University, Moldova 6 th lecture Criminal responsibility

Course structure Lectures: 1. Introduction into Legal Psychology – Theories of crime 2. Correctional treatment 3. Victimology 4. Police psychology 5. Testimony assessment 6. Criminal responsibility 7. Judicial judgments 8. Psychological assessment of families

Course structure Seminars: 9. Eyewitness testimony 10. Jury decision-making 11. Child abuse 12. Prostitution 13. Rape 14. Tax evasion 15. Stereotypes and prejudices in the law system

1.Criminal responsibility 2.Heat of the moment crimes 3.Age of criminal responsibility 4.Sentencing of adolescent offenders 5.Prediction of criminal recidivism 6.Actuarial prediction of recidivism Content

1. Criminal responsibility Different concept of guilt in law, psychology, philosophy and theology 4 criteries of the legal guilt concept: Accusability – the accused must have acted against existing laws Capacity for normal behavior – the accused must be capable of behaving in conformity with societal rules Counsciousness of illegalness – the accused must be able to know that he will be made responsible for his acts Decision to realize the illegal act – the accused must have been in state of other acts than the illegal

11 criteria for criminal responsibility with serious psychological disorders (Scholz & Schmidt, 2003) Capacity for (self-)reflection and identity Differentiating emotions Problem-solving – defense mechanism – coping behavior Absence of earlier temperament and behavior extremes Behavior rules for preserving relationships Instable and often antisocial behavior Capacity for empathy Egocentrical arrogant style of interaction Manipulative interpersonal behavior Impulse control Planned behavior before and during the deed

2. Heat of the moment crimes Definition: Heat of the moment crimes are usually violent crimes in which high emotional reactions have a dominant effect, that is, a deed that is not planned but surface out of a conflict in a state of highest emotional arrousal and thus not planned and because of rational consideration. Most often homicide; “conflicts in partner and intimate relationships” Homicide: annually ca. 900 cases (Germany), plus 1800 trials; 0,05% from all criminality; men 90% offenders and ca. 50% victims

Global characteristics of homicide Most killings are spontaneous in the course of quarrels; planned killings and in cold blood are rare Most offenders are male, younger than 30 years and poor Most offenders know their victim; if the do not the deed is often in the context of another crime (burglary, rape, etc.) In ethnically heterogeneous countries victim and offender mostly belong to the same ethnic group In many cases the victim has a causal influence (“victim precipitation”) Men kill men almost 10 times more often han women women.

Rasch (1964): “Killing of the intimate partner” “Killing of the lover by the left-behind partner”, mostly because of unresponded love “Killing of the husband/wife by the left- behind partner”, mostly because of desolation about the failure of a life plan “Elimination of a disturbing partner”; most in form of “killing of the family tyrant”

3. Age of criminal responsibility Legal maturity in Europa almost homogeneously 18 years Some others plead for 21 years What could be the arguments?

4. Sentencing of adolescent offenders Positive listNegative list Absence 1.Life-plan 2.Capacity for independent judgment and decision-making 3.Capacity for thinking in a longer time-frame 4.Capacity to corrobarate emotional judgments with ration 5.A serious attitude versus work 6.A sufficient independence versus other people Presence 1.An insufficient form of personality 2.Helplessness (not rarely hidden behind defiance and arrogance) 3.Naïve-believing behavior 4.Strong need for emotional support 5.A playful attitude towards work 6.Daydreams 7.Adventurous behavior 8.Self-enhancing roles 9.Insufficient connection to peers 10.Life in the present moment Marburg criteria

5. Prediction of criminal recidivism Requirements for predictive methods in the law system (Bötticher et. al., 2007) Rationally argumentable, transparently appliable and demonstratedly objective methodology Systematic inclusion of scientifically corrobarated findings Proved validity of the method Translation of relevant law terms in diagnostically viable constructs Individual judgment which adapts to the peculiarities of a single case

6. Actuarial prediction of recidivism Level of Service Inventory – Revised (LSI-R, Andrews & Bonta, 1995) Based on a cognitive-behavioral theory of criminal behavior 54 risk and protection factors 10 general risk domains 1.Type and amount of criminal history 2.Performance 3.Finances 4.Family and intimate relationships 5.Living conditions 6.Freetime activities 7.Broader social environment 8.Addictive substances 9.Psychpathologies 10.Potentially criminogene attitudes

Literature Harris, G.T., Rice, M.E. & Quinsey, V.L. (1993). Violent recividism of mentally disordered offenders: The development of a statistical prediction instrument. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 20, Katz, J. (1988). Seductions of crime. New York: Basic Books. Steinberg, L. & Scott, E.S. (2003). Less guilty by reason of adolescence. Developmental inmaturity, diminished responsibility, and the juvenile death penalty. American Psychologist, 58,