Can We Be Natural Born Killers

Can our genes make us natural born criminals or at worst murderers? It is a debate that the geneticists and the legal community have been waging for years. It is the fundamental question that Dr. Jonathan H. Pincus discusses in his book "Base Instincts: What Makes Killers Kill?" "Dr. Pincus who is a professor of medicine and neurology at Georgetown University School of Medicine drew on his own experiences as a medical student at Bellevue Hospital. The clinical material in Base Instincts is also derived partly from the research that Dr. Pincus and his colleague Dr. Dorothy Otnow Lewis, a psychiatrist, conducted and published from 1970 through today. Dr. Pincus estimates that through the course of his studies he evaluated approximately 150 murderers." (Bernet 2)

"One such murderer is a man named Donovan, sent to death row for brutally and violently murdering a used car salesman to steal a small sum of money. Donovan stabbed the man so violently that he was virtually decapitated. Donovan was summarily arrested, confessed to the crime and was jailed. While awaiting trial, Donovan used a phone clearly marked Ð''monitored' trying to arrange the murder of a witness to his crime. Donovan was found guilty of the murder, thus receiving the death sentence. During his appeals process, new lawyers asked Dr. Pincus to evaluate Donovan." (Bernet 2)

"Dr. Pincus found that Donovan, like so many others in his book, illustrated the triad of neurological and psychiatric factors that lead to criminal behavior: serious brain damage, severe childhood maltreatment and paranoia. Donovan suffered brain damage at birth, resulting in blindness in one eye. Subsequently later in life he was involved in a car crash which left him in a coma, caused further brain damage and the paralysis of the left side of his face. Donovan's father frequently beat him and his mother sexually abused him for ten years. Additionally due to Donovan's paranoid thinking he frequently initiated fights. Dr. Pincus found that Donovan had signs of frontal lobe dysfunction on neurological evaluation, mental status examination, and neuropsychological testing, furthermore Donovan was found to have an abnormal electroencephalogram and MRI, which showed bilateral frontal white matter lesions." (Bernet 2)

"Was Donovan truly born to kill? Was he genetically programmed to kill, or did the circumstances of Donovan's birth and subsequent abuse at the hands of his parents cause him to become a murderer? Perhaps the second brain injury pushed him over the edge? Perhaps science will never find an answer for Donovan?" (Bernet 2)

"Several murder defendants have tried to use the "my genes made me do it" defense at their trials. The case of Jeremy Strohmeyer in Las Vegas, NV is a perfect example. "Mr. Strohmeyer was seen on Primm hotel surveillance videotape following 7-year old Sherrice Iverson into the women's restroom where she was later found dead and half clothed. After coming out of the restroom Mr. Strohmeyer told his friend David Cash that he had just murdered a young girl. Mr. Strohmeyer confessed to the murder and prosecutors sought the death penalty. Mr. Strohmeyer's defense attorney decided that, given the situation that he found himself in; the best defense would be a biological defense. This defense basically meant that Mr. Strohmeyer was not legally responsible for his actions because of a genetic profile that showed mental illness in both of his biological parents that may have been passed on to him." (Benjamin 1-2)

"Although Mr. Strohmeyer was adopted into a stable and loving home at the age of 18 months old, the Strohmeyer's were told very little about his biological family. Investigators for the defense discovered a family history of behavior problems on a biological brother and a half brother. Furthermore it was discovered that his biological mother was a schizophrenic who spent the bulk of her life in and out of mental institutions in California. His biological father was found in prison in California at the time of Mr. Strohmeyer's arrest and he himself had a long history of arrests and criminal behavior. Mr. Strohmeyer had been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and begun taking DexedreneÐ'® shortly before the murder. All these things taken into consideration the defense attorneys preceded to procure the needed funds to have the appropriate genetic testing done. They also had CT and MRI scans of the brain done to look for any abnormalities. The defense was ready to mound a full genetic defense." (Benjamin 3)

"Dr. Thomas Thompson, a New Mexico forensic psychologist states Ð''The idea that there is a single violence or crime gene is both ludicrous and dangerous.' Although it is well documented that poor judgment and impulsivity are linked to crime and that these personality traits may be inherited it still isn't a given that one leads to the other. Dr. Thompson served as an expert witness for a defendant in another state involving a murderer whose death sentence was commuted to life in prison after the judge heard testimony that the man suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome and may have been predisposed to crime and violence." (qtd. in Benjamin 3-4)

"Although the man had been adopted into what appeared to be a stable and loving home between the ages of 16 and 18 months old. His biological family was fraught with mental illness and criminal behavior. Dr. Thompson proved that the man's biological father had a history of drug use and criminal behavior and had eventually been killed by police during an attempted robbery. His biological mother on the other hand had a history of alcohol abuse, drank during her pregnancy, and had "explosive disorder", and unpredictable and violent temper." (Benjamin 4)

"Dr. Thompson, though extensive research was able to determine and document that the man's grandmother had a similar personality and that disordered behavior was prevalent in the family for five to six generations back. Ð''This family had people dying in state institutions at the turn of the century.' While studying the biological father's family history a similar pattern of antisocial behavior was found." (qtd. in Benjamin 4)

"In Denmark in 1984 a study was published regarding 14,427 adoptions. The study found that when adoptive and biological parents were noncriminal only 13.5 percent of the adopted had a criminal record. Whereas, if an adoptive parent had a criminal record 14.7 percent of the adopted had a criminal record, and when a biological parent had a criminal record 20 percent of the adopted had a criminal record. The evidence however was strongest linking