Cross Campus Mixer - RECAP

Hi Everyone!

First off, huge shoutout to those who were able to make it to our Cross Campus Mixer last Saturday! We all had so much fun getting to chat and play games with cog sci students from UC Berkeley, UCSC, UCSD, and Stanford. Not to mention all the networking that happened through LinkedIn profile sharing. To those who couldn't make it, hopefully, you'll but able to join us next spring where we plan to hold another cross-campus mixer!

Let's Discuss - RECAP

Next, we'd like to thank everyone who joined us for our discussion tonight! We had a lot of thoughtful input on the complex topic of those with cognitive impairments in the justice system. Here are a few of the ideas that were shared in response to the question: If criminals have a cognitive impairment, how should we judge their crimes?

Sympathetic:
Rehabilitation is necessary for those with cognitive impairments. More often than not, there is no ill intent in the actions of those with brain abnormalities. They're often due to impaired judgment. Also, those abnormalities are often caused by environmental factors, so it would make sense to use rehabilitation as a means of changing their environment. 

Devil's Advocate:
Those with brain abnormalities should not be excused for their crimes. To our current knowledge, we cannot distinguish between our brain's decisions and decisions made from our moral judgments. Additionally, it's hard to trust that those given medical treatments will stay on their prescription after they feel they've been "cured" which will only repeat the cycle of crime.

Consensus: The current state of the criminal justice system often doesn't appropriately address cases relating to mental and cognitive impairments.