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34 Med. & L. 307 (2015)
Mental Instabilities & Accountability: A Contextual Examination of an Alcohol Withdrawal-Induced Crime

handle is hein.journals/mlv34 and id is 319 raw text is: Med Law (2015) 34:307-320 Medicine and Law World Association for Medical Law Criminal Law MENTAL INSTABILITIES & ACCOUNTABILITY: A CONTEXTUAL EXAMINATION OF AN ALCOHOL WITHDRAWAL-INDUCED CRIME Michael Olusegun Afolabi* Abstract: Breaking a moral rule in an autonomous state implies a deliberate and intentional cogitation vis-A-vis the given act. This constitutes the moral fabric of imposing responsibility and accountability. Legal liability and culpability rests on a similar logic. However, pathological and non-pathological conditions, which create mental instabilities, challenge the notion of autonomous capacity and, consequently, nuance the notion of accountability for violations of civil or legal statutes under such states. On this note, this essay explores the neuroethical implications of crimes committed in the context of mental instabilities. Employing a hypothetical case involving battery under the influence of alcohol-withdrawal symptoms, the paper offers a neuroethical polemic for legal exculpation as well as how this warrants some changes in relation to the concept of mens rea. Keywords: Accountability; Alcohol; Crime; Legal Change; Mens rea; Neuroethics 1. INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND Accountability subsumes the idea that a moral agent acts in an autonomous capacity.' This entails the idea of a functionally normal brain and mind. However, the notion of accountability becomes conceptually problematic when contexts that foster mental instabilities are considered. Against this background, this essay explores the neuroethical and legal implications of crimes committed during mentally unstable moments. Using a hypothetical case of alcohol withdrawal-influenced crime, it argues that a neuroscientific elucidation of brain functions vis-&-vis the idea of mental instability challenges the moral fabric on which the legal notion of liability and culpability rest. * PhD student, Center for Healthcare Ethics, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, U.S.A, afolabim@duq.edu: curiousmaikl@yahoo.com. 1.. Watson, Gary (1996) Two Faces of Responsibility Philosophical Topics 24,2; pp. 227-248. 307

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