Reflecting on Crime and Legal Issues in People With Intellectual Disabilities: Theory, Perspectives, and Future Approaches

Reflecting on Crime and Legal Issues in People With Intellectual Disabilities: Theory, Perspectives, and Future Approaches

Vaitsa Giannouli
Copyright: © 2022 |Pages: 29
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-6684-3542-7.ch081
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Abstract

This chapter discusses research findings on intellectual disability (ID), criminal law, and the different forms of aggressive behavior such as sexual violence, homicide, theft, arson, and alcohol-drug abuse. ID is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder, characterized by significantly impaired and varying intellectual-adaptive functioning. Given that a number of legal issues have been raised over the past decades regarding individuals with ID and civil as well as criminal law, particular attention will also be given to neuropsychological research regarding civil law and the most common problems for individuals with ID, such as financial capacity and capacity for medical consent. Finally, there will be a section for the most important issues regarding the trial and conviction for individuals with ID, and a presentation of a research on attitudes toward ID and legal issues. The chapter concludes with suggestions for reform of the law relating to ID and the need for further research.
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Introduction

The chapter is an attempt to present the latest information regarding crime and legal issues among individuals with Intellectual Disability (ID). The widespread adoption of a changed construct and of a new term, which replaces mental retardation by renaming it in DSM 5 (Schalock, Luckasson & Shogren, 2007), and the legislatively mandated changes in terminology (Stavrakantonaki & Johnson, 2018), can not clarify and examine in depth the significance of ID for a number of legal issues. As scientific literature indicates the theme of legal issues turns out to be particularly salient for ID worldwide (Levine, Proulx & Schwartz, 2018). Researchers in psychology and law (legal psychology and forensic psychology) become more interested in examining aspects of individuals with ID, who may play the role of suspect or victim according to the criminal law (Carr et al., 2016; McCarthy et al., 2019), or the role of the person who claims civil capacities according to the civil law. As a result, this chapter will be an in-depth introduction, which will be focused on a variety of relevant themes, which are selected in order to include key terms and information on law and ID.

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