If someone commits a horrible crime but has no memory of it at all, is it still right to punish them?

Question

I'm not talking about from a legal stand point. Strictly from an ethical standpoint. Here's the situation: Someone robs a bank. Things get ugly, people get killed and as the robber makes a getaway, he gets into a car crash and wakes up with amnesia. He has no clue who he is or what he's done. All he knows is that he is told that he's a murderer and a theif and that he's going to spend the rest of his life in prison. Is justice served?

And I'm not talking about if he says in court he doesn't remember if he should be aquitted. I am asking strictly from a moral standpoint, should this person go to jail or would justice better be served by taking this person as a clean slate and trying to fit them back into society?

Answer 1

If there is evidence proving the person is guilty of a crime, why is it relevant if s/he remembers or not? Absolving one of criminal penalty because of a lapse in the brain would set a terrible precedent. Besides, almost all people who abuse child claim they don't remember it. Does that mean they have not left some battered, bruised and emotionally damaged people in their wake? As it is, victims have to pick up their lives with little to no validation or understanding from society. What you are suggesting further removes the ability to get some kind of closure and justice for those left in the aftermath of a forgotten crime spree - the innocent victims. What is the point of having laws, morals or ethics defined by society, if the only people who matter are the criminals?

Answer 2

I think that he should, I mean, he did the crime he should do the time. He just happened to "luck out" if you will, getting into the accident and forgetting about what happened. But people's lives were lost, and I know their family would want justice. Not to mention, some people with amnesia eventually get their memory back, if that happened to the man in the scenario, then he would remember what he did, and if he was free, it would be like opening up a door to allow him to do it again.

Answer 3

No, he should go to jail because even severe cases of amnesia allow the patients to remember certain events over time. And there would be no way to guarantee that this person is safe to allow back into society. I suppose if you are talking, IF he could never possibly remember anything from his past, then I suppose he would be cool, but that cant happen without a lobotomy and only marines get those anymore.

Answer 4

Just because he doesn't remember it, this doesn't mean he won't have the psychological make-up or factors that will allow him to commit another crime. So I think a psychiatrist should make the call whether or not he is safe to be back in the public. For example, if Hannibal Lecter had amnesia and didn't remember, would you want him back on the streets? Or Charlie Manson?

Answer 5

Like the person said about the sleepwalking case, there was one in the UK. A guy killed his father sleepwalking; cleaned himself up and got away scott free. He managed this because technology has come along way nowadays and when put through a testing institute by the authorites, he was found to be telling the truth. So I guess if technology confirms this then I would have to say let em go. (But get help!)

Answer 6

Morally, crime and punishment is about society, not the perpetrator. If someone commits a crime, society has the right to judge them and separate themselves from that person.

Also, just because someone loses their memory doesn't mean that they are a good person. They could be a psychopath and ready to kill again.

Answer 7

Yes....regardless of whether or not he remembers the crime he committed, he is still the same person...with the same set of morals. His whole personality is not going to change, just because that small period in his life has been erased from his memory. Do you think the victims families will remember??!!

Answer 8

That person should go to jail since he committed the crime prior to the car accident that caused the amnesia.
There was a similar case (sort of) where a man killed his wife while he was 'supposedly' sleep walking. He, however, cleaned himself up after killing her and therefore was found guilty and jailed.

Answer 9

This person could be found incompetent to stand trial. Competency requires the person understand the charges against him/her (he probably could) and also that he be able to participate in his own defense and assist his attorney(s). Since he couldn't remember the circumstances, he couldn't participate. Usually, people found incompetent are confined to a mental hospital until it is determined that competency has been restored and then they are tried. In this case, the likelihood of "restoration" would be limited, but not impossible.

Answer 10

This is certainly a difficult decision, and I certainly I hope I am never asked to make this judgment call. I would have to do some extensive soul searching and praying before I could arrive at an answer