Should you be punished for a crime if you have no memory of committing it?

Question

Occasionally, you read about people who have suffered amnesia -- total loss of past/recent memories and sometimes even knowledge of their identity. Suppose that it was discovered that such a person had, before suffering amnesia, committed a crime. Assuming that the person really does have amnesia (and therefore, would believe he is answering truthfully when he says "No" in response to "Did you commit the crime?"), do you believe that such a person should receive the legally prescribed punishment for the crime? What if the crime was first-degree murder? How would your answer be affected if you knew that he might, someday, recover his lost memories?

Answer 1

One is punished under law for ones actions, not ones memories of such actions. Denial is not proof of innocence any more than confession is proof of guilt, as any law enforcement officer will tell you. A case consists of a motive for committing the crime, the possession of the means to commit that crime, and the occurrence of an opportunity during which the accused could have committed the crime. Most of the forensic stuff, eye-witness stuff, and documentary stuff is intended to show, beyond a reasonable doubt, at least one of these three elements. For some crimes, the issue includes by statute the presence of criminal intent. Taking money from an account under your control but not yours, in the mistaken belief that you may borrow it, may not be considered a crime, whereas taking the money while knowing that you are not allowed to will be. Amnesia affects criminal culpability only if it affects criminal intent at the time the crime took place. Otherwise, it is not relevant, except perhaps for severity of punishment upon conviction - a crime you do not remember, if not heinous, might deserve a lighter sentence in some cases. Murder is not one of such cases.

Answer 2

My opinion is, yes.

The need to protect potential victims outweighs the need to make someone with amnesia feel good, though they may lack knowledge of a crime that they committed.

A truly honorable person would want to be prevented from committing a crime during periods of amnesia.

Hypothetically recovering his memory does not change my answer.

Answer 3

Each case should be judged in a court of law and by its own merits.
Loss of memory does not change the crime that was committed.
If there is enough proof to convince a jury that the "memory loser" was in fact guilty of the crime he's accused of, then he should be sentenced accordingly and he will be.
Memory is not a viable criteria for defense but I'm sure some lawyer somewhere will give it a try.

Answer 4

Yes. Memory has nothing to do with it.

There is a drug, called the date rape drug, that some men give to women. Then the men rape the women, and the next morning, the women wake up and the drug makes it so they can't remember having been raped the previous evening. If you could get out of jail by having amnesia, then people could take that drug themselves, kill someone, then go to bed, and wake up without any memory of it. But the victim would still be dead, and the murderer should still be punished.

Answer 5

I still think the person needs to be punished. If there was to be any leniency, I would want to know if the memory loss also got rid of whatever it was that made him a bad person. For example, a killer might forget about who he killed, but could do it again because he is evil and his evilness is still there.

Answer 6

Yes. Amnesia does not erase or undo the crime.

Answer 7

i think of that he might desire to, I recommend, he did the crime he might desire to do the time. He in simple terms surpassed off to "success out" in case you will, transferring into the twist of fate and forgetting approximately what surpassed off. yet human beings's lives have been misplaced, and that i comprehend their relatives could elect justice. to no longer point out, some those with amnesia ultimately get their memory returned, if that surpassed off to the guy interior the state of affairs, then he could bear in mind what he did, and if he grew to become into unfastened, it may be like establishing up a door to permit him to do it returned.

Answer 8

What does having a memory of a crime have to do with justice.

Answer 9

Goldenrae9 answered this question well, but I wanted to tell you about a movie that deals with this very predicament; it's called Angel Heart and stars Robert De Niro ...as the devil! See it!

Answer 10

Those are considered cognitive fuges which are associated with mental illness. If you can't prove that through the initial trial or appeal with a mental health clause, then there are issues.