Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Diminished Criminal Responsibility as "New Evidence" in Criminal Revision Procedures. Issue 6 (16th April 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Rassin, Eric; Boskovic, Irena; Merckelbach, Harald
• Is Part Of: Journal of forensic sciences. Volume 63:Issue 6(2018)
• Page Start: 1911
• Page End: 1913
• Publication Date: 2018-04-16
• Subjects: forensic science -- posttraumatic stress disorder -- psychiatry -- psychology -- expert‐witnesses -- behavioral science; Medical jurisprudence -- Periodicals; Forensic sciences -- Periodicals; Forensic Medicine -- Periodicals; Gerechtelijke geneeskunde; Gerechtelijke chemie; Gerechtelijke psychiatrie; 363.2505
• DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.13789
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-1198

Abstract

Abstract: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may affect victims of crime, but may also be reported by offenders. In the postappeal phase, offenders may claim to suffer from chronic PTSD and argue that this indicates diminished criminal responsibility at the time the index crime was committed. As members of a Dutch criminal cases review commission, we recently encountered two cases in which PTSD was presented as new evidence that would justify a reopening of the case. In this article, we argue that such claims are problematic in that clinical decision making resulting in a PTSD diagnosis adheres to quite different standards than those dictating forensic fact‐finding. The two cases illustrate the difference between criminal and clinical fact‐finding.