Morally excused but socially excluded : Denying agency through the defense of mental impairment

Journal article


de Vel-Palumbo, Melissa, Schein, Chelsea, Ferguson, Rose, Chang, Melissa Xue-Ling and Bastian, Brock. (2021). Morally excused but socially excluded : Denying agency through the defense of mental impairment. PLoS ONE. 16, p. Article e0252586. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252586
Authorsde Vel-Palumbo, Melissa, Schein, Chelsea, Ferguson, Rose, Chang, Melissa Xue-Ling and Bastian, Brock
Abstract

Defendants can deny they have agency, and thus responsibility, for a crime by using a defense of mental impairment. We argue that although this strategy may help defendants evade blame, it may carry longer-term social costs, as lay people’s perceptions of a person’s agency might determine some of the moral rights they grant them. In this registered report protocol, we seek to expand upon preliminary findings from two pilot studies to examine how and why those using the defense of mental impairment are seen as less deserving of certain rights. The proposed study uses a hypothetical vignette design, varying the type of mental impairment, type of crime, and type of sentence. Our design for the registered study improves on various aspects of our pilot studies and aims to rigorously test the reliability and credibility of our model. The findings have implications for defendants claiming reduced agency through legal defenses, as well as for the broader study of moral rights and mind perception.

Year2021
JournalPLoS ONE
Journal citation16, p. Article e0252586
PublisherPublic Library of Science
ISSN1932-6203
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252586
PubMed ID34111148
Scopus EID2-s2.0-85107684346
PubMed Central IDPMC8192116
Open accessPublished as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
Page range1-22
FunderSociety of Australasian Social Psychologists
Publisher's version
License
File Access Level
Open
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online10 Jun 2021
Publication process dates
Accepted18 May 2021
Deposited10 Aug 2023
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https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/8z7x6/morally-excused-but-socially-excluded-denying-agency-through-the-defense-of-mental-impairment

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