Violence, rape, harassment, war, invasion, terror, etc, do they always involve a victim and a perpetrator? Often times it seems we blame one party 100%, saying they had a choice but they decided to commit a certain crime. So the other side is necessarily seen as 100% victim. Any explanation as to why the crime was committed or any environmental or personal reason advanced are seen as "blaming the victim" and not "explanation" but "justification." Something seems wrong about this. Because in my view sometimes more than one person plays a role in contributing to a bad situation. Sometimes the victim is also a perpetrator of another crime and the perpetrator also a victim of another crime.
But the way the legal system works does not seem to be based on knowledge of how human beings function and how the brain works. Unlike psychiatry and psychology where one tries to not blame the person, and instead explain problems in terms of one's level of neurotransmitter or various psychodynamics, the legal system has no problem blaming people. The legal system decides that someone is to blame because the person had a choice. I agree that 99% of people in 99% of situations have a meaningful choice. But the quality of one's choice is not the same as another's. A traumatized and extremely impulsive starving person who steals a loaf of bread has not committed the same crime as a highly self disciplined person who steals a load of bread despite not being hungry at all. I would like it if the justice system would make decisions about one's punishment based on their biological and psychological makeup.
But the way the legal system works does not seem to be based on knowledge of how human beings function and how the brain works. Unlike psychiatry and psychology where one tries to not blame the person, and instead explain problems in terms of one's level of neurotransmitter or various psychodynamics, the legal system has no problem blaming people. The legal system decides that someone is to blame because the person had a choice. I agree that 99% of people in 99% of situations have a meaningful choice. But the quality of one's choice is not the same as another's. A traumatized and extremely impulsive starving person who steals a loaf of bread has not committed the same crime as a highly self disciplined person who steals a load of bread despite not being hungry at all. I would like it if the justice system would make decisions about one's punishment based on their biological and psychological makeup.