Deborah W. Denno

Lateral Preferences of Hand, Eye and Foot: Relation to Cerebral Dominance

Patterns of lateral preferences of hand, eye and foot were analyzed on 7364 children, differing in race (black and white) and sex. Right hand and foot preferences were found in over 80%, and right eye preferences were found in over 50% of the subjects. No sex or race differences appeared in left-right preferences. However, significantly more females than males, and more blacks than whites, showed variable foot preference. Further analyses of cross preferences indicated that about 40% of the subjects showed consistent lateral preferences of hand, eye, and foot (about 37% right, and about 3% left), whereas the other 60% were divided among ten groups of different preference combinations. The three lateral measures were correlated to differing degrees. The data were interpreted as showing the effects of cerebral dominance on lateral preferences of hand, eye and foot. The effects seemed to be considerably stronger for hand and foot than for eye preferences. Due to a lack of supporting data, interpretation of race differences in variable foot preference must be considered tentative.

Birth Order and Lateral Preferences

Associations between birth order and lateral preferences of hand, eye and foot were examined in a sample of 6436 black seven year old boys and girls whose mothers participated in the Collaborative Perinatal Project (CPP) in Philadelphia. Overall, most of the subjects (87%) showed right hand preference, and the majority of subjects showed right eye (55%) and foot (63%) preferences. Analysis of cross preferences indicated some tendency for a consistent right side orientation. However, patterns of lateral preferences were similar for both boys and girls across seven birth order groups. The data were interpreted as showing that birth order and lateral preferences are not interrelated.

Physicians and Execution: Highlights from a Discussion of Lethal Injection

This article constitutes excerpts of a videotaped discussion hosted by the New England Journal of Medicine on January 14, 2008, concerning a range of topics on lethal injection prompted by the United States Supreme Courts January 7 oral arguments in Baze v. Rees. Dr. Atul Gawande moderated the roundtable that included two anesthesiologists - Dr. Robert Truog and Dr. David Waisel - as well as law professor Deborah Denno. The discussion focused on the drugs used in lethal injection executions, whether physicians should participate, potential alternatives, and some of the legal parameters of Baze.

Human Biology and Criminal Responsibility: Free Will or Free Ride?

This article examines the role of the possible biological deficiency defenses in the criminal law. The topic is inspired by the renewed interest in biological and genetic research on behavior and the possible use of this research in a variety of criminal defenses in the United States and other countries. In general, the article presents three major arguments concerning biological deficiency defenses, using, respectively, a critique of biosocial science research, a statistical model of biological and sociological data, and an examination of theories and philosophies on causation and behavior. The first of this article’s arguments states that there should be no defense to mitigate criminal responsibility except in the less that one percent of cases eligible for the insanity defense. Mitigating factors may be considered at the sentencing stage, not for determining the length of the sentence, but only to determine the type of facility for detaining or treatment of a convicted defendant. The second argument contends that social science research has not successfully demonstrated sufficiently strong links between biological factors and criminal behavior to warrant major consideration in determining criminal responsibility. This conclusion is based upon the results of one of this countrys largest studies of the biological and sociological development of individuals from the time of their birth to young adulthood. Social science research, however, can be valuable in other contexts, such as predicting bias in death penalty sentencing, in which measures are better defined and there is a lesser burden of statistical proof. The article’s third argument suggests that there is no strong evidence to support either a strictly free will or a strictly deterministic philosophy in the criminal law regarding either the causes of crime or the determinants of criminal responsibility. Moreover, the notion of ‘cause’ has varying implications depending on the context. Statistical models of biosociological research support a philosophy of ‘degree determinism,’ however, that spans a lifetime. The criminal law should reflect this philosophy rather than a free will fiction.The article has four Parts. Part I outlines some selected theories and research on genetic, biological, sociological, and environmental influences on criminal behavior. Criminal law cases and defenses that have used this research are discussed and criticized. Likewise, many of these theories are tested together in Part II, which examines research results from a longitudinal study of juvenile and adult crime in order to assess the rationale and desirability of a biological deficiency defense. This article then applies the results of this studys statistical model to develop a probability theory of behavior, which is discussed in Part III in the context of arguments supporting both free will and deterministic notions of criminal responsibility. Part III argues that a theory of ‘degree determinism’ more accurately reflects what have previously been called cause-and-effect relationships. Part III also assesses the feasibility of a biological deficiency defense given the problems posed by other proposed criminal defenses, such as Vietnam Stress Syndrome. Part IV concludes with a commentary on the appropriate and inappropriate uses of social science research and its relation to the goals and philosophy of the criminal justice system.

Violent Behavior and Cerebral Hemisphere Function

Experimental support for the hypothesis that violent behavior is associated with left-hemisphere dysfunction is scarce. This study examines the association between crime, violence, and left-hemisphere dysfunction using measures of hand, eye, and foot dominance within a sample of 1,066 males born and raised in Philadelphia between the ages of 10 and 18 years as part of the Biosocial Study conducted at the Center for Studies in Criminology and Criminal Law at the University of Pennsylvania. Overall there were no significant differences between offenders and non-offenders in measures of hand and foot preferences. However, for eye preference, there were significant between-group differences, particularly for violent offenders. Altogether violent offenders were more apt to show left-eye preference rather than right-eye preference. As the literature discusses, an increased incidence of left-side preference in a given population may be related to left-hemisphere dysfunction. The finding of a partial correspondence (eye preference only) rather than full correspondence among the three indices of lateral preferences (hand, eye, and foot preferences) may be attributed to environmental influences, such as the effects of brain trauma at birth. In addition, possible associations between hemisphere dysfunction and behavior disorders and crime can also be affected by other biological and social factors over the course of an individual’s development.

Birth Stress and Lateral Preferences

Conflicting evidence exists concerning the possible role of birth stress in the etiology of left-sided lateral preferences. In order to clarify this issue, associations among lateral preferences of hand, eye, and foot and eight indices of prenatal and perinatal stress were examined in the present study on a sample of 987 boys and girls who participated in the Philadelphia Collaborative Perinatal Project. Controls were instituted for some of the methodological and measurement problems encountered in past birth stress and laterality research. Results showed that subjects with different lateral preferences did not differ significantly in their distributions of all but one birth stress items. Hence, there was no substantial evidence for a link between birth stress and left-sided preferences. Alternative hypotheses for the etiology of left-sidedness should therefore be explored.

Victim, Offender, and Situational Characteristics of Violent Crime

The purpose of this study was to assess the differences between one-time offenders and repeat offenders according to select victim, offender, and situational characteristics associated with the first victim-related offense. A second purpose was to determine which characteristics were the strongest predictors of repeat offense status with and without a victim. The sample consisted of sixty black male juvenile delinquents whose offense histories were analyzed for ages ten through seventeen. It was expected that repeat offenders would have more disadvantaged personal and background characteristics than one-time offenders and that these characteristics would be relatively strong predictors of a subsequent offense. Results of the present study partly supported these expectations. Repeat offenders showed relatively greater evidence of disadvantage, although other factors also characterized the nature of their first victim-related offense. For example, the strongest predictors of repeat offense status were those factors related to type of offense and personal attributes of the offender, such as the offender’s low verbal abilities. In contrast, demographic characteristics of the victim, the type of victim-offender relationship, and other situational components of the offense, such as the presence of a weapon, were not found to be significant. In general, then, the cognitive attributes of the offender, and not characteristics of the situation or the victim, predominate when subsequent offense behavior involves at least one offense with a victim. Evidence that the personal characteristics of the offender predict more strongly subsequent offense behavior relative to some characteristics of the offense suggests that situational dynamics in certain offenses may not be of overriding importance. Therefore future victimology research should include as factors the personal attributes of all parties involved in an offense to assess more accurately the contribution of victim and situational components to repeat offense behavior.

Neuropsychological and Early Environmental Correlates of Sex Differences in Crime

Results of recent research suggest that longitudinal influences on sex differences in verbal and spatial abilities, and delinquent behavior, may be similar. The present study examined biological, environmental, and psychological variables collected from birth through age 17 on a sample of subjects who participated in the Philadelphia Collaborative Perinatal Project (CPP). Findings supported in part past research suggesting that environmental relationships with intellectual ability and delinquency are strongest for males, whereas biological relationships are somewhat more important for females. Socioeconomic factors were among the strongest predictors of delinquency for both sexes, however. In turn, biological and environmental influences on verbal and spatial abilities and their relationships with later achievement were different between the sexes. Results are discussed in terms of possible sex differences in the development of the left and right cerebral hemispheres, as well as in the vulnerability to environmental influences.

Early Cognitive Functioning: Sex and Race Differences

Six scales of early cognitive functioning were administered at three times (eight months, four and seven years) to 3013 black and white, male and female children. Hypotheses addressed the nature and extent of longitudinal sex differences in cognitive abilities among racial groups varying in physical maturation. Controlling for selected socioeconomic influences, a slight sex by race interaction was found at four and seven years. Generally, white females scored somewhat lower on cognitive tests than white males, whereas black females scored equivalently or somewhat higher than black males. Test score differences among the four sex and race groups were more apparent in seven-year spatial abilities relative to verbal abilities. Findings are discussed in terms of possible maturational and environmental influences on cognitive abilities among different sex and race groups.

Psychological Factors for the Black Defendant in a Jury Trial

Although there is considerable literature and research on jury selection techniques, discrimination against minorities in court, disparity in sentencing, and so forth, little has been done by way of examining the defendants impact on jurors or the effect of jury composition and the attitudes of jury members on the final verdict. Less research has focused on these topics with reference to the influences that minority defendants or minority jurors may have on decision-making. Thus, it is necessary to offer hypotheses regarding the nature of the minority defendants and/ or jurors influences based upon the dearth of data available and several appropriate theories. The following three theories will be offered as a framework for the arguments presented in this article, and as a means of establishing the components of a fair jury trial: