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Crime and Parkinson's: The jury is out
Author(s) -
Santens P.,
De Letter M.,
Lees A.J.,
Krack P.,
van den Heuvel O.A.,
Bloem B.R.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
movement disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.352
H-Index - 198
eISSN - 1531-8257
pISSN - 0885-3185
DOI - 10.1002/mds.27436
Subject(s) - jury , medicine , university hospital , psychology , psychiatry , family medicine , political science , law
A recent murder trial in Belgium attracted widespread media attention and raised marked concerns within the Parkinson's community. On trial was a 55-year-old man with a 14-year history of Parkinson's disease (PD) who confessed to raping and then murdering 2 women. He had attempted to victimize 2 additional women in a similar way. His defense lawyers argued that pathological impulsivity caused by his dopaminergic treatment was responsible for his actions. Our aim here is to place this devastating case history in a broader perspective, highlighting the need to carefully judge a person's actions against the background of a highly complex neuropsychiatric disorder such as PD, its treatment and treatment-related side effects, substance abuse, and any premorbid character traits.