MENTAL INSTABILITIES & ACCOUNTABILITY: A CONTEXTUAL EXAMINATION OF AN ALCOHOL WITHDRAWAL-INDUCED CRIME

Breaking a moral rule in an autonomous state implies a deliberate and intentional cogitation vis-a-vis the given act. This constitutes the moral fabric of imposing responsibility and accountability. Legal liability and culpability rests on a similar logic. However, pathological and non-pathological conditions, which create mental instabilities, challenge the notion of autonomous capacity and, consequently, nuance the notion of accountability for violations of civil or legal statutes under such states. On this note, this essay explores the neuroethical implications of crimes committed in the context of mental instabilities. Employing a hypothetical case involving battery under the influence of alcohol-withdrawal symptoms, the paper offers a neuroethical polemic for legal exculpation as well as how this warrants some changes in relation to the concept of mens rea.