NCJ Number
72553
Journal
Beitraege zur Gerichtlichen Medizin Volume: 31 Dated: (1973) Pages: 79-86
Date Published
1973
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Results of a study of offenses committed by epileptics in the Federal Republic of Germany are presented in this article.
Abstract
The estimated number of epileptics in the country is 300,000 or 0.3 to 0.5 percent of the population. Traffic and criminal offenses committed over a period of 14 years by 546 patients in the University of Goettingen's mental hospital were computed and compared to offenses committed by the general population. The number of court sentences passed on this group per year lay approximately one and one-half times above that of the general population. Most of the offenses were committed by a group that had experienced personality changes and that included patients suffering from periodic dysphoria, neurotic behavioral patterns, and alcohol abuse. No one offense was found to be specific to the epileptics. Contrary to previous literature on the subject, neither the percentage of sexual offenses nor that of offenses involving acts of aggression was higher among epileptics than in the general population. Furthermore, no specific type of epilepsy, including temporal lobe epilepsy, showed a predisposition to any particular crime. Epileptics committed fewer traffic offenses than did members of the general population. However, of the offenses studied, every second incident involved bodily injury, and epileptics with either brain damage or neurosis committed 80 percent of these offenses. About one-third took place before the first signs of an approaching seizure were noticed. One-half of the offenders did not possess a driver's license, and 50 percent of those who did have licenses had obtained them after the disease had manifested itself. Finally, the courts seldom viewed epilepsy as a reason for passing less severe sentences. Only 5.6 percent of the offenders were partially or fully exculpated. Offenders who were imprisoned seldom received adequate medical care so that their conditions worsened and their tendencies towards criminal behavior increased. Related studies are reviewed. Data tables and a reference list (42 entries) are included. (Author abstract modified.) --in German.