A report on the criminal responsibility of offenders with intellectual developmental disorders

Abstract

Intellectual Developmental Disorder (IDD) encompasses deficits in intellectual and adaptive functioning across various domains with heterogeneous clinical manifestations and different behavioral impacts. Functional impairments are now more important in the diagnostic criteria for DSM than IQ scores, which indicates a greater understanding of IDD. Forensic psychiatry faces challenges when it comes to assessing the criminal responsibility of a defendant with IDD, especially in cases where the alterations may be mild and heterogeneous but have a strong impact on criminal behavior. We present two notable cases of individuals with mild intellectual disability who committed various crimes, which emphasizes the complexities of forensic evaluations in this context. A 22yearold man is charged with computer fraud in Case 1. The man's behavior, characterized by organized fraud driven by frustration and social isolation, shows significant deficits in adaptive functioning and social interactions. Case 2 is
about a man who was charged with stalking and displayed impulsive and disorganized behavior, which was related to deficits in social cognition and persecutory delusional ideas. We used the Defendant Insanity Assessment Support Scale to retrospectively analyze the cases and assess key dimensions of criminal responsibility, such as knowledge of the crime, appreciation of its nature, reasoning, and control over behavior. The evidence suggests that even minor intellectual impairments can significantly impact overall functioning and criminal behavior, requiring thorough evaluations incorporating medical, criminological, and functional perspectives.