Eagleman, David. “The Brain on Trial.” The Atlantic. The Atlantic Monthly Group, July/August 2011. Web. 7 Oct. 2011
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In David Eagleman’s article “The Brain on Trial,” he intelligently points out that some criminal acts are due to brain tumors and other mental turmoil that affects the brain. David continuously reassures the readers that he is not against the justice system, but that there are different ways to look at punishments for criminals. He explains brain tumors have immense effects on behavior and some people cannot control them. A man named Charles Whitman, who was a former marine, Eagle Scout, and studied architectural engineering, murdered his mother and wife, went on a shooting spree, and then shot himself. Charles typed a suicide note the day before the incident and confessed to having irrational and unusual thoughts, but he knew that he should be a reasonable and intelligent young man. The medical examiners found a tumor festering in his brain the diameter of a nickel. David contributes numerous other stories explaining how tumors, mental illnesses, how you were raised, and your basic genetics can affect your behavior without you having any control over it.
David Eagleman’s point of view is significant to everyone because it gives a scientific look on how criminals should be tried and punished. A lot of people see pedophiles as sick, horrible people but they do not take time to look at the person’s mental state. Criminals who have tumors, behavioral and mental problems should not go to jail, but into a rehabilitation center for actual help. Some people who do criminal acts do not even remember doing these things and therefore should get special help for society and their own future. David’s point of view is not to make criminals seem innocent, but to give a scientific outlook on why they do what they do. He explains that jails are overcrowded with people that need special help so they can better themselves and be sure to not do their act again. In some cases, pedophiles and shoplifters only do these acts because of some mental deformity. He gives us these stories, testimonies, and examples to educate an uneducated society about newly found scientific procedures. In society today, people are quick to judge someone who does a heinous act because that is all they know. David shines a light on a scientific breakthrough so society can fairly judge someone, not on their act but their mental state.
