Veeha Verma
Remedial Blog Post for Quiz 11
Excessive
alcohol consumption, to the extent where individuals start experiencing
blackouts, is certainly not a new phenomenon. Often used as an excuse for
several wayward behaviours, “liquid courage” has lain at the heart of several
inexplicable situations. While some of these instances are truly harmless in
nature, many criminal activities take place under the influence as well. The
plead often becomes that the accused were unaware of their actions due to their
intoxicated state. So does alcohol act as an amnesia inducing substance,
leading their consumers to having no recollection of their own actions? Or, as
is increasingly being speculated, is it used as a convenient escape, an excuse
for otherwise criminal behaviour?
A
blackout
may be understood as, “A phenomenon caused by the intake of any substance or
medication in which short term and long term memory creation is impaired,
therefore causing a complete inability to recall the past”. There is no way to
overstate the role that alcohol plays in cultures around the world, especially
college culture. Alcohol consumption is seen as not only a rite of passage for
all college students, but also some kind of relief from work and
responsibility. However, due to the unrestricted nature in which it is consumed
the frequency of blackouts has increased. Unfortunately, this has also led to
people refraining from taking responsibility for their actions while
intoxicated, claiming they have no memory of the events that took place.
Alcohol is known for worsening memory in general, as well as word and object
association. This has led to substantiation to the claim that people had no
control over their actions while intoxicated. However, where do we draw the
line? If blackouts and the actions of individuals experiencing them are not the
consumer’s fault, then is the rate of alcohol consumption? How does the law
create an allowance for blackout cases and should they in the first place?
The
DSM-IV-TR recognizes organic amnesia and psychogenic amnesia, with three possible diagnostic
criteria. The second criterion is that of substance induced amnesia, where
blackouts would fall. Recent studies showing the surprising number of blackouts
associated with social drinking, statistics showed that 51% of American college
students had experienced at least one blackout in their lives. Alcohol abuse is
highly related to criminal activities and assaults. At the same time amnesia is
implicated in 40-70% homicidal cases. When the two come together in homicidal
cases, psychiatrists find themselves heavily compromised on passing any kind of
judgement. However, in reality there is no way to test the truth of the claims
regarding alcohol-induced amnesia. So how does this affect criminal testimony?
Most statutes in the United States of America do not allow for voluntary
intoxication to justify any kind of criminal activity. Further, as even
remembering a blackout and other related memories is highly subjective, the
same cannot be used to testify.
The
fact that such a question should exist is surprising in the first place. A loss
of memory in the aftermath of an event in no way implies that the person was
not in control of their actions or responsible for them. To see a similar
criminal framework, we can refer to the Wilson
vs. U.S case that took place in 1968.
When the question of his competence was raised in court, the trial court
struggled to hold him accountable due to his permanent retrograde amnesia from
a car accident. However, they eventually found him guilty by proving his
competence. His capacity to understand and infer details (in the example they
used, regarding the case) by relying on alternative sources of information. The
U.S court of appeals found that this definition of competence matched the Dusky Standard (the case used to
determine competence). Hence, since the expression of blackout presents itself
in a similar fashion, it is believed that alcohol blackout cases can be treated
according to this standard. The allowance from responsibility and the freedom
for persecution is not valid for alcohol induced blackout states.
Bibliography:
(1) Commentary: Alcoholic blackout
and allegation of amnesia during criminal acts. Available from:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/8027567_Commentary_Alcoholic_blackout_and_allegation_of_amnesia_during_criminal_acts
[accessed May 04 2018].
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