Emil Kraepelin and forensic psychiatry.
Kraepelin's main positions in forensic psychiatry, that are understandable only in the context of his underlying psychiatric and, especially, nosological theory, are the following: (1) Criminal behavior, especially if repeatedly shown by the same individual, should be regarded as (or, in the strongest version possible, is) mental illness; (2) above all, this viewpoint is due to Kraepelin's broad acceptance of degeneration theory in general, whereas he rejected simplifying concepts like Lombroso's early hypothesis of clinically observable "stigmata degenerations"; (3) Kraepelin voted for the acceptance of diminished responsibility to provide a more differentiated spectrum for the psychiatric expert and the judge; (4) because delinquency, in his view, was closely linked with mental illness, which should be treated instead of (only) being punished, he strictly objected to the death penalty; and (5) he suggested significantly increasing psychiatry's influence on decisions regarding the kind and length of imprisonment.
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Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technical University of Aachen (RWTH), Germany.
D003415:Crime / Q000266:history; D005555:Forensic Psychiatry / Q000266:history*; D005858:Germany; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D010684:Philosophy / Q000266:history