Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) affects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, leading to personality changes, language impairments, and behavioral disturbances, including impulsivity and disinhibition. Assessing responsibility and recidivism risk in forensic evaluations is challenging due to the evolving nature of FTD. Despite limited literature, we present a case of a 45-year-old man with no prior legal or medical history, who committed criminal acts due to behavioral changes linked to the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). Initial assessment found him irresponsible, with a non-evaluable risk of recidivism. Subsequent evaluation showed a low recidivism risk based on clinical evolution. We discuss these findings considering existing literature and Swiss jurisprudence.

UNASSIGNED: There is a consensus hidden in the criminal legislation of many countries that the criminal responsibility capacity of juvenile offenders is not significantly different from that of their peers. The purpose of this paper was to test this hypothesis. The research objects of this paper were 187 juvenile offenders in J Province, China, who are under detention measures, and 2,449 students from junior high school, senior high school and university in S Province as comparison objects. We subjected the gathered materials to independent-samples t-tests and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).
UNASSIGNED: (1) The self-control ability (109.30, 123.59) and empathy ability (63.86, 72.45) of juvenile offenders were significantly different from those of ordinary minors, but the difference of dialectical thinking ability was not statistically significant; (2) Except for the influence of mother\'s education level and family income on dialectical thinking ability, the other variables had no statistical significance on the three kinds of ability. Therefore, it was suggested that the correction plan and means for juvenile offenders should focus on the improvement of self-control ability and empathy ability.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the criminal, sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, paraphilic behaviors, sexual attitudes, gender perceptions, and rape-related beliefs of people assessed for criminal liability for rape against adults and children.
METHODS: The study compared 40 people investigated for criminal liability for rape against an adult (RAA) with 40 individuals investigated for criminal liability for crime of rape against a child (RAC), and 43 age, sex and education matched individuals without any sexual crime history using the Structured Clinical Interview form for DSM-5 disorders, Hendrick Brief Sexual Attitude Scale, Gender Perception Scale, Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale, and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11.
RESULTS: All participants were male. There was no difference between the groups in terms of lifelong or existing psychiatric diseases. All participants had full criminal responsibility during the crime. No participant in any group was diagnosed with a paraphilic disorder. It was determined that people in both RAC and RAA groups tended to use sexuality as a tool, paid less attention to birth control methods, had a far less egalitarian perception of gender, and their myths about rape were significantly higher compared to the control group. The control group was much more impulsive than the sex offenders.
CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that the act of sexual assault should not be explained only by impulsivity or psychiatric disorders, and that gender perception and sexual myths may also be influential. The fact that all individuals had full criminal responsibility emphasizes the need for more research on the social and cultural origins of sexual violence.

UNASSIGNED: There are contradictory research findings regarding whether individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are more or less likely to commit crimes. The aims of the current study were to: (1) Describe psychiatric and crime-related characteristics of a large group of offenders with ASD who had undergone a Forensic Psychiatric Investigation (FPI). (2) Identify clinical subgroups among this group of offenders. (3) Investigate associations between the identified clinical subgroups and (a) psychiatric comorbidity (b) types of crimes and (c) criminal responsibility.
UNASSIGNED: The study cohort consists of all subjects (n = 831) who received an ASD-diagnosis at an FPI between 2002 and 2018 in Sweden. Descriptive and clinical, as well as crime related variables were obtained from the FPIs. Non-parametric (Pearson χ2, Fisher\'s exact and Mann-Whitney U-test) inferential statistics were used for analyses of between-group differences and effect sizes were reported. A Latent Class Analysis was used to identify homogeneous subgroups (or classes) from categorical characteristics.
UNASSIGNED: The cohort consisted of 708 men and 123 women, aged 18 to 74 yrs. Two-thirds (66.7%) of the cohort had at least one other psychiatric diagnosis, the most prevalent was substance use disorder (SUD). A severe mental disorder, equivalent to lack of criminal responsibility, was most often reported among offenders with a comorbid diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum disorder. The most common type of crime was violent crime. Three person-oriented clinical subgroups were identified; (1) ASD with few other diagnoses; (2) ASD and very high levels of SUDs, plus moderate levels of other externalizing disorders and psychotic psychopathology and (3) ASD and moderate to high levels of personality disorders (other than ASPD) and SUDs.
UNASSIGNED: Our results highlight the importance of all parts of the CJS to be prepared to handle offenders with ASD, often with high levels of additional psychiatric problems. Traditional approaches in treatment or other psychosocial interventions for ASD may need to be adapted to at least three general clinical profiles- one with mainly neurodevelopmental problems, one with a spectrum of externalizing problems and one with complex personality related difficulties.

UNASSIGNED: To avoid public health risks, all governments ensure monitoring and treatment of mentally ill persons if they offend and assess their level of criminal responsibility. The Criminal Procedure Law of the People\'s Republic of China (2013) instituted special procedures. However, there are few articles in English which explain the implementation of mandatory treatment procedures in China.
UNASSIGNED: We collected 5,262 qualified documents from 2013 to 2021 from the China Judgments Documents Online. We analyzed social demographic characteristics, trial-related information as well as the mandatory treatment-related content, to investigate the mandatory treatment of China\'s mentally ill offenders without criminal responsibility, from 2013 to 2021. Simple descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were used to compare differences among several types of documents.
UNASSIGNED: There was an overall change trend of the number of documents: increasing year by year from 2013 to 2019 after the implementation of the new law, but with sharp decrease in 2020 and 2021 during covid-19 pandemic. From 2013 to 2021, a total of 3,854 people had applications made for mandatory treatment, of whom 3,747 (97.2%) were given mandatory treatment, 107 (2.8%) had applications rejected. \"Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders\" was the most common diagnosis in both groups and all offenders receiving mandatory treatment (3,747, 100.0%) were considered to have no criminal responsibility. A total of 1,294 patients had applications made for relief of mandatory treatment, of whom 827 (63.9%) were subsequently approved for relief, 467 (36.1%) were rejected. A total of 118 patients had applications for relief two or more times, and 56 (47.5%) were finally relieved.
UNASSIGNED: Our study presents the Chinese model of a criminal mandatory treatment system to the international community which has been in operation since the implementation of the new law. Legislatory changes and covid-19 pandemic can have effect on the number of mandatory treatment cases. Patients, their close relatives and mandatory treatment institutions have the right to apply for relief from mandatory treatment, but the final decision in China is taken by the court.

The Doppelgänger phenomenon refers to the experience of a direct encounter with one\'s self, characteriswed by: (i) the perception of a figure with one\'s own identical physical features; or (ii) the apprehension that the perceived figure shares the same personality and identity. The Doppelgänger does not only look like the same person, it is his/her double. The perceptual element is usually a hallucination, although occasionally a false perception of an actual figure may be involved. This phenomenon has been described in individuals suffering from overwhelming fear, severe anxiety or intoxication, epilepsy, as well as in the sleep-wakefulness transition. It has also been reported in major psychoses. The fear of imminent death often precedes the Doppelgänger experience. This report presents the case of a 30-year-old man, Mr. Y, who was stabbed to death by Mr. X, his \"double\". The aggressor and his victim, although not related, were truly doubles; remarkably, they shared the same name and surname, age, professional activity and place of work. Moreover, they attended the same sports center but barely knew each other. The forensic psychiatric evaluations in Mr. X, subsequent to the crime committed, were suggestive of a psychotic condition. This case is unique in the scientific literature. In the most serious psychotic forms, the issue of the \"double\" calls into question not only the dissociative processes involved in the etiopathogenesis of the disorder, but also bio-psycho-social elements, as well as personal data in this case, which made the victim and the aggressor \"identical\". In the context of psychopathological functioning, the delusional mood (Wahnstimmung) that precedes the development of delirium is a sort of gateway to an impending psychotic illness, involving delusional awareness or mood (atmosphere). In psychosis, splitting is the main issue and this influence is seen as an evil, foreign, apocalyptic and unknown side no longer recognised as belonging to the self even in a physical sense. In such a situation, it is felt that the only way to survive is by suppressing one\'s double as a defense against disorganisation of the self.

The minimum age of criminal responsibility in Australia is 10 years. The topic of raising the age of criminal responsibility remains a fraught and challenging field of both study and thought. Despite overwhelming evidence to support an increase in the minimum age of criminal responsibility, there remains a resolute opposition in the majority of States in Australia that this age should be raised. However, the grounds for reconsidering the current position are indeed compelling. This paper expounds the persuasive arguments for raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility by examining the current scientific evidence and opinion. Considerations are explored and the relevant literature examined using the author\'s framework that decisions should be just, scientific, not racist, humane, cost-effective and generally not ludicrous. Principles for an alternative approach to criminalisation and for managing the harmful behaviour of children are then offered.

This article summarises arguments for abolishing the mental impairment defence, using the example of the defence in Victoria, taking a historical and comparative approach. It considers the defence in practice, its origins and stagnation in medieval and Victorian England, a better approach based on modern developments in the UK and Europe, its resistance to meaningful reform, and its failure to achieve its laudable, humane and principled aim of sparing vulnerable people with severe mental health problems from punishment. We conclude that the only way to actually achieve this aim is to abolish the mental impairment defence and replace it with an approach that allows for flexible mental health disposals for mentally disordered offenders based on clinical needs and, where necessary, the need for containment, incorporated in and aligned with mental health legislation, regardless of culpability, and with modern systems and services that bring Victoria out of the nineteenth century.

This article summarises the main arguments for the retention of the defence of mental impairment presented in an online debate that took place in August 2021. It canvases the justifications for the defence, rebuts human rights arguments for its abolition and outlines why there is a lack of viable alternatives. It concludes that advances in knowledge should lead to the reform of the defence rather than its abolition.

In recent years, it has become clear that expert opinion can be biased. It has been argued that forensic psychologists may also be susceptible to bias. In the present study, the vulnerability of forensic psychological evaluation of the suspect\'s mental health to the context effect (i.e. the influencing of the expert opinion by irrelevant information) was tested. Master students in forensic psychology were asked to interpret test scores of a suspect in a fictitious double murder case. Some participants received a version of the case in which the description of the murders was neutral. Others received a more explicit version. Whereas the explicitness should not affect the forensic psychological evaluation, it was found that participants in the latter condition seemed more concerned about the suspect\'s mental health than those in the former. It is concluded that training programmes in forensic psychological assessment should devote attention to bias.