Anatomy of Violence

Adrian Raine, a neurocriminologist, sets out to explain what biology can tell us about why some people commit violent crime and whether that violence can be treated. The book gathers recent scientific research into the origins and nature of criminal behavior, and raises the possibility that some criminals are born rather than made.

Raine's central argument concerns the brain. Impairments in the areas that govern fear, decision-making and empathy can raise the likelihood of criminal behavior. He turns to what scans and studies reveal about the brains of murderers, psychopaths and serial killers, and applies the findings to a series of case studies of famous criminals from history.

The book does not settle on a single cause. Upbringing was once thought to explain everything, and attention later swung to genetics. Raine insists that anti-social behavior is complex and grows from the interaction between genes and the biological and social environment in which a person is raised. He also points to strong statistical links between certain biological markers, early behavioral warning signs and later crime.

The last part turns to the moral and legal questions the science raises. It forces a decision on whether people with little or no control over their behavior should be condemned and punished. It also asks whether society should act in advance against those with a strong biological predisposition to dangerous crime. This is non-fiction for general readers interested in criminal justice, neuroscience and the ethics of punishment.