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what to be aware of when divorcing your spouse
The Link Between Dementia And Criminal Activity
Joy Johnson
Dementia is a condition that affects millions of Americans, and unfortunately, many of these patients will commit a crime due to their condition. Understanding the ways that dementia leads to crime can help you understand what to do if your loved one gets into trouble with the law.
Dementia Can Lead to Petty Crimes
Multiple studies have shown that crime rates in the elderly increase when they suffer from dementia. In fact, a study by the Alzheimer's Association found that 37% of people with frontotemporal dementia committed some form of criminal behavior. Most of these crimes were fairly small, such as theft and traffic violations, but there were several cases of severe violence.
Alzheimer's patients committed crime at a much lower rate: just 8%. That's because that disease rarely changes a person's personality or destroys their impulse control. The crimes committed by Alzheimer's patients were generally traffic offenses.
Issues with Impulse Control
A lack of impulse control is the major reason that petty crime rates rise in dementia patients with little to no criminal history. People with dementia often experience a full personality shift and begin to lose their inhibitions and impulse control.
As a result, they may act out with inappropriate behaviors, such as inappropriate touching, public urination, overeating, restlessness, irritability, and aggressiveness. Suddenly, people who would never have raised their voice in anger are shouting and screaming at the lightest provocation.
And people who formerly followed the law to the letter suddenly find themselves pocketing candy bars, getting into fist fights, and purposefully driving erratically and dangerously.
Legal Responsibilities
The legalities surrounding people with dementia are slippery. After all, if a person isn't in basic control of their action, can they be charged with a crime? Generally speaking, people with dementia can be charged for crimes they have committed, but many cases are often dropped before they are tried.
For example, a 72-year-old Florida man named Felix Freed was charged with first degree murder after the brutal suffocation of his friend, 90-year-old Bess Kleinman. Freed and Kleinman were very close at the time of the murder. Freed, in very advanced stages of dementia, gave no explanation for his actions.
Although the case was eventually dropped, it took almost three years for this to happen. During that time Freed spent about a year in county jail and two in an insane asylum.
If your loved ones committed a crime while suffering from dementia, call an elder law expert immediately. They can help build a defense and protect their rights.
For more information, contact Cormac McEnery or a similar legal professional.
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