Free Will, Determinism and Moral Responsibility. Law Essay

On October 25, 1994, Susan Smith contacted law enforcement authorities in South Carolina to report that an African American man had hijacked her car and drove away with her two sons. The later trial revealed that Smith (who was divorced) had fallen in love with a man who did not want a “ready-made family” and that he had intentions of ending the relationship for that reason. Smith confessed to having strapped her two children in their car seats and rolling her car into a lake. The children both drowned. She was described as deeply depressed, with a history of significant mental health issues—including at least two previous suicide attempts. Her father had committed suicide when Susan was six years old, and she had been repeatedly sexually molested by her later stepfather (who admitted as much). Though jurors were quick to find her guilty on two counts of murder, the information about her troubled (and troubling) past likely had much to do with her being sentenced to life in prison rather than death.
In a similar and also widely publicized case in 2001, Andrea Yates drowned her five children in a bathtub in her home. Andrea had a history of serious psychiatric impairment, including major depression with psychotic features (e.g., hearing voices, thinking people were out to get her). Experts would argue that her thinking was characterized by an inability to differentiate what was real from what was not. She had had severe postpartum depression after the birth of her fourth child, and again after the birth of her fifth. Psychiatric examinations revealed that Andrea was under the delusion that Satan was inside of her and that drowning her children would destroy Satan.
Both cases raise crucial questions about free will and moral responsibility. Though different in important respects (e.g., motive), each illustrates the way in which morality and our evaluations of moral responsibility rest upon our ideas about the extent to which people are free to make the choices they make.
*ANSWER THESE FOUR QUESTIONS THOROUGHLY
1.) Were the actions of Susan Smith and/or Andrea Yates freely chosen? Why?
2.) Were they influenced or even caused by forces beyond their control? If so, to what extent should the influence of those forces factor into our consideration of their moral responsibility?
3.) Even if responsible, are there circumstances surrounding their actions that might warrant leniency in legal sentencing?
4.) Psychiatric treatment as opposed to incarceration in prison or capital punishment?