Damaged Brains and the Death Penalty: “Almost without exception, Dr. Lewis has

found in evaluating dozens of death-row

inmates, they have damaged brains. Most

were also the victims of vicious batterings

and often sexual abuse as children. Psychotic symptoms, especially

paranoia, are common.

A professor of psychiatry at New York University, Dr. Lewis is among a

handful of researchers who are rethinking the etiology of violence. Her

studies focus on some of the most violent criminals; she has interviewed

150 to 200 murderers, sorting through their medical histories and, as

much as it can be done, their brains.” New York Times