Sociology Case Study: Brandon, FASD, and Legal Implications

This case study analyzes the case of Brandon, an individual suspected of having Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), and explores the legal and ethical implications of his actions. The assignment addresses whether Brandon should undergo an FASD assessment, who should bear the cost, and if a confirmed diagnosis should affect his sentencing. It further examines whether individuals with FASD should be held to the same legal standards as those without the disorder, and if the severity of the crime influences these considerations. The author also explores how personal connections to Brandon might alter perspectives on legal and ethical questions. The analysis incorporates relevant course materials and the student's own insights to provide a comprehensive understanding of the complexities surrounding FASD and the criminal justice system, including media's role and supportive interventions.

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Student’s Name
Institute
Course code and name
Professor
Date

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Answer 1
FASD assessment for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder test is a specific test used to
determine the effects of alcohol degradation in the womb of the mother at the later stages of
the child’s life. It can be conducted on individuals of all age but is generally a multi-
component and complex process which is performed upon teenage children whose mother
have established extensive drinking habit during pregnancy. As analyzed in the case of
Brandon, his mother had been an impulsive alcohol consumer during the period when she
was pregnant with Brandon which indicates the probable development of FASD symptoms in
him (Hoyme, Kalberg & May 2019). His facial features are slightly distorted, he has a shorter
body structure and with 4 body coordination and hyperactive behavioral patterns. These are
all significant symptoms of FASD and hence Brandon should be subjected to being accessed
by the FASD evaluation test. According to me, the prices of the test being high should be
borne by the government of the nation since as a citizen of the nation it becomes the
fundamental right of Brandon to gain access to proper medical treatment under governmental
surveillance.
Answer 2
As stated by Hoyme, Kalberg & May (2019), the conditioning of charges and
punishment of the subject depends a lot on the history of the subject. The medical analysis,
the psychological conditions, and consequences determine the fate of the crime. Even though
murder or attempt to murder cannot be justified by any medical or personal cause, still the
judiciary is bound to take actions, while considering all other facts. The subject here is seen
to commit a crime without understanding or without prior intention to commit a crime. There
were no prior precautions taken by anyone to support and protect the subject here (Sokol,
2018). This makes it difficult for Brandon to identify his problem and take decisions
accordingly. Considering that he has developed FASD, due to alcohol consumption by his

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mother during the pregnancy period, it can be stated that his behavior is directly affected by
his disorder which causes him to be psychologically derailed and hyperactive. The symptoms
of FASD are critically associated with how he behaves and hence his murdering tendency
could be attested to his disorder which could significantly affect the sentence that is being
provided to him in the court. If he has FASD, as per the view of Sokol (2018), the sentence
should be relieved from life imprisonment or death to proper medical counseling under the
supervision of the government in a rehab center.
Answer 3
No, anyone who does not have FASD and has committed a similar crime as Brandon
who has FASD disorder should not be subjected to the same legal sentencing and legal
standards. It is because individuals who do not have FASD have normal psychological
behavioral patterns and not what is hyperactive and impulsive as individuals with FASD. As
a result, the crime that they commit is due to the propulsion of criminal intention that has
been planned out previously (Mukherjee et al., 2019). As analyzed in the case of Brandon,
his mother had been an impulsive alcohol consumer during the period when she was pregnant
with Brandon which indicates the probable development of FASD symptoms in him. His
facial features are slightly distorted, he has a shorter body structure and with 4 body
coordination and hyperactive behavioral patterns.
These are all significant symptoms of FASD and hence Brandon should be subjected
to being accessed by the FASD evaluation test. On the other, individuals such as Brandon
who has FASD, how to develop critical derailment of their psychological behavior and are
impulsive when they get angry or disturbed. According to Mukherjee et al. (2019), this
promotes them to commit a crime without their understanding or without prior intention to
commit a crime. Hence, individuals who have psychological derailment problems and have
committed a crime due to their psychological disorders as in the case of Brandon must be

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assessed under different legal standards as individuals who are psychologically normal and
do not have any disorders.
Answer 4
In the case where the crime was significantly less severe as compared to the crime
committed by Brandon, I could state that the scenarios explained in answer number 2 and
answer number 3 should remain the same. This is because, according to me, the behavior
propelled by individuals with psychological disorders is generally not associated with their
prior intention to commit the crime, whether the crime is trivial or the crime is severe. Hence,
as mentioned by Kalberg et al. (2017), no matter what the intensity of the crime, the legal
standard for psychological disorders such as FASD should be concentrated towards helping
the individual to cure their II diseases or disorders through proper psychological screening
and treatment procedures in rehab centers under governmental surveillance. Moreover,
individuals who do not have psychological disorders must be sentenced by the intensity of the
crime because they had the intention of doing the crime and did not commit the crime under
any psychological influences (Kalberg et al., 2017).
If I was related to Brandon, I would be significantly sympathetic towards his
psychological trauma and behavior and could considerably understand why he was prepared
to adhere to such a condensed crime. However, the criminal offense should not be excused
under any circumstances and hence he should receive proper legal sentence considering his
hyperactive condition and mental state and the junction when he committed the crime. It is
important to me that I have a piece of full knowledge about his prior lifestyle, physical and
mental status before I had to favor for or against him. As per the view of Brown et al. (2017),
the understanding of his mental illness should not excuse him from any legal punishment.
However, there should be special steps taken for him and people like him by the government

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for proper screening so that do not commit this kind of crime in the first place. And also, once
proved guilty, they should be treated in various facilities to have a better life after that.
Answer 5
Several supportive interventions could have been provided to Brandon before the
incident to stop him from committing the crime that he was prepared to commit due to his
impulsive and hyperactive psychological behavior (Brown et al., 2017). He should have been
exposed to do an extensive assessment of his mental behavior considering his intensive
symptoms which directly indicates his degraded psychological conditions. He should have
been provided with proper medical care and counseling facilities. If he was supported by his
family and his mother and was provided with proper medical treatment with proper
counseling he could have been restored to proper psychological conditions and could have
been prevented from committing the grave crime of murdering someone. Moreover, he
should have been supported by his friends and not bullet when he was a child due to his
physical appearance due to his psychological problems. As stated by Peadon, Elliott &
Thomas (2017), another supportive implementation that could have been effective to restore
his psychological conditions and prevent him from committing the grave crime of murdering
someone is that he could have been given access to proper organized schedule or protein
which provides him with adequate educational, entertainment and social infrastructure.
Answer 6
Media coverage often produces differential opinions among the population in cases
such as the criminal case of Brandon. The media coverage of cases such as Brandon's
criminal offense does not provide sufficient information regarding the case and significantly
alters the opinion of the public with every publishing article (Wozniak et al., 2017). These
media coverage option provides only critical information that day considered to be likely to
influence the opinions of the public and slowly integrate the information into the mental

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coordinated system of the public it takes only one advertisement, one article a done comment
to completely change the mind of the public about an incident, especially tragic like this. In
this case, the media has the power to shape the narrative. If shown clearly, the media can
make people understand the psychology of Brandon and his intentions. Not only this would
create a different approach of the general people towards the case, but people will be more
aware of what is happening all around.
As per the view of Wozniak et al. (2017), people will have a better understanding of
why a person does what he does and also sometimes, they have no idea what they are doing.
Brandon’s case makes it easier for the general public to understand psychology. It is not
simple for someone to sympathize with a criminal but in this case, it is very important to
understand why the legal steps were different for this criminal case. Considering the
information that is being provided public creates their own opinions without knowing the
vital information about the critical conditions of the psychological criminals who have
committed the crime or develop a sense of sympathy towards the psychological criminal
which significantly affects the sentencing of the criminal.

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Reference
Brown, J., Harr, D., Morgan, S., Varga, S., & Fenrich, A. (2017). Fetal Alcohol Spectrum
Disorder (FASD): A call on mental health treatment professionals to become
informed. J. Psychol. Psychiatry, 1, 1-3.
Hoyme, H. E., Kalberg, W. O., & May, P. A. (2019). Re: Non-specific FASD diagnostic
criteria lead to over-diagnosis.
Kalberg, W. O., Marais, A. S., De Vries, M. M., Seedat, S., Parry, C., & May, P. A. (2017).
Neuropsychological aspects of prevention and intervention for FASD in South
Africa. Journal of Pediatric Neuropsychology, 3(1), 68-78.
Mukherjee, R. A., Cook, P. A., Norgate, S. H., & Price, A. D. (2019). Neurodevelopmental
outcomes in individuals with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) with and
without exposure to neglect: clinical cohort data from a national FASD diagnostic
clinic. Alcohol, 76, 23-28.
Peadon, E., Elliott, E. J., & Thomas, D. E. (2017). Pharmacological interventions for ADHD
symptoms in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). The Cochrane
database of systematic reviews, 2017(1).
Sokol, R. J. (2018). A Current Evaluation of the Economic Costs for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum
Disorder (FASD): A Comment on the Systematic Review by Greenmeyer et
al. Journal of addiction medicine, 12(6), 426-427.
Wozniak, J. R., Mueller, B. A., Mattson, S. N., Coles, C. D., Kable, J. A., Jones, K. L., ... &
Cifasd. (2017). Functional connectivity abnormalities and associated cognitive
deficits in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Brain imaging and
behavior, 11(5), 1432-1445.