Suppose Stephen Mobley, who was convicted and executed for the murder of John Collins, carried the variant of the
MAOA gene that has been associated with violent behavior. If you were on the jury that convicted and sentenced
Mobley, would this information have influenced your view of his guilt or innocence? Would it have changed your
opinion of his sentence? Why or why not? What will be an ideal response?
Answers will vary.
Background:At
Mobley’s trial, a motion was filed seeking funds to hire expert witnesses to assess whether
Mobley had a mutation in a gene called MAOA that might have been a genetic basis for his
violent and impulsive behavior. This request was partly based on a study showing that
members of a Dutch family with a history of violent behavior carried a specific MAOA
mutation. The court denied the motion on the basis that there was not sufficient evidence to
scientifically verify a link between the gene to violent behavior. Mobley was found guilty of
murder and other charges and was executed by lethal injection in 2005.
Subsequent research showed that a variation in the promoter region of the MAOA gene (not
the mutation identified in the Dutch study) combined with a history of childhood
mistreatment was significantly correlated with violent antisocial behavior in affected males.
This study concluded that a combination of genotype and environmental factors can increase
an individual’s risk for violent behavior. The results of this work were validated by others
and illustrate the connections among a single gene, environmental factors, the function of
cells in the nervous system, and behavior. What if Stephen Mobley carried this mutation?
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