The construction of legal truth: evidence, interpretations and quarrels over the administration of incompetence. The court case of "The serial shooter"

Abstract

One of the responsibilities of the Criminal Procedure is to determine whether certain events have occurred or not, in what terms and under what circumstances. Thus, "evidence" is a knowledge factor whose main function is to establish "the truth about the facts." However, both, the defendant's guilt probability as well as the appreciation of his/her behavior are themselves processes of interpretation that require the judge's active and decisive attitude. From an anthropological perspective and, considering a case to be reflected on, the article focuses on the intervention of social, moral, ethical and ideological evaluations involved in criminal proceedings where the defendant's incompetence is discussed. It also purports to account for established influences and quarrels among the various legal speeches deployed in the development of the legal case.