Jan. 6 Riot and the Fallacy of Individual Intent in Western Law

Intent. Some criminal statutes (e.g., first-degree murder, conspiracy or racketeering) require juries to establish the individual's intent beyond a reasonable doubt to convict a defendant.¹ This awkward merger of psychology and law still drives me batsh*t crazy as a social scientist.

And it leads to pretty amusing conversations in court. Prosecutors parse…