Pathology of Favorable Legal Protection of Mentally Retarded Victims in the Iranian Penal System (with Approach to International Documents and US Law)

Mentally handicapped victims are considered vulnerable groups in society due to the limitations caused by their mental and psychological disabilities, And the special attention of the criminal legislature, in order to place them under the banner of formal and substantive laws, is undeniable, and this is one of the pathological criteria for supporting this group in international documents. The purpose of this article is to pathologically explain the desirable legal protection of mentally retarded victims in the Iranian penal system by looking at international documents and American law.

This research is of theoretical type and the research method is descriptive-analytical and the method of data collection is library and has been done by referring to documents, books and articles.

Ethical Considerations:

 In order to organize this research, while observing the authenticity of the texts, honesty and fidelity have been observed.

The Iranian legislature, and specifically the criminal legislature, has not explicitly paid special attention to the mentally handicapped as special victims in need of protection, except in rare and scattered cases of criminalization and aggravation of punishment, However, in substantive and formal law, it has implicitly adopted its protectionist policies towards this vulnerable group.

Examining US law, it can be seen that the US legislature has been able to extend the rights of disabled victims to some extent by appointing sponsoring institutions and organizations through the protection of umbrellas.