There is no more evidence for an independent "free will" above and beyond your flesh and blood nervous system than there is for the existence of fairies and unicorns. This does not mean that I think the concept of choice is irrelevant; even obviously deterministic systems like digital computers can be usefully described as making choices. So likewise can less-obviously-deterministic (though still made of and ruled by physical substance) human beings be said to choose. However, like any other organism, humans can be altered by forces not under their control.

One of the most obvious examples is the relationship between lead exposure and mental alteration. Exposure even to low lead levels in children correlates highly with reductions in IQ, short term memory, fine motor skills, and appropriate social interaction. It correlates with increased aggression and risk-taking. Children who are persistently exposed to lead are less able to do well in school, less able to compete in the job market once they grow up, and more likely to engage in crime and violence if they can't make it in normal society. Does this mean that we give a pass to carjackers if we find high lead levels in their bodies? No, but it does mean that trying to solve problems that need collective action by telling others "take personal responsibility" is an abdication of responsibility and a refusal to engage with reality.

Children aren't responsible for their own lead exposure. Even their parents generally aren't responsible. If you grow up in a middle class family America right now, you typically won't be exposed to much lead, due to no special action of your own or of your parents. If you grow up in low income family in America, you're more likely to be in old housing stock where exposure from lead paint dusts and chips is much more common, and to be located near an industrial facility like a smelter or battery recycling plant that emits airborne lead. If you were born in a Ghanaian or Chinese village where some residents make a living burning electronic trash to extract the metals, expect severe lead exposure along with mercury, cadmium, and a heady brew of carcinogenic combustion byproducts.

You don't even need exotic geography to be poisoned: just revisit the 19th century in the US or Great Britain. According to 1855 hearings before Parliament, adulteration of food, beverages, and medicines was endemic in Victorian Britain. For example, more than 85% of cayenne pepper examined on the market was diluted with various poisonous materials. The poisonous pigment red lead oxide was present in more than 45% of cayenne pepper, and in 30% of curry powders! Snuff was adulterated with lead oxide and lead chromate (two toxic metals for the price of one). Candy regularly contained arsenic, lead, and mercury compounds (and this was not even fraud -- there were no meddlesome laws against putting these colorful poisons in candy despite their known effects). In 1880 the Illinois Department of Agriculture published about similar problems on the other side of the Atlantic: poisonous compounds of lead, chromium, mercury, and arsenic in jellies, coffee, spices, lard, sausage, wine, cider, and tea. Turpentine in gin and sulfuric acid in beer. This in addition to dozens of less-dangerous corner cutting schemes such as dilution of butter with lard and coffee with burnt peas.