criminal psychology-第20部分

快捷操作: 按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页 按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页 按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部! 如果本书没有阅读完，想下次继续接着阅读，可使用上方 "收藏到我的浏览器" 功能 和 "加入书签" 功能！


ise　have　remained　unintelligible。　Many　a　larceny；　robbery；　possibly　murder；　many　a　crime　springing　from　jealousy；　many　sexual　offenses　become　intelligible　when　one　learns　that　the　criminal　had　at　one　time　possessed　the　object　for　the　sake　of　which　he　committed　the　crime；　and　having　lost　it　had　tried　with　irresistible　vigor　to　regain　it。　What　is　extraordinary　in　the　matter　is　the　fact　that　considerable　time　passes　between　the　loss　and　the　desire　for　recovery。　It　seems　as　if　the　isolated　moments　of　desire　sum　themselves　up　in　the　course

＇1＇　Etwas　zur　Charakterisierung　der　Juden。　1793。

　of　time　and　then　break　out　as　the　crime。　In　such　cases　the　explaining　motive　of　the　deed　is　never　to　be　found　except　in　the　criminal's　past。

The　same　relationship　exists　in　the　cases　of　countless　criminals　whose　crimes　seem　at　bottom　due　to　apparently　inconceivable　brutality。　In　all　such　cases；　especially　when　the　facts　do　not　otherwise　make　apparent　the　possible　guilt　of　the　suspect；　the　story　of　the　crime's　development　has　to　be　studied。　Gustav　Strave　asserts　that　it　is　demonstrable　that　young　men　become　surgeons　out　of　pure　cruelty；　out　of　desire　to　see　people　suffer　pain　and　to　cause　pain。　A　student　of　pharmacy　became　a　hangman　for　the　same　reason　and　a　rich　Dutchman　paid　the　butchers　for　allowing　him　to　kill　oxen。　If；　then；　one　is　dealing　with　a　crime　which　points　to　_*extraordinary_　cruelty；　how　can　one　be　certain　about　its　motive　and　history　without　knowing　the　history　of　the　criminal？

This　is　the　more　necessary　inasmuch　as　we　may　be　easily　deceived　through　apparent　motives。　‘‘Inasmuch　as　in　most　capital　crimes　two　or　more　motives　work　together；　an　ostensible　and　a　concealed　one；''　says　Kraus；＇1＇　‘‘each　criminal　has　at　his　command　apparent　motives　which　encourage　the　crime。''　We　know　well　enough　how　frequently　the　thief　excuses　himself　on　the　ground　of　his　need；　how　the　criminal　wants　to　appear　as　merely　acting　in　self…defense　during　robberies；　and　how　often　the　sensualist；　even　when　he　has　misbehaved　with　a　little　child；　still　asserts　that　the　child　had　seduced　_*him_。　In　murder　cases　even；　when　the　murderer　has　confessed；　we　frequently　find　that　he　tries　to　excuse　himself。　The　woman　who　poisons　her　husband；　really　because　she　wants　to　marry　another；　tells　her　story　in　such　a　way　as　to　make　it　appear　that　she　killed　him　because　he　was　extraordinarily　bad　and　that　her　deed　simply　freed　the　world　of　a　disgusting　object。　As　a　rule　the　psychological　aspect　of　such　cases　is　made　more　difficult；　by　the　reason　that　the　subject　has　in　a　greater　or　lesser　degree　convinced　himself　of　the　truth　of　his　statements　and　finally　believes　his　reasons　for　excuse　altogether　or　in　part。　And　if　a　man　believes　what　he　says；　the　proof　that　the　story　is　false　is　much　harder　to　make；　because　psychological　arguments　that　might　be　used　to　prove　falsehood　are　then　of　no　use。　This　is　an　important　fact　which　compels　us　to　draw　a　sharp　line　between　a　person　who　is　obviously　lying　and　one　who　does　believe　what　he　says。　We　have　to　discover　the　difference；　inasmuch　as　the　self…developed　conviction　of　the　truth　of　a　story　is　never　so

＇1＇　A。　Kraus：　Die　Psychologie　des　Verbrechens。　Tbingen　1884。

　deep　rooted　as　the　real　conviction　of　truth。　For　that　reason；　the　person　who　has　convinced　himself　of　his　truth　artificially；　watches　all　doubts　and　objections　with　much　greater　care　than　a　man　who　has　no　doubt　whatever　in　what　he　says。　The　former；　moreover；　does　not　have　a　good　conscience；　and　the　proverb　says　truly；　‘‘a　bad　conscience　has　a　fine　ear。''　The　man　knows　that　he　is　not　dealing　correctly　with　the　thing　and　hence　he　observes　all　objections；　and　the　fact　that　he　does　so　observe；　can　not　be　easily　overlooked　by　the　examining　officer。

Once　this　fine　hearing　distinguishes　the　individual　who　really　believes　in　the　motive　he　plausibly　offers　the　court；　there　is　another　indication　（obviously　quite　apart　from　the　general　signs　of　deceit）　that　marks　him　further；　and　this　comes　to　light　when　one　has　him　speak　about　similar　crimes　of　others　in　which　the　ostensible　motive　actually　was　present。　It　is　said　rightly；　that　not　he　is　old　who　no　longer　commits　youthful　follies　but　he　that　no　longer　forgives　them；　and　so　not　merely　he　is　bad　who　himself　commits　evil　but　also　he　who　excuses　them　in　others。　Of　course；　that　an　accused　person　should　defend　the　naked　deed　as　it　is　described　in　the　criminal　law　is　not　likely　for　conceivable　reasonssince　certainly　no　robbery…suspect　will　sing　a　paean　about　robbers；　but　certainly　almost　anybody　who　has　a　better　or　a　better…appearing　motive　for　his　crime；　will　protect　those　who　have　been　guided　by　a　similar　motive　in　other　cases。　Every　experiment　shows　this　to　be　the　case　and　then　apparent　motives　are　easily　enough　recognized　as　such。


（d）　Somatic　Character…Units。

Section　14。　（1）　_General　Considerations_。


When　we　say　that　the　inner　condition　of　men　implies　some　outer　expression；　it　must　follow　that　there　are　series　of　phenomena　which　especially　mold　the　body　in　terms　of　the　influence　of　a　state　of　mind　on　external　appearance；　or　conversely；　which　are　significant　of　the　influence　of　some　physical　uniqueness　on　the　psychical　state；　or　of　some　other　psycho　physical　condition。　As　an　example　of　the　first　kind　one　may　cite　the　well　known　phenomenon　that　devotees　always　make　an　impression　rather　specifically　feminine。　As　an　example　of　the　second　kind　is　the　fact　demonstrated　by　Gyurkovechky＇1＇　that　impotents　exhibit　disagreeable　characteristics。　Such　conditions　find　their　universalizing　expression　in　the　cruel　but　true　maxim

＇1＇　V。　Gyurkovechky：　Pathologie　und　Therapie　der　mnnlichen　Impotenz。　Vienna；　Leipzig　1889。

　‘‘Beware　of　the　marked　one。''　The　Bible　was　the　first　of　all　to　make　mention　of　these　evil　stigmata。　No　one　of　course　asserts　that　the　bearer　of　any　bodily　malformation　is　for　that　reason　invested　with　one　or　more　evil　qualities‘‘Non　cum　hoc；　sed　propter　hoc。''　It　is　a　general　quality　of　the　untrained；　and　hence　the　majority　of　men；　that　they　shall　greet　the　unfortunate　who　suffers　from　some　bodily　malformation　not　with　care　and　protection；　but　with　scorn　and　maltreatment。　Such　propensities　belong；　alas；　not　only　to　adults；　but　also　to　children；　who　annoy　their　deformed　playfellows　（whether　expressly　or　whether　because　they　are　inconsiderate）；　and　continually　call　the　unhappy　child's　attention　to　his　deformity。　Hence；　there　follows　in　most　cases　from　earliest　youth；　at　first　a　certain　bitterness；　then　envy；　unkindness；　stifled　rage　against　the　fortunate；　joy　in　destruction；　and　all　the　other　hateful　similar　qualities　however　they　may　be　named。　In　the　course　of　time　all　of　these　retained　bitter　impressions　summate；　and　the　qualities　arising　from　them　become　more　acute；　become　habitual；　and　at　last　you　have　a　ready…made　person　‘‘marked　for　evil。''　Add　to　this　the　indubitable　fact　that　the　marked　persons　are　considerably　wiser　and　better…instructed　than　the　others。　Whether　this　is　so　by　accident　or　is　causally　established　is　difficult　to　say；　but　inasmuch　as　most　of　them　are　compelled　just　by　their　deformities　to　deprive　themselves　of　all　common　pleasures　and　to　concern　themselves　with　their　own　affairs；　once　they　have　been　fed　to　satiety　with　abuse；　scorn　and　heckling；　the　latter　is　the　more　likely。　Under　such　circumstances　they　have　to　think　more；　they　learn　more　than　the　others　to　train　their　wits；　largely　as　means　of　defense　against　physical　attack。　They　often　succeed　by　wit；　but　then；　they　can　never　be　brought　into　a　state　of　good　temper　and　lovableness　when　they　are　required　to　defend　themselves　by　means　of　sharp；　biting　and　destructive　wit。　Moreover；　if　the　deformed　is　naturally　not　well…　disposed；　other　dormant　evil　tendencies　develop　in　him；　which　might　never　have　realized　themselves　if　he　had　had　no　need　of　them　for　purposes　of　self…defenselying；　slander；　intrigue；　persecution　by　means　of　unpermitted　instruments；　etc。　All　this　finally　forms　a　determinate　complex　of　phenomena　which　is　undivorceably　bound　in　the　eyes　of　the　expert　with　every　species　of　deformity：　the　mistrusting　of　the　deaf　man；　the　menacing　expression　of　the　blind；　the　indescribable　and　therefore　extremely　characteristic　smiling　of　the　hump…back　are　not　the　only　typical　phenomena　of　this　kind。　

All　this　is　popularly　known　and　is　abnormally　believed　in；　so　that　we　often　discover　that　the　deformed　are　more　frequently　suspected　of　crime　than　normal　people。　Suspicion　turns　to　them　especially　when　an　unknown　criminal　has　committed　a　crime　the　accomplishment　of　which　required　a　particularly　evil　nature　and　where　the　deed　of　itself　called　forth　general　indignation。　In　that　case；　once　a　deformed　person　is　suspected；　grounds　of　suspicion　are　not　difficult　to　find；　a　few　collect　more　as　a　rolling　ball　does　snow。　After　that　the　sweet　proverb：　‘‘Vox　populi；　vox　dei；''　drives　the　unfortunate　fellow　into　a　chaos　of　evidential　grounds　of　suspicion　which　may　all　be　reduced　to　the　fact　that　he　has　red　hair　or　a　hump。　Such　events　are　frightfully　frequent。＇1＇


Section　15。　（2）　_Causes　of　Irritation_。


Just　as　important　as　these　phenomena　are　the　somatic　results　of　psychic　irritation。　These　latter　clear　up　processes　not　to　be　explained　by　words　alone　and　often　over…valued　and　falsely　interpreted。　Irritations　are　important　for　two　reasons：　（1）　as　causes　of　crime；　and　（2）　as　signs　of　identification　in　examination。

In　regard　to　the　first　it　is　not　necessary　to　show　what　crimes　are　committed　because　of　anger；　jealousy；　or　rage；　and　how　frequently　terror　and　fear　lead　to　extremes　otherwise　inexplicablethese　facts　are　partly　so　well　known；　partly　so　very　numerous　and　various；　that　an　exposition　would　be　either　superfluous　or　impossible。　Only　those　phenomena　will　be　indicated　which　lie　to　some　degree　on　the　borderland　of　the　observed　and　hence　may　be　overlooked。　To　this　class　belong；　for　example；　anger　against　the　object；　which　serves　as　explanation　of　a　group　of　so…called　malicious　damages；　such　as　arson；　etc。　Everybody；　even　though　not　particularly　lively；　remembers　instances　in　which　he　fell　into　great　and　inexplicable　rage　against　an　object　when　the　latter　set　in　his　way　some　special　difficulties　or　caused　him　pain；　and　he　rememb