FREEDOM OF CRIMINALS' WILL.

A general sociological and ethical maxim is that the idea of wrong depends upon the moral, intellectual, and physical danger or injury which a thought, feeling, volition, or action brings to humanity.

This principle should be applied to degrees of exaggerated wrong or crime. But it may be asked if the degree of freedom or of personal guilt should not be the basis of punishment. The force of this objection is evident; the idea of freedom has been the basis of criminal law; it has also been sanctioned by the experience of the race; and although no claim is made of carrying it into practice without serious difficulties in the way of strict justice (difficulties inevitable to any system), yet it has been not only of invaluable service, but a necessity to humanity. This is not only true on criminal lines, but this idea has been the conscious basis of our highest moral ideals. But at the same time the exaggeration of the idea of freedom has been one of the main causes of vengeance, which has left its traces in blood, fire, and martyrdom; and though at present vengeance seldom seeks such extreme forms, yet it is far from extinct. On moral and on biblical grounds, as far as man is concerned, vengeance can find little support. With few exceptions, a revengeful tone or manner toward a prisoner (the same is true outside of prison) always does harm, for it stirs up similar feelings in the prisoner, which are often the cause of his bad behavior and crime. Kindness, with firmness, is the desirable combination.

If we were obliged to withhold action in the case of any criminal for the reason that we did not know whether or in what degree he was innocent or guilty, from the standpoint of freedom of will, the community would be wholly unprotected. If a tiger were loose in the streets, the first question would not be whether he was guilty or not. We should imprison the criminal, first of all, because he is dangerous to the community.

THE STUDY OF CRIMINALS.

At present our jurists study law books, not criminals, and yet nearly one-half the time of our courts is given to criminals. The individual study of the criminal and crime is a necessity, if we are to be protected from exconvicts-the most costly and most injurious citizens we have.

A complete study of a criminal includes his history, genealogy, and all particulars concerning himself and his surroundings previous to and during his criminal act; also a study of him in the psychophysical sense-that is, experiments upon his mind and body with instruments of precision-measuring, for example, his thought-time, sense of sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell, pressure, heat, and cold; also an examination of his organs after death, especially of his brain. It is evident that no one person could make an adequate study of a criminal. The microscopical anatomy of the brain alone, with its physiology, is more than the life work of many men could accomplish. Criminology, therefore, depends for its advancement upon the results of numerous departments of investigation.

CRIMINOLOGY NOT YET A SCIENCE.

In a rigid sense criminology is no more a science than sociology. Like many other branches of study, they are called sciences by courtesy. But the empirical study of human beings, with whatever class it begins, is an important step toward a scientific sociology. Criminology is an initiatory step in the direct study of individuals themselves and their exact relations to their surroundings. The practical and scientific value of such study consists in showing more clearly what normal society is or ought to be, just as the study of insanity gives by contrast an insight into mental health.

PHYSIOLOGY OF THE CRIMINAL'S BRAIN.

As already indicated, knowledge of the criminal's brain, as well as of the brain in general, is very inadequate, so that any definite conclusions are unwarranted. It may be said that the fact of a criminal having mental anomalies and at the same time cerebral or cranial ones, does not show that either one is the cause of the other, although it may justify a presumption that they are in some way related; for such conclusions are based upon the anatomy rather than the physiology of the brain; as to the latter, little is known. It is easy to conceive that brain circulation, qualitative and quantitative, has as much to do in its effect on the mind as anatomical conditions. It is, however, reasonable to assume that in the last analysis every physiological irregularity is based upon an anatomical one; yet the reverse may be assumed also. The probability would seem to be that the physiological and anatomical mutually act and react, one upon the other; and to decide which is primary is wholly beyond our present knowledge.

INSTRUMENTS OF PRECISION.

Measurements of sensibility by instruments of precision have not been carried very far. As an illustration of the probable importance of this method of study, wo give a diagram of the plethysmograph of Mosso. The purpose of this instrument is to show the effect of the emotions upon the circulation of the arterial blood.

This instrument is one among others belonging to the Bureau of Education constituting the nucleus of a physio-educational laboratory. It consists of a cylindrical vessel, G, suited for the limb (the arm); the opening through which the limb is introduced is closed with caoutchouc and the vessel is filled with water. The arrangement is such that any increase or decrease in the volume of water in the vessel G causes the weight N to rise or fall. On this weight is attached a small bar which can be made to register its upward or downward movement on a revolving cylinder. As the arm enlarges from an increased supply of blood the curve registered on the cylinder is upward. Since the flow of venous blood is regarded as uniform in the passive limb, an increase of the volume of the arm shows a greater velocity in the flow of arterial blood in the limb. By having the criminal insert his arm into the cylinder, some of the effects of ideas on his emotional nature through the circulation of the blood will be registered, giving involuntary testimony as to his nervous and physical nature. Thus, in the case of one when the sentence of a judge was read, a decrease in flow of blood was observed by the lowering of the curve, but the sight of acigar or a glass of wine raised the curve, which is equivalent to an increase in flow of arterial blood in the arm. In the case of a brutal murderer, the flow was little affected by the sight of a pistol, whereas in normal man there is a decided effect. The value of such an instrument for investigations on normal people will also be evident when we consider that both mental depression and sleep may cause the curve to lower; during straining and coughing the curve rises, but falls in sighing.

N

THE PLETHYSMOGRAPH.

Although little has been done with the plethysmograph as yet, it is easy to see the important bearing it may have on educational and psycho-physical questions. Thus a pupil with his arm in the vessel can be set to performing mathematical calculations or composing sentences, or varied ideas may be presented to his mind, and the effects of these mental states or studies on the circulatory system can be seen. As it is very probable that an increase of circulation in the arm, psychically caused, means an increase of circulation in the brain, we are able to study directly the influence of different mental conditions on circulation in the brain.

MORAL OBTUSENESS.

The extreme moral insensibility of habitual criminals can not be better shown than by their words and acts, often naively expressed. A criminal whose brother was being executed stole a purse and watch and said, "What a misfortune my brother is not here to have his share." Some speak so coldly and unconcernedly of their crimes in court that they would be taken for witnesses rather than authors of their deeds. Pity for the suffering of others is very feeble. One reminds the priest (preaching to him repentance) of the wine he had promised him fifteen days previously; and when mounting the scaffold the last and only thing which he said was to ask his wife, who was his accomplice, to give him credit for 37 francs. Another, from the three executioners desired to choose his "professor." Another complained of the condition of the streets through which he was brought to the scaffold.

THE DECEITFULNESS OF CRIMINALS.

Perhaps the greatest power of deceit of which man is capable has been shown on the scaffold. There are too many people who believe that no one would tell a falsehood when facing death. The fact that many hold this idea encourages criminals to insist on their innocence to the very last. Especially is this true of the more intelligent criminals; for they see they have little to lose but some things to gain as far as their reputation is concerned; for if they do not confess, many perhaps may believe them to be innocent or even consider them martyrs. Then, too, they may deny their guilt for the sake of their family.

Criminals probably fear death more than other men, but their intense vanity helps them to conceal it, just as their lack of foresight and impetuosity makes them appear ED 94-105

courageous. Not a few have been known to confess their faults to Him who grants divine pardon and then proclaim with a loud voice their innocence and die in contradiction with themselves.

PREVENTION OF CRIME.

When the cause of a particular crime is found, this indicates the most active cause, but not the only one. There may be specific remedies for specific cases, but they can only be determined by special study of the individuals. While some cases can not be reached, the great majority can be made susceptible to reformation, or at least improvement. Often the truest and best advice a physician can give to his patient is to keep up the general health, and nature will be his best servant in resist ing all attacks of disease. The same principle applies in aiding one to overcome temptations to evil or crime. Such a remedy consists in moral and intellectual habits being implanted in children, which will give a constant resistance to all temptation, and be even an unconscious force when self-control is lost. Little can be expected from palliative remedies as long as this educational remedy is not thoroughly carried out.

CASE OF и.

As a study in education and criminology the following case of H. is of interest, for he is an educated man, as the world goes, a doctor of medicine, graduate of a university, and a man above the average criminal in culture, appearance, and general intellectuality. The importance of studying such a man is to note the gradual steps that led him to his fate, which he probably never intended. No man, as a rule, seeks to have his own life taken from him. He gradually gets accustomed to doing things, and forgets the feeling of the community. He then becomes careless and finally is caught. The intellectual education of a man at least fills his mind with subjects calculated to do him good. They do not tend to crime. But, of course, it is the moral side of education that has to do with the study of the criminal. It shows the importance of good habits, which the criminal seldom has. His life is irregular. He is a wanderer, from sociological necessity, and this wandering spirit leads to a feeling of irresponsibility. A man among strangers is liable to regard them as, in a manner, enemies.

As most criminals, like H., are seeking their own pleasure, if money leads to it, it is a question of degree how far they will go. If the question is asked whether the acts of any criminal, his life, or any special deed are due to himself or to his surroundings, we say that the surroundings caused the crime, and when they are due mostly to him we say he is a criminal by nature. Where a man is admittedly a criminal by nature, he is three-fourths like other men; and what is true in general of the physiology and psychology of criminals is almost as true of all men. So that when we are studying criminals we are really to a large extent studying human beings, only criminals are more convenient to study when they are in prison.

A common characteristic of the criminal is his vanity-the effect his crimes are liable to have on the community-and H. was not an exception to this rule. Some criminals when performing a bloody act get into a sort of spasm, and after they have killed their victim hack him to pieces, and then lay down through exhaustion and sleep right by the side of the body until they are rested.

Criminals are dangerous to the community, and should be shut up and not let ont until there is reasonable certainty that they are no longer dangerous, just the same as we treat the insane. It is very difficult to tell the degree of guilt of any man. simply because we do not know his hereditary tendencies nor the special conditions and surroundings under which he was at the time of committing his deeds, but it is easy enough to tell whether he is dangerous simply by his acts, and this avoids speculation as to the degree of guilt or degree of freedom of the will.

The antecedents and early training of H. will not account for his subsequent career in crime. The careful reader of the letters of his professors and classmates will have revealed to him the character of H. in both his strong and weak points. It will be seen that his entrée into crime was of a gradual nature. He began in his university life to manifest in embryo from time to time those characteristics which when small are not criminal, but when increased in their quantity become so detrimental to society that we rightly call them criminal.

The following study of H. was made after several interviews with the murderer in his cell. A scientific study of him with instruments of precision of the latest design and also a psychological and sociological investigation of his character are presented. H. gradually developed into a professional criminal. Although convicted of murder, he was not a murderer by nature, for he was too much of a coward, and so resorted to poison in extreme circumstances. It is easy to see how his medical knowledge and experience were utilized in carrying out his criminal designs. His chief abnormality is a psychological one. He is a reprobate liar. He had a selfish

conscience. That is, when he was wronged he felt it (many criminals are very sensitive on this point). But in wronging others he was willfully made obtuse by his overt acts. Criminals are frequently accused of things they don't do, which shows the great disadvantage of having a bad reputation, which most of them earn. He was a deceiver by nature; and this, coupled with his greed for money, gradually led him into serious acts. But how shall we account for this criminal? In one senso such a question involves the whole inquiry into the origin of evil itself. It will not do to say that he is a man born out of his time. It is not plausible in the case of a murderer by nature, for the taking of human life was very common in the early races of men. But H. was effeminate in nature, and when taking human life he used an effeminate method, poisoning. Throughout the history of crime this has been woman's method. We do not know enough about the origin of society to acconut for the beginning of deception. It is evident from the letters that his greed for money, with little or no aversion to deceive, and his poverty gradually led him on. Poverty is often an occasion but not a cause of a great deal of wrongdoing.

His strong impulse to deception and greed was the hereditary side of his character; the degree to which he developed them into criminality depended upon his environ

ment.

The prisoner did not desire, and therefore the authorities did not permit, that an instrument be put upon him while on the scaffold and after he dropped for the purposes of measuring the effects of the emotions upon the movements of his chest while standing upon the scaffold and the reflex motions of asphyxia. These effects would be transferred to the muscles of the thorax by means of the kymographion; the chest movements after the fall of the drop, the rate of their temporary increase or decrease, and their periodicity could probably have been determined. It was not expected that from one single case any very important results could be obtained, but by observing the different effects of hanging when the neck breaks and when it does not, and also the effects in cases of electrocution, the comparative degree of pain and the length of duration of consciousness might be determined. This would aid in a scientific study of the physiology of death, of which very little is yet known. Physicians are allowed to study persons of the highest respectability both in private practice and in hospitals, and the knowledge thus gained has been utilized for the good of humanity. It is therefore difficult to see serious reasons why the greatest enemies of society should not be used for the benefit of society, provided, of course, no injury is done them. In reply to the remark that it was temporarily assumed that he (H.) might be guilty of some of the crimes he was accused of, the prisoner made the following statements:

STUDY OF H. IN HIS CELL.

He said: "I did not deny my guilt for several reasons; people would not believe me even if I told the truth. My counsel will tell you the reasons. I am preparing my affairs with a view that I am to be executed. I prefer it to imprisonment for life. If I were not executed the insurance companies would make an example of me. If I am accused of seventeen murders, and the three insisted upon are shown to be false, how can any one believe me guilty of the others? I lived in Chicago ten years and had a good reputation."

When told that there was a moral certainty that he was guilty of one or two. murders, and there were reasons to suspect that he had committed a number, he laughed. When told that the most intelligent and aristocratic criminals seldom confess on the scaffold, he said he did not desire to confess on account of his relatives. H. said he was going to cut the interview short, remarking when I was preparing the kymographion that I would use all my half hour with this; that another man was coming to see him whom he desired to see more than me. After I had remained much longer than half an hour he said he guessed he would cut the other man short. He did not care himself, but the prison was granting him many privileges, and so he wanted to cut me short.

When in prison at St. Louis he said he saw a negro hung, while looking through his cell window, and that pieces of the rope were taken as mementoes and fastened on the watch chains of the bystanders. Then he asked if I could believe that after such a terrible experience he would go and do things that would bring him to the gallows. I answered that of about one hundred and fifty men guillotined in Paris all had witnessed a similar execution.

He said in his book he had admitted many crimes, but had never taken life; said "he drew the line at murder." (An innocent man would hardly use such an expression).

When told that criminals feared death more than other people and preferred imprisonment for life, he said he must be an exception; he was almost tempted to make a false confession in order to hang.

When I inserted an instrument in his mouth to measure the height of his palate he said, as if afraid, "Don't choke me.”

He complained of being troubled with strabismus from childhood; said his mother was an epileptic; that he was not nervous, but at present felt a little nervous.

He had lived with a professor, who was his best friend, and who was at that time demonstrator of anatomy. He did not go to college, but graduated from the medical school. He added he was also a graduate in pharmacy. He would send all he had to say to his former professor (he did not do it), to whom I could write. He did not like to tell all on account of his domestic troubles, which had not been entered into. He admitted that he was married more than once.

RESULTS OF EXAMINATION BY KYMOGRAPHION.

This instrument is for the purpose of measuring the effects of mental and emotional states upon the movements of the chest. Actors locate the seat of the emotion they simulate in the chest. A silk band is drawn closely about the chest, a little air

The kymographion records the movements of the chest, as affected by mental and emotional states. The higher the waves in the lines the more the subject breathes.

tight cylinder with a delicate film over both ends, a hook being inserted in each film, was attached to the loops in the end of the silk band; from the air-tight cylinder a couple of yards of slender rubber tubing with the other end inserted in a tambour. The tube went into another air-tight space, the bottom and size of which were wood and the top a delicate film. On this film rested a delicate hinge, to which was fastened a fine bamboo splinter which rose and fell with every breath. When this was placed against the cylinder of the kymographion lines were scratched on the surface of the smoked paper which indicated the motion of the little bamboo point.