Pathology of Lying, Accusation, and Swindling: A Study in Forensic PsychologyHealy, William
Science
Pathology of Lying, Accusation, and Swindling: A Study in Forensic Psychology
Healy, William
Criminal psychology; Swindlers and swindling
At the time of this first trial Adolf maintained a very smart
attitude and tried to show off. He had succeeded in having two
witnesses subpoenaed in order to prove that he did not hit his
sister, but on the stand it came out that one of them was not
there at all, and the other, who was a little girl, stated that
she saw Adolf hit some one. Just why the boy had these witnesses
brought in was difficult to explain. Perhaps he had the idea
that some one ought to be called in every case, or perhaps he
thought they would be willing to tell an untruth for him. His
statement in court did not agree with what he had told us and was
utterly different from what his sister stated. It came out that
he had struck her on a number of previous occasions. It was
shown clearly that the boy was a tremendous liar. The case was
transferred to the Juvenile Court and from there the boy was sent
away to an institution for a few months. After the trial his
father said in broken English, ``To me he never told the truth.''
Just after his release the family moved to Chicago and Adolf soon
put himself in touch with certain social agencies. He found out
where I was and came to see me, bright, smiling, and well. He
had gained eight pounds during his incarceration. He wanted to
tell all about his life in the institution and because we were
busy said he would come the next day. He did not do this, but a
few months later came running up to me on the street with a
package in his hands, saying he was already at work in a downtown
office and was doing well and going to night school. Five years
more would see him quite through his law course. A few months
after this he applied at a certain agency for work as an
interpreter and there, strangely enough, some one who knew him in
New York recognized him. He, however, denied ever having been in
court and produced a list of twenty or twenty-five places where
he worked and gave them as references. It is to be remembered
that at this time he had already been brought up in court at
least three times, that he had been on probation, and been sent
away to an institution.
During the last four years we have received much information
concerning the career of Adolf, although his activities have
carried him to Milwaukee, Cleveland, St. Louis, and other towns,
in several of which he has been in trouble. He has very
repeatedly been to see us and we have had many opportunities of
gauging his mental as well as his social development.
His family continued to live in one of the most populous suburbs
of Chicago and Adolf maintains that his residence is there, an
important point for his political activities which are mentioned
later.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account