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
``The girls around in the schools I used to go to talked about
these things. I never went with them. I was always by myself.
None of the boys said bad things. The police were so cranky I
did not know what else to say. They said someone must have done
it to me when I was younger and I said it was my cousin because
he always used to want to. He said he would give me a pair of
skates if I would. He was 13. I never asked my grandmother or
anyone about these things. No one ever explained it to me. Just
the girls are the ones who told me about these things. They told
me themselves how they had been out at night with the boys. I
never did do it with anybody.''
Examination by a gynecologist about this time showed positively
that there had been no immoral relations, and after our findings
the case became a closed incident so far as prosecuting anybody
was concerned. Nellie was taken in hand by the family physician
and no further delinquencies or false accusations have been
complained of during the succeeding two years.
Outside of the girl's general frank bearing, undoubtedly a point
rather indicating to the police possible truth in her statements,
was the detail in which the alleged events were given. The
signed statement coming from an apparently naive girl of 15 would
seem in its clearness and coherency to bear the earmarks of
truth. We always regarded this case as one of our interesting
examples showing the unreliability of girl witnesses, especially
those who have had unfortunate experiences, even though merely
mental, with sex affairs.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Mentality: Mild choreic psychosis. Case 23.
Girl, age 15 years.
Early clandestine sex teachings.
Delinquencies: Mentality:
Running away. Normal ability,
False accusations. temporary aberration.
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CASE 24
Summary: A girl of 16 whose general conditions won ready
sympathy created much trouble. She repeatedly made serious
accusations against a man and her attempt at suicide made her
statement seem convincing. Further study showed the absolute
falsity of her charges. It was a case of hysteria which had
developed largely upon a basis of injury--there was a traumatic
psychoneurosis. Under good treatment she made a fine recovery;
there being no more indulgence in pathological accusations,
although her nervous symptoms recurred for a short time after a
couple of years.
At the time when we first saw Georgia B. she was somewhat over 16
years old and had been only 5 years in this country. We saw her
because she had run away from home and attempted suicide. From
the latter she had been rescued, and then had accused a neighbor
of raping her. The case proved to be very troublesome until the
nature of the whole affair was understood.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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