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
From most excellent sources of information we have obtained an
account of the family history. No instance of insanity is known,
but it is said there is much evidence of ignorance and
superstition. Marie's mother bore a good character, but was
decidedly ignorant. At about the age of 50 she made a homicidal
attack upon a second husband and then killed herself. The father
was an industrious and sober laborer, but unable to support his
large family. At his death in Marie's early childhood the family
was broken up and the ten children were distributed about. None
of the children is said to be abnormal mentally, but there has
been a tendency to free living, even on the part of the older
sisters. It seems very sure that no other member of the family
was given to telling false stories. The brothers have been
inclined to be shiftless and to roam, but then the environmental
conditions often have been against them. However, some of them
have done well. In general, as far as Marie is concerned, it may
be said early home environment was not bad except on account of
poverty. Marie bears no traces of having suffered from defective
conditions before or after birth. Her early developmental
history appears to be negative. She has lived about in several
different homes, the longest stay being about seven years. In
one place she was suspected of masturbation, but we were unable
to get a perfectly definite statement that she was addicted to
the habit.
Two years prior to the time we knew Marie she had worked up a
story of adventure in which she was the heroine. She used the
telephone to call for help, stating that she stood with a
revolver covering a burglar. From this incident she gained a
good deal of notoriety. The police found there was nothing to
the case and later Marie herself made a confession. By the time
we saw her this story varied somewhat from her original
statement, but was still persisted in, although she must have
known that we could readily trace the actual occurrence.
After Marie had continued her stories for a few weeks while
attending the university they had grown so that they included
night visitations in her boarding-house from the man who was said
to be hounding her, she was found once more impossible to deal
with and, as her work became poorer, she had to leave. At this
period it was most significant to us that in spite of her
expressed desire for freedom from persecution she did not want us
to look further into her case because of certain mysterious
letters which would incriminate her. We felt entirely convinced
that the several reports which we received of her career in
preceding years gave a satisfactory clew to her character,
although we were never able to analyze the case far enough to
ascertain the genetic features. Thus it is impossible to make
any summary of causative factors.
CASE 6
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