There is the highest probability, perfectly clear to one who understands imbeciles, that almost from the time the deed was done he had a strong desire to tell somebody about it, to brag about it; but a certain instinct, a certain feeling that he ought not to be caught, probably held him back. But when at last he was taken back to Poland and into the presence of the Deputy Sheriff; when his clothes had been removed and he thought his story would get into the papers and he would become notorious; then he began to talk. In spite of all the warnings and declarations that he would suffer for it, he talked. At this point it is important to remember that he is talking now to be heard; he is not confessing in order to escape punishment, he is talking because he is proud of what he has done; he wants to boast, wants to be talked about and written up, wants to be notorious, a great criminal, as is evidenced in the course of the trial. Remembering this, we _cannot believe all that he says in his confession_. As already stated, in so far as it relates to the basal facts of the crime, it is undoubtedly true; but when it comes to the finer details of what he did, how he prepared, and what he claimed was his motive, we greatly err if we accept everything he said. It is not in the sworn confession, but it was in evidence that he said he sharpened the knife for the purpose; the fact that he said he sharpened the knife for the purpose should have no weight. It is precisely the kind of thing that he would put in for effect. In fact all that he said after the deed as to arrangements or plans or details must ever be questioned unless his statements can in some way be corroborated, for this tendency to elaborate is so strong that there is no possibility of putting any trust in his words. It is worthy of note that whereas the defense introduced many witnesses who testified to Jean's sayings and actions that showed silliness and indicated childish intelligence, the prosecution neither rebutted this nor produced witnesses testifying to anything in his previous conduct that gave evidence of good judgment or intelligence appropriate to his years, or that he had any moral development that would be normal for his age.[1] The evidences of his pride in the deed are scattered throughout the testimony. For example, at one time he said, referring to the deed, "You would not think anybody could do a deed like that so quick, would you?" When asked how he could get Miss Beecher to go so far up the hill in the dark with him, he replied with a good deal of pride: "That's easy! I told her my father was building a house up on the hill and we went up there."