The female offender / by Cæsar Lombroso and William Ferrero ; with an introduction by W. Douglas Morrison.

  • Lombroso, Cesare, 1835-1909.
Date:
1895
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The female offender / by Cæsar Lombroso and William Ferrero ; with an introduction by W. Douglas Morrison. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by King’s College London. The original may be consulted at King’s College London.

    386/404 (page 302)
    SO much oftener merely occasional criminals, and why, even when criminals from passion, they hardly ever commit their crimes in one of those sudden impulses which are always partly epileptoid ; also why, in common crimes, they exhibit a premeditation, a gloating that are the very antithesis of the offence which springs instantaneously from an epileptic movement. It throws light on the tardy action of the female offender, and while confirming the theory of the relation between congenital criminality and epilepsy, serves also to explain sexual differences. On the few occasions where a woman is a born criminal, I have always discovered in her as in her male prototype the symptoms of an epileptic ten- dency ; and naturally these are the more marked the graver the offence. Out of 405 women condemned to prison in Turin for important crimes, Salsotto found epilepsy in 2-6, which is 13 times higher than the results furnished by minor offenders. For instance— In 20 poisoners epilepsy was present in 10 per cent. 10 guilty of murderous assault „ 10 ,, 20 swindlers j, „ S 130 murderesses „ 3'9 >> while in 100 infanticides 2 ,, 10 wounders >> o ,, 25 offenders against morals ,, ,, o ,, 90 thieves jj j) o ,, Here, then, we see]^epilepsy prevalent in the worst congenital criminals, while it gradually diminishes and disappears as we reach the class of occasional offenders.