Pathology of Lying, accusation, and swindling Part 19

Summary: Case of a young man of 19, with already a long record of criminalism, who created much trouble for a court where a judge was keenly anxious to do justice. The fellow implicated himself in a sensational murder, but investigation proved this to be untrue. In other ways his word was found most unreliable.

The question concerning his sanity could only be answered by stating that he was an aberrational type peculiarly inclined to criminalism, and therefore needed segregation, and that he was also given to pathological lying and self- accusation. From the legal and social standpoints it is important to note that the case represents a type, unquestionably abnormal, although the mental pathology could not be subsumed under the head of any one of the designated mental diseases.

The case of John B. was studied at the request of a judge who had continued the trial because of the manifest mental peculiarities of the defendant. We were told that his behavior varied much, that one day he would cry and apologize, and on another would show stupid bravado. As the judge stated, John had long been in disciplinary inst.i.tutions and this had failed to do any good.

The immediately peculiar features of the case were that while he was being held for vagrancy and robbery, John made a strong attempt to implicate himself in a murder case. In other words he was a self-accuser.

We found a strong young man of 19 years; weight 157 lbs., height 5 ft. 5 in. Very broad shouldered and deep chested, but slouchy att.i.tude. Good color. Eyes bright. Varicocele. Somewhat defective vision in one eye. Well-shaped head--circ.u.mference 56.5, length 18.5 and breadth 16 cm. Thick, heavy voice.

Appears dull and depressed, but energizes under encouragement.

Other physical examination negative. Complains merely of headaches in left frontal region, but says he has had these only since last year when he was struck there by a beer bottle.

Recently an excessive user of tobacco.

In the mental examination we found much of interest. When first seen he gave every appearance of being a mental defective, but by judicious stimulation he could be waked up to do comparatively good work in several directions. On the Binet tests, 1911 series, he pa.s.sed all but one of the 12 year set; in that he followed the suggestion offered. On the 15 year old tests he did three out of five. The failures were on the memory span of figures and in the repet.i.tion of a sentence of 26 syllables.

By our other tests we also found him defective in verbal memory processes, even when he read the pa.s.sage to be remembered. In working with our so-called construction tests, where his success depended not only upon planning with concrete material, but even more on the ability to profit by his failures, he did decidedly poorly. In handling the puzzle box, where above everything is required perception of the relations.h.i.+p of one step to another, he succeeded very rapidly. With the cross-line tests, which require mental representation of an easily remembered figure and a.n.a.lysis of its parts, he did very poorly, succeeding only after the third attempt in each of the two simple tests. This is a type of work that is especially easy for the normal person.

In our ''Aussage'' or Testimony Test we got a decidedly poor result. At first enumeration he gave only 8 items, and on cross questioning gave only 6 more. He denied seeing other objects plain in the picture, but contradicted himself somewhat on this.

It is interesting that he took only one out of four suggestions, notwithstanding his suggestibility on the Binet test.

On school work he does altogether much better. He writes a good hand, reads fairly well, and promptly does a sum in long division. He claims to have reached the 6th grade. One difficulty in testing him was his prevailing lethargy. We constantly had to fight this by encouragement. Once he insisted he must give up the work because he had not had a smoke for an hour or so. Altogether, including his irregularities, we could not call him lower than poor in ability, possibly subnormal. He did not come within the limits of the feebleminded group. Just where to place him would depend upon what he perhaps could do under other more favorable conditions. So much for the tests of ability.

In studying him for aberrational tendencies there were positive indications. Most significant it was when, in the Binet tests, he came to the word ''justice'' and turned to the examiner, saying feelingly, ''I don't know what that is,'' and then burst into tears. Yet this was from a fellow who had offered to get himself into even worse trouble with the courts. He made much of his worrying about not having any home and not being the child of his so-called parents. His att.i.tude was of sorrow and hopelessness about his whole situation in life. As seen again about two weeks later, still more evidences of aberration were found. He contradicted himself then in regard to his previous stories, in regard to his home life, denied he had made self-accusations, and very clearly did not remember at all accurately what he had previously told me. In fact, he evidently was not quite clear just who I was, although he had before been brought across town under the charge of a couple of officers to see me--an important break in his incarceration. He also told a different story from one he had told before to a certain official who now was present. He seemed rather mixed on a number of points, and this is all the more significant because he had been heartily afraid of being adjudged insane. Our diagnosis at this time was purely tentative as far as exact diagnosis was concerned. We stated that in our opinion he was an aberrational type and the practical point was that he should neither be allowed to go out in the community, nor be sent to a penitentiary, but rather to an inst.i.tution for observation and perhaps for long detention. The jury found it necessary, as usual in such cases, to declare him insane.

The history of John runs as follows: From an evidently conscientious parent we learn of nothing significant in the family history. At birth he was said to be bright and healthy.

He had diphtheria severely at 4 years. At 6 he started to school. He always got along well in his cla.s.ses, but was very troublesome. At 11 years he began to run away from home. His father spent much time and money in going to various parts of the country for him, and at 13 years of age he was placed in an industrial school. He is the only child. He came home after 2 years, remained there for 3 or 4 months and then ran away once more to California. (His home was in the middle West.) He was returned by the police, sent to the industrial school for another year, and then again returned home. He stayed only 2 weeks before running away to New York. Coming back he got into some trouble and was sent for the third time to the industrial school.

There he stayed until 6 months before we saw him. He was released once more on parole, stayed at home a week, and again ran away. It is reported that during his early time at the industrial school he was rather melancholy by spells, and at one time tried to poison himself. His relatives say he has a bad temper. He had typhoid fever at 14, but made a good recovery.

John has been known for years as a great liar, having told miserable stories about his parents, all of which were quite untrue. He has frequently mortified his father and mother by denying his parentage. The last time John was on parole he wrote more than one letter to police authorities in his home State, informing them he had been implicated in a serious crime. An officer at the reformatory inst.i.tution had a letter from him purporting to be written from a penitentiary, stating he was sentenced there on a charge of robbery. When he was held in our city on a minor charge, he informed the police officials that he was connected with a certain notorious murder of which the papers had been full just previously. He was sent out with a couple of detectives who soon found he knew nothing about the actual facts, and that his alleged accomplices were innocent men.

In jail it is reported that he seems childish. He has to be locked up alone at times and then begs and teases to get out, but in ten minutes or so will repeat the bad behavior. He has stolen little things from others in custody and has attempted to dispose of his own clothes for a few cents. It is definitely reported that he has shown evidences of poor memory. From the inst.i.tution where he previously had been so long, word comes that he was regarded there as not quite normal. John had been held in another city on a charge of rape, but without much evidence, for he was allowed to go. We could not find out whether he made self-accusations in that case.

In his story to us he complains bitterly about his treatment at the old inst.i.tution, maintains he was head laundry man there, tells about his excessive smoking of late, denies his parentage, says the only friend he has is a certain church worker, maintains he did not have any home to go to from the industrial school, intimates he will commit suicide if there is any question of his being declared insane, says that he had earlier stolen things from home, tells of having spells when things get black in front of his eyes and can't see for a little while, says he wants to be sent to the penitentiary and wants to start right now serving his term.

All told, there was nothing so striking about this whole case as the extravagant tendencies towards prevarication. For years he has been lying to no purpose, although he has never been previously regarded as insane. Now he appears as an extreme self-accuser and as a fellow whose word can't be trusted from hour to hour. The lying, regarded as an aberrational tendency, is out of proportion to our findings of abnormality in any other sphere of mental activity, except perhaps the evidences of defective memory processes. One trouble in gauging his memory is, of course, the boy's prevarications, but one might argue that if his memory processes were as good as his other abilities he would make equal use of them.

Following our study and recommendation in the case John was found not guilty, but insane. Then being resident of another State, and, indeed, being on parole from a reformatory inst.i.tution there, he was held over to the jurisdiction of that State, and placed in a hospital for the criminal insane. We have a full report from the latter place which is exceedingly illuminating.

It appears that despite his first terror of being sent to an asylum he adapted himself to his new surroundings very readily.

It is stated that he a.s.sisted with the ward work and spent his leisure time in reading and playing cards. He asked for work outside on the grounds and was regarded as a very courteous and genial patient. No evidence of delusional or hallucinatory trends could be obtained. He always seemed to be well oriented and conscious of everything going on about him. Emotionally he appeared somewhat subnormal inasmuch as he did not worry about his own condition, but said he was perfectly contented. (The latter, of course, to a psychiatrist would be significant.) He was a great talker and his stories were well listened to. John said that when he was indicted for robbery his lawyer advised him to feign insanity and as a result he had been sent to that hospital. (It is to be remembered that with us he made great effort to show off his mental powers at their best and evidently did somewhat better work than when later in the hospital.) He gave them a history of being somewhat of a cocainist and morphinist, of being a slick ''pickpocket,'' and of a.s.sociating with prominent criminals, particularly ''auto'' bandits. He was boastful of his experiences, but sometimes admitted that he prevaricated. It is most interesting to note that he told a story of having concealed in Chicago some plunder--jewels, money, and so on--and was really taken to Chicago by one of theBoard of Visitors of the hospital to find the booty. It is hardly necessary to say it was not located. The last of the hospital report states, ''Inasmuch as we were unable to prove that he had any form of insanity he was discharged.''

It is of no small importance for discussion of the relation between insanity and criminalism to know that there are such cases as this where the individual is unquestionably aberrational and yet does not conform in mental symptoms to any one of the definitive ''forms of insanity.'' They may be lacking in normal social control and in ability to reason, impulsively inclined to anti-social deeds and therefore social menaces, but, notwithstanding this, may not be cla.s.sified under the head of any of the ordinary text-book types of mental diseases.

It is clear that for the protection of society a different notion of what const.i.tutes mental aberration or insanity should prevail, so that these unusually dangerous types might be permanently segregated. It would really seem that just the findings which the hospital statement enumerates would convince one of this individual's marked abnormality from a social point of view and that his being at large was a grave undesirability.

The latest information concerning this young man is that he was being held in a Western city for burglary.

We should hesitate to make out a card of causative factors in this case. It is clear that the major cause in his delinquency was his aberrational mentality. What there was by way of causation back of this, our history, although obtained from an apparently conscientious parent, is too meagre for explanation.

CASE 26

Summary: Boy of 16 had for 6 years caused a great amount of trouble by his general unreliability and excessive lying. He had been tried away from his own people in private homes and in inst.i.tutions without success. His lying was excessive and often showed no purpose and no foresight. His peculiar delinquencies demonstrated weakness of will. Although in good general physical condition he simulated illnesses. Mental and physical characteristics rendered certain the diagnosis of const.i.tutional inferiority.

We saw William S. first when he was over 16 years of age, after he had been arrested for stealing. He had already been in three inst.i.tutions for delinquents. From his father and others we gained a long story of the case.

William was in fairly good physical condition. No sensory defect. Weight 125 lbs.; height 5 ft. 3 in. Although well enough developed in other ways he was a marked case of delayed p.u.b.erty; as yet no p.u.b.escence. Strength only fair; for his age, muscles decidedly flabby. A high, broad forehead. Large nose.

Peculiar curl of the upper lip. Small, weak chin. These features give him a peculiar appearance--readily interpretable as showing weakness of character. Cranium notably large. With small amount of hair measurements were: circ.u.mference 57.8; length 19.6; breadth 15.5 cm. (Head same size as father's.) Expression downcast. Voice high pitched. ''Under dog''

att.i.tude. Slouchy. No a.n.a.lgesia or other signs of hysteria.

The performance on tests was peculiarly irregular. In this monograph we have omitted discussion of the results of separate tests, but the citation of the summary as dictated when the case was first studied will prove instructive: The work done on our tests was very irregular, peculiarly so. Perceptions good and most phases of the memory processes fair, but in reasoning ability and especially in tests which require the application of some foresight the results are poor indeed. The failure is remarkable in proportion to what he could do in school work and to his abilities in some other ways. He reads fluently, writes a very good hand, and in arithmetic is able to do long division, but showed no grasp of good method. When at his best he sticks at a job well enough, but does it with no intelligence and does not save himself in the least by thoughtful procedures. We were interested to note that in a game which he said he had played a great deal, namely checkers, he made the most foolish and shortsighted moves. It is only fair to say that this boy varied in his performance from time to time; his emotional condition largely controlled his performance.

On the ''Aussage'' or Testimony Test he gave a functional account upon free recital, with 15 details. On questioning he gave 13 more items. Out of the entire number only 3 minor errors. Of 5 suggestions proffered none was accepted.

There was a great deal more to be said about this boy's mental peculiarities than what was evidenced by the giving of tests.

Our observations of him made at intervals over a period of several months corroborated entirely the statements of several others, including members of his own family. The boy was remarkably unstable in his ideas and purposes. What he apparently sincerely wanted to do and be at one time was entirely different at another. His changeableness was shown in many ways.

When he had been found apparently suitable employment or a new home he often would stay only a few days. The father's first statement that the boy was a craven was borne out by all that we saw. He was too cowardly to be ''tough,'' but he was a persistent runaway and vagrant. He sometimes used an a.s.sumed name. In general demeanor he was good natured, but always restless. Not the least of his peculiarities was his ready weeping. It was amazing to see so large a fellow draw down his chin and sob like a young child. He was easily frightened at night. Under observation he had peculiar episodes of behavior.

Once in a school-room, without any known provocation, he suddenly began to cry and scream, picked up a chair and soon had the entire room cleared out. A moment afterwards he was found sobbing and bewailing his lot because he ''never had a fair chance.'' On another occasion his legs strangely gave out and he had to be carried to bed by his fellows. The next morning a physician found him with his legs drawn up and apparently very sensitive over his back and other parts of his body, but with a little encouragement all his symptoms soon disappeared. He gave a history of having had convulsions, but this was found to be untrue. He was a ''bluffer'' among boys; when met valiantly showed always great cowardice.

We felt much inclined at first to denominate him a case of abulia, but his stubbornness in recalcitrancy led us to change our opinion. From the above physical signs and mental phenomena he was clearly a const.i.tutional inferior.

Some facts we obtained on the family history were most significant. The mother of William suffered from attacks which were undoubtedly epileptic. Her mother, in turn, had convulsions at least during one pregnancy. We did not learn whether or not she had them at other times. No other points of significance in that family are known. The father himself was brought up, as he says, strictly, but he was inclined to be wild, and he has indulged for many years altogether too much in tobacco and alcohol. He is distinctly a weak type and the poorest specimen of his family. William is the only child. There was nothing peculiar in developmental history until he was 2 1/2 years old when he suffered from ''brain fever and spinal meningitis.''

This was said to have left him with a stiff right arm and to account for his being left handed. (We could discover no difference in the reflexes.) Then at another period he was sick in bed for 6 months with some unknown, but not very serious illness. The mother has been dead for years and so we were unable to get accurate details about this. At a very early age William sought the pleasures of tobacco, even when a child of 6 or 7 he used his pennies for that purpose. He was brought up in an environment defective on account of his father being a poor earner and weak in discipline. But still his parent took for years a great deal of interest in him and it was not until the boy had proven himself most difficult that his father proclaimed himself unable to manage his son.

At about 10 years of age William began running away from home and manufacturing untrue stories. One of his favorite statements was that his father had been killed in an accident. It is notable that all these years he has been attempting to gain sympathy for this or that a.s.sumed condition, whether it be his own alleged physical ailments, or fict.i.tious family difficulties. As a matter of fact, during this time he has been in some good homes, failing each time to comport himself so that he could be retained there. It was typical that he reiterated, ''I have no friends; there is no one to stick up for me.'' Besides being in three inst.i.tutions before he was 16 years old, William had been in homes which he had found when he had run away, or in which he had been placed by his father or by social agencies, the services of which had been evoked. His stealing was often done with an extraordinary lack of foresight. For instance, in one good position that had been found for him he took a box of cigars, when, of course, as the newcomer he would have been suspected, and even after his employers made it clear to him that they knew of the theft he took another box the next day. His lying under all occasions was nothing short of astonis.h.i.+ng. To even his best friends he offered all sorts of fabulous tales which one iota of forethought would have made him realize would redound to his disadvantage. Almost his only show of common sense in this was when he gave an a.s.sumed name while getting a new position, and even this performance could hardly be considered deeply rational.

It is hardly necessary to give lengthy specimens of his falsifications; they always pervaded his stories about himself, but strangely enough he acknowledged many of his delinquencies.

A good example of the latter was when he collected a little money for a new employer and on the way back, looking in a shop window, saw an electrical toy and immediately bought it. He then went home, not even returning to the office to get the wages which were due him. An example of his lying is his responses to questions about his schooling. He maintained that he only reached the third grade. (In reality he could do sixth grade work at least.) He said, ''I know long division by about 13 and about 5 figures. I don't know it by any other numbers.'' William maintained these same characteristics over the 6 years during which we have good data about him. We know he continued the same kind of a career for a year or so afterwards.

Three years later we have direct information from his family concerning William. His habits of prevarication have been kept up steadily, so it is stated. He has been in and out of inst.i.tutions and at present is serving a sentence for larceny.

He all along has been unwilling to face realities and has lied against his own interests continually. For instance, we are told that if he lost a place, instead of obtaining the help his family would have been willing to give him in gaining another, he would steadily pretend to be holding the former position. He is still considered utterly unreliable and a thoroughly weak character with a tendency to meet a situation as readily by a lie as another person would tend to react by speaking the truth. People who have known him of late speak of him as being at 21 ''just the same fellow,'' which probably indicates that he is thoroughly a victim of habit formation as well as of innate tendencies.

--------------------------------------------------------------- Mentality. (Typical const.i.tutional inferior.) Case 26.

Boy, age 16 years.

Heredity: Mother epileptic. Maternal grandmother had convulsions. Father alcoholic and tobacco in excess--weak type.

Developmental conditions: Early disease of the central nervous system.

Delinquencies: Mentality: Running away. Abilities irregular, Stealing. psychic episodes.

Lying.

CASE 27

Summary: Case of a boy, age 16 years, who told the most extraordinary stories of his vagrant life and the character of his family to officers of several organizations who tried to help him. He understood well that evidences of his unreliability would count against him. His stories, although often repeated, were not credited, and later, after a home had been found for him, he began a new series of lies that seemed almost delusional and somewhat paranoidal. After months during which much had been done for him it was suddenly discovered that he was an epileptic.

John F. appealed to an agency for a.s.sistance. He told a story of having wandered with his brother since he was a young boy. ''My father was insane from what my uncle did to my mother. He drowned her. The house caught on fire and he blamed her for it.

She said she didn't. She was too sick to get up and he took her out of the house and his big son pumped water on her. She was pretty near dead anyhow. We was too little to do anything. I seen it. I remember that all right. I can see that yet Brother and sister died about 3 years ago. Brother took sick from sleeping out. We slept around in barns for 2 years. Father was in an insane hospital in Kansas. I think my uncle was hanged at N. Junction. We did not stay there. I remember yet when they went to put my mother in the grave. I jumped in with her. We put right out and after awhile folks wrote that father was dead.''

So much attention would not have been paid to this gruesome tale had it not been repeated to various people during the course of several months. The boy wrote letters reiterating these incidents. His stories always went on to include the most surprising amount of abuse. It seemed that everywhere he had been illtreated. Farmers had whipped him, or clothed him badly, or defrauded him of his wages.