Неизвестный - TIME-LIFE Mysteries of the Criminal Mind: The Secrets Behind the World’s Most Notorious Crimes

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1

THE NEURO-CRIMINOLOGY FRONTIER

BREAKTHROUGHS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY ARE MAKING IT POSSIBLE FOR RESEARCHERS TO EXAMINE DNA AND EXPLORE HOW GENETICS MAY AFFECT THE BRAINS OF CRIMINALS.

Computer-generated graphics help researchers envision the structure, function, and dynamics of human DNA at the atomic level.

BAD TO THE BONE

THE FATHER OF MODERN CRIMINOLOGY, CESARE LOMBROSO, BELIEVED THAT LAWBREAKERS SHARED PHYSICAL TRAITS. HIS WORK HAS SINCE BEEN DEBUNKED.

Cesare Lombroso (18351909)

The phrase born criminal was first used by Cesare Lombroso, a 19th-century Italian physician who spent decades dissecting the corpses of lawbreakers, the mentally ill, and normal individuals. Villains possessed similar inherited physical characteristics, according to Lombroso, which in turn provided evidence of a genetic and physiological basis for criminal behavior. Under this theory, a miscreant could be identified from the shape of his jaw, forehead, and even his lips. Lawbreakers were not only born bad, they looked it, Lombroso said. The ideas, as outrageous as they seem today, caught on at the time and quickly spread throughout Europe and to the United States.

Lombroso based his research almost solely on anthropometry, the measurement of anatomical characteristics. From precise skull dimensions and other details recorded during postmortem exams, Lombroso concluded that the physical characteristics of criminals were similar to those of pre-human life forms such as apes. He made the case that specific kinds of criminals, such as thieves and murderers, share distinct physical characteristics.

In 1876, Lombroso published a book detailing his claims, titled Luomo delinquente ( Criminal Man ). In it, Lombroso wrote that tattoos were an indicator of criminality, that criminals had a higher threshold for physical pain, that they possessed keener senses of sight and smell, and that they were stronger on the left side of their body. He also identified insane criminals, which included alcoholics and kleptomaniacs, who he said were born without a moral sense, and criminaloids, or individuals who he said were more likely to commit crimes of opportunity for financial gain or impulsive crimes of passion.

Although most of Lombrosos findings were eventually discredited, he continued to experiment with scientific measurement throughout his life. In 1895, he created and used a device to record the bodily changes that result from telling a liethe prototype for our present-day lie detector.

Criminal skulls in the Cesare Lombroso Museum in Turin, Italy. The Museum of Criminal Anthropology was created by Lombroso in 1876 and opened to the public in 2009.

FACIAL RECOGNITION

According to Cesare Lombroso, the following physical traits were a sign someone was likely a lawbreaker:

Large jaw

Forward projection of jaw

Low sloping forehead

High cheekbones

Flattened or upturned nose

Handle-shaped ears

Large chin

Hawk-like nose

Fleshy lips

Hard, shifty eyes

Scanty beard

Bald head

Insensitivity to pain

Long arms

SINISTER DOINGS

Left-handedness has been suspect since Roman times.

Italian physician Cesare Lombroso wasnt the first person to peg lefties as bad guys: The word sinister comes from the Latin word for left . While there is no evidence that southpaws are disproportionately violent, some famous criminals, including serial killers Jack the Ripper and the Boston Strangler, were left-handed. Here are a few others.

Billy the Kid
(1859-1881)

Legend has it that this famous gunslinger,whose real name was William H. Bonney, killed 21 men. The number has been disputed by historians.

John Wesley Hardin
(1853-1895)

An Old West outlaw who spent most of his life on the run. He was rumored to have killed a man for snoring.

John Dillinger
(1903-1934)

This Depression-era thug ruled a violent gang that robbed two dozen banks, but Dillinger was only charged with one homicide.