criminal psychology-第35部分

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s　can　be　reached　in　such　a　case　only　by　working　out　the　situation　from　beginning　to　end　in　two　directions；　first；　by　studying　it　without　reference　to　the　fellow…criminal；　second；　with　such　reference。　The　complete　elimination　of　the　additional　circumstance　is　exceedingly　troublesome　because　it　requires　the　complete　control　of　the　material　　and　because　it　is　always　psychologically　difficult　so　to　exclude　an　event　already　known　in　its　development　and　inference　as　to　be　able　to　formulate　a　theory　quite　without　reference　to　it。

If　this　is　really　accomplished　and　some　positive　fact　is　established　in　the　self…accusation；　the　question　becomes　one　of　finding　the　value　seen　by　the　confessor　in　blaming　himself　together　with　his　fellow。　Revenge；　hatred；　jealousy；　envy；　anger；　suspicion；　and　other　passions　will　be　the　forces　in　which　this　value　will　be　found。　One　man　brings　his　ancient　comrade　into　jeopardy　in　revenge　for　the　latter's　injustice　in　the　division　of　the　booty；　or　in　deliberate　anger　at　the　commission　of　some　dangerous　stupidity　in　a　burglary。　Again；　it　often　happens　that　he　or　she；　through　jealousy；　accuses　her　or　him　in　order　that　the　other　may　be　also　imprisoned；　and　so　not　become　disloyal。　Business　jealousy；　again；　is　as　influential　as　the　attempt　to　prevent　another　from　disposing　of　some　hidden　booty；　or　from　carrying　out　by　himself　some　robbery　planned　in　partnership。　These　motives　are　not　always　easy　to　discover　but　are　conceivable。　There　are　also　cases；　not　at　all　rare；　in　which　the　ordinary　man　is　fully　lacking　in　comprehension　of　‘‘the　substitute　value；''　which　makes　him　confess　the　complicity　of　his　fellow。　I　am　going　to　offer　just　one　example；　and　inasmuch　as　the　persons　concerned　are　long　since　dead；　will；　by　way　of　exception；　mention　their　names　and　the　improbability　of　their　stories。　In　1879　an　old　man；　Blasius　Kern；　was　found　one　morning　completely　snowed　over　and　with　a　serious　wound　in　the　head。　There　was　no　possible　suspicion　of　robbery　as　motive　of　the　murder；　inasmuch　as　the　man　was　on　his　way　home　drunk；　as　usual；　and　it　was　supposed　that　he　had　fallen　down　and　had　smashed　his　skull。　In　1881　a　young　fellow；　Peter　Seyfried；　came　to　court　and　announced　that　he　had　been　hired　by　Blasius　Kern's　daughter；　Julia　Hauck；　and　her　husband　August　Hauck；　to　kill　the　old　fellow；　who　had　become　unendurable　through　his　love　of　drink　and　his　endless　quarrelsomeness；　and　accordingly　he　had　done　the　deed。　He　had　been　promised　an　old　pair　of　trousers　and　three　gulden；　but　they　had　given　him　the　trousers；　not　the　money；　and　as　all　his　attempts　to　collect　payment　had　failed　he　divulged　the　secret　of　the　Hauck　people。　When　I　asked　him　if　he　were　unaware　that　he　himself　was　subject　to　the　law　he　said；　‘‘I　don't　care；　the　others　at　least　will　also　be　punished；why　haven't　they　kept　their　word。''　And　this　lad　was　very　stupid　and　microcephalic；　but　according　to　medico…　legal　opinion；　capable　of　distinguishing　between　right　and　wrong。　His　statements　proved　themselves　true　to　the　very　last　point。　

So　significantly　weak　as　this　in　fundamental　reliability；　very　few　confessions　will　appear　to　be；　but　the　reasons　for　confessions；　difficult　both　to　find　and　to　judge；　are　many　indeed。　The　only　way　to　attain　certainty　is　through　complete　and　thorough…going　knowledge　of　all　the　external　conditions；　but　primarily　through　sound　psychological　insight　into　the　nature　of　both　the　confessor　and　those　he　accuses。　Evidently　the　first　is　by　far　the　more　important：　what　he　is　beneath　the　surface；　his　capacities；　passions；　intentions；　and　purposes；　must　all　be　settled　if　any　decision　is　to　be　arrived　at　as　to　the　advantage　accruing　to　a　man　by　the　accusation　of　others。　For　example；　the　passionate　character　of　some　persons　may　indicate　beyond　a　doubt　that　they　might　find　pleasure　in　suffering　provided　they　could　cause　suffering　to　others　at　that　price。　Passion　is　almost　always　what　impels　men；　and　what　passion　in　particular　lies　behind　a　confession　will　be　revealed　partly　by　the　crime；　partly　by　the　relation　of　the　criminals　one　to　the　other；　partly　by　the　personality　of　the　new　victim。　If　this　passion　was　strong　enough　to　deal；　if　I　may　use　the　term；　anti…egoistically；　it　can　be　discovered　only　through　the　study　of　its　possessor。　It　may　be　presupposed　that　everybody　acts　according　to　his　own　advantagethe　question　asks　merely　what　this　advantage　is　in　the　concrete；　and　whether　he　who　seeks　it；　seeks　it　prudently。　Even　the　satisfaction　of　revenge　may　be　felt　as　an　advantage　if　it　is　more　pleasurable　than　the　pain　which　follows　confessionthe　matter　is　one　of　relative　weight　and　is　prudently　sought　as　the　substitution　of　an　immediate　and　petty　advantage　for　a　later　and　greater　one。

Another　series　of　procedures　is　of　importance　in　determining　proof；　where　circumstances　are　denied　which　have　no　essential　relation　to　the　crime。　They　bring　the　presentation　of　proof　into　a　bypath　so　that　the　essential　problem　of　evidence　is　left　behind。　Then　if　the　denied　circumstance　is　established　as　a　fact　it　is　falsely　supposed　that　the　guilt　is　so　established。　And　in　this　direction　many　mistakes　are　frequently　made。　There　are　two　suggestive　examples。　Some　years　ago　there　lived　in　Vienna　a　very　pretty　bachelor　girl；　a　sales…person　in　a　very　respectable　shop。　One　day　she　was　found　dead　in　her　room。　Inasmuch　as　the　judicial　investigation　showed　acute　arsenic　poisoning；　and　as　a　tumbler　half　full　of　sweetened　water　and　a　considerable　quantity　of　finely　powdered　arsenic　was　found　on　her　table；　these　two　conditions　were　naturally　correlated。　From　the　neighbors　it　was　learned　that　the　dead　girl　had　for　some　time　been　intimate　with　an　unknown　gentleman　who　visited　her　　frequently；　but　whose　presence　was　kept　as　secret　as　possible　by　both。　This　gentleman；　it　was　said；　had　called　on　the　girl　on　the　evening　before　her　death。　The　police　inferred　that　the　man　was　a　very　rich　merchant；　residing　in　a　rather　distant　region；　who　lived　peaceably　with　his　much　older　wife　and　therefore　kept　his　illicit　relations　with　the　girl　secret。　It　was　further　established　at　the　autopsy　that　the　girl　was　pregnant；　and　so　the　theory　was　formed　that　the　merchant　had　poisoned　his　mistress　and　in　the　examination　this　deed　was　set　down　against　him。　Now；　if　the　man　had　immediately　confessed　that　he　knew　the　dead　girl；　and　stood　in　intimate　relation　with　her　and　that　he　had　called　on　her　the　last　evening；　if　he　had　asserted　perhaps　that　she　was　in　despair　about　her　condition；　had　quarreled　with　him　and　had　spoken　of　suicide；　etc。；　then　suicide　would　unconditionally　have　had　to　be　the　verdict。　In　any　event；　he　never　could　have　been　accused；　inasmuch　as　there　was　no　additional　evidence　of　poisoning。　But　the　man　conceived　the　unfortunate　notion　of　denying　that　he　knew　the　dead　girl　or　had　any　relations　with　her；　or　that　he　had　ever；　even　on　that　last　evening；　called　on　her。　He　did　this　clearly　because　he　did　not　want　to　confess　a　culpable　relation　to　public　opinion；　especially　to　his　wife。　And　the　whole　question　turned　upon　this　denied　circumstance。　The　problem　of　evidence　was　no　longer；　‘‘Has　he　killed　her；''　but　‘‘Did　he　carry　on　an　intimacy　with　her。''　Then　it　was　proved　beyond　reasonable　doubt　through　a　long　series　of　witnesses　that　his　visits　to　the　girl　were　frequent；　that　he　had　been　there　on　the　evening　before　her　death；　and　that　there　could　be　no　possible　doubt　as　to　his　identity。　That　settled　his　fate　and　he　was　sentenced　to　death。　If　we　consider　the　case　psychologically　we　have　to　grant　that　his　denial　of　having　been　present　might　have　for　motive　as　much　the　fact　that　he　had　poisoned　the　girl；　as　that　he　did　not　want　to　admit　the　relation　at　the　beginning。　Later　on；　when　he　completely　understood　the　seriousness　of　his　situation；　he　thought　a　change　of　front　too　daring　and　hoped　to　get　on　better　by　sticking　to　his　story。　Now；　as　we　have　seen；　what　was　proved　was　the　fact　that　he　knew　and　visited　the　girl；　what　he　was　sentenced　for　was　the　murder　of　the　girl。

A　similar　case；　particularly　instructive　in　its　development；　and　especially　interesting　because　of　the　significant　study　（of　the　suggestibility　of　witnesses）　of　Dr。　Von　Schrenck…Notzing　and　Prof。　Grashey；　kept　the　whole　of　Munich　in　excitement　some　years　ago。　A　widow；　her　grown…up　daughter；　and　an　old　servant　were　stifled　　and　robbed　in　their　home。　The　suspicion　of　the　crime　fell　upon　a　brick…layer　who　had　once　before　made　a　confession　concerning　another　murder　and　of　whom　it　was　known　that　some　time　before　the　deed　was　done　he　had　been　building　a　closet　into　the　house　of　the　three　murdered　women。　Through　various　combinations　of　the　facts　the　supposition　was　reached　that　the　mason　got　entry　into　the　house　on　the　pretense　of　examining　whether　or　not　the　work　he　had　done　on　the　closet　had　caused　any　damage；　and　had　then　committed　the　thieving　murder。　Now　here　again；　if　the　mason　had　said：　‘‘Yes；　I　was　without　a　job；　wanted　to　get　work；　entered　the　house　under　the　assigned　pretense；　and　appeared　to　see　about　the　closet　and　had　myself　paid　for　the　apparently　repaired　improvement；　left　the　three　women　unharmed；　and　they　must　only　after　that　have　been　killed；''if　he　had　said　this；　his　condemnation　would　have　been　impossible；　for