A PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 144, 21 June 1930, Page 21

A PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY

"The Mind of the Murderer." By Dr. Harold Dearden.v London: Geoffrey '■Bies.'. -, ••' ■•:■!:■•'■■ ■'.■••<,

. "The Mind of''the Murderer," by Dr. Harold Dearden,-a successful dramatist and enthusiastic criminologist as. well as a medical man of experience, is a thoughtful study of an aspect-of major crime: which is decidedly modern and therefore novel. In effect, Dr. Dearden, after; traversing ; briefly -cases of celebrated crimes, attempts to trace the working, of. the mind of the criminal prior to his, or her, dreadful act, and the reasons which actuated the murder. In simple and telling language he makes his points in his thesis,.witli which the book opens. .';"■'.,'■ ■'■■■'.' ■'■'.'■.■:

.Murders ; committed by, persons undoubtedly insane or mentally defective are excluded from Dr. Dearden's studies.' Bather, he tackles the baffling individual who escapes full penalty nowadays, on the score of being temp6r : arily insane when the criminal act was committed.' He believes,that,the potential !criminal is in.' every ■ human beitig, self-discipline ami belief in. and obedience to the'statute laws' and conventions being the bulwarks, which prevent the individual from floating off theship'of good behaviour to "the sea,of crime. The causes of murder very gen erally can be classified,under, two beadings, sex or greed. The records suggest sex, and repression of sex, as the major cause, and along, these lines Dr. Dearden frames his conclusipnsl As in all rules, tffere are exceptions, and the causes of some ghastly crimes are traced by h'ini to shocks physical and mental, • and undue worries, business and otherwise. Ho handles these, cases from' the .angle- of the psychologist, and1 the science of psychology! has progressed since the days when insanity was no defence.-Dr. Deardeii does not sympathise with: or hold any brief for those maudlin people who believe every criminal can: be reformed. Rather uto the contrary. 'Of : Pritz Haarmann,. a post-war German murderer of revolting type^ ho writes:—:,. ;, : ..

; Haarmann was a throw-out from his day?. His family history was ,■ appalling,1-and most; of; Ms-brothers : and sisters were ,anti-Bocial and crimV inal.; He is a magniflcent^specimen.bf : how far our; prisons and reformatories .are" really "capable; of .improving the criminal:type of mind.;;He: was;ex- ■■;; p!osed'tOialmoet/:every kind, of bene- ■: ficcnt /institution, coutrolled by : /the '-.■: State;.he* Vrasin.prison several times; ; ;he 'was in a reformatory;^he was in an asylum,'and he .was .in',-the Army; and it is interesting to, observe that -only ;in 'the Army -was ibis ...peculiar '•'.i.spirit.appareiitlyj'at home_. ■;:.-•.„ '.■■'' -..He -was an admirable" illustration; of-the • human tiger who. proves the iuepti-:-tude of our social mechanisms : when dealing, with1 .a;' genuine anti-social i-personality. , ' j'^-^Ky .<:■ :'-:l;/-. ;v . '...■'

■■ ' The author7, 'fraccs^ the;effect1 of one strong personality on ; anothei', as in the case ■ of 'the, Thompsqn-Bywaters murder,' an; eternal; triangle case which interested-air England lin.'. 1922.; \The noherititiesthat delude.'themselves until temporary mental breakdowns result ;in murder appear 'to "come under, the • sex repression"- heading. Lacking physical charni, .they build '; up veritable! '.romances" until they: believe them." These obsessions 'combined with' high: emotions and .poor resistence*rscc 'the impulse from the physical-field plunge; riglit. I through the subconscious and conscious ! field until 'the impulse becomes the act. The awakenihg;seca,no;:one niore librri- | Seel than^ the-perpetrator, ;.■>;.'■-; ;\ >-\;; ■■..: J --:. , Dr. Dearden. touchestpn ;.niaiiy:poiu'td of interest ;.of*:modcrn times.'' He deals (with,"the effect, of .war'strain,:eoncussioiiiiahd head injury onyoung -soldiers; mjuries-.which turned impeccable young men from "decent: lives.' tofarcers of the wildest irresponsibility ; and'vice: .Lack 'of;parental .control-is not overlooked, aridhis study of more than one criminal suggests' that -strong/and arm 'handling at: the\age of puberty iwould probably have made the difference between £k useful citizen -and1 ■:• a , callous murderer. Mob psychology also ;• comes-.-■:in for mention,; made applicable to -the cuu- - nirig murderervwho exercised on his' accessories/ttnd victims the same powers as [thole;'who control 'rev.ivalistic ; eampaigus.v ■-'.'.'■'•'/"'.' ': ■'. ■"■•''■.i.''. .-•■•■■''■■ ■' V •.''■'■■••. '-: There is much for the thinker in Dr.' Dearden's'book. -"He makes no' excuse for the murderer, and he-hopes that his ideas and 'deductions' may be =of some help to any nran who; may be empanelI led to- try a prisoner on a capital, charge. The: law lias; attempted to.,lay down a definite standard; but this-standard is based upon and. determined by 'a fa'ctor.:that is ;constantly changing—the! knowledge .possessed1 !of. the nature and properties ..of 'the. -human', miri.d. Even nowixth'is star)dard':is ; proving: unsatisfaetory/bottfrom.the legal and medical pointiof view. His:conclusions are suggested1 as:"a guide to a; clearer understanding in order: that it'may bo possible: to ,prevent ;rather'than-punish.— H.Gr.W.. ;\V-.:/:.':^V ";:. '•;'■'-;. -;-:■■■;-,:■:■!