Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1895-06-21
WOMEN AS CRIMINALS.
A Detectives Testimony Regard
ing the Sexes in Crime.
There Are More Wicked Men Than Won.
en-, Yet the Women Are More Cruel
and Deliberate In Their
(rimeS

"While man is undoubtedly as a rule !
the more prominent IN crime. woman, |
IN the other hand. is at once more cruel !
and cunning III what she does" says |
noted detective in the San Francisco |
Post.
Prom the circumstance that con-
siderable less number of women than |
men are convicted of crime, the infer !
ence is drawn that in woman the crimi- |
nal propcnsities are weaker or under |
better control. Such conclusion is, |
however, not borne out by the facts. for
when crimes have been traced to women
It has been found. in the majority of
,ise>. that the guilty deeds have been
committed not only with systematic
cunnin~. hut also with 4 GOODNESS and
.ruclty which have seldom been attrib-
lted t. men.
There are several reasons" cOntin-
led the detective. why SO few women
nave been convicted of crime. Mans
natural sympathy for her often causes
lim to overlook important points
against her. If there are men in this
profession who are not susceptible to a
woman's plea, /, in my experience OF
,wenty-six years, have failed to find
hem.
another thing: 1t is seldom consid-
.red that girls are watched more care
fully than boys. and are under greater
:estraint Neither is it taken into ac-
count that older fer ales spend more OF
heir time at home, while males of their
,wn age are on the street or mingling
With persons whose abits are not always
# the best Many of the temptations to
crime come from business complications.
n which women have little orno share.
IS they spend most of their time at
home with their children and female
| companions. Most homicides, you
know, are the results of anger excited
when persons are away from their
homes and families, as violent quarrels
generally take place in the street or
oarroom, and not in the parlor or sit
! :ing-room.
Now as 10 the cruelty and delibera-
ion of the female criminal. The his
DRY of crime shows that most Of the
| murders committed by women are those
,erpetrated by the administration of
poison. They show careful prepara-
ion and great elaboration. In almost
.very instance treachery is employed.
;he victim being invited to partake OF
refreshments supplied by one who is
presumed to be friend. Murder by
he administration of poison is consid-
.red the most foul and the darkest Of
sll crimes, but it is the one that women
nave been addicted to more generally
than men in all ages and countries.
another very remarkable fact" con-
:inued the detective, has recently been
mentioned in a London paper by the
chaplain of Clerkenwell Jail. 1t is that
,ome criminals are practically incura-
ole. From a table prepared by him it
was shown that during last year there
we're committed to the prisons and jails
If England and Wales $3.50 men and
3,764 women who had been convicted no
less than ten times previously. YOusee
he force of the comparison.
"a partial explanation of this strange
state Of things may be found in the fact
that women are more thorough-going
N all things, good. bad or Indifferent,
han the men. They do nothing by
valves. Be the matter the construction
!. Of q shortcake, the making Of a crazy
quilt or the poisoning Of rival, woman
devotes all her time. knowledge and
talent to what she has in view.
"Then, again, woman has less
chance of reformation than a man. The
J latter can 60 to strange or distant
, place, raise whiskers or shave those he
had, assume different name and COM
mence life anew. He can generally find
employment, but with the woman it is
, more difficult. disguise is not SO easy.
, and if she goes to different place
. some one is liable TO recognize her.
"A strange woman is always looked
upon with suspicion, as it ispresumed
, that she would prefer to live in the
town where she was brought up and
where her old acquaintances are. A
, man gets credit for his enterprise If he
, goes to a new country and engages in q
? business for himself. but such is not the
Ease with woman. If she is once dis
covered her own sex are the first to
point their fingers at her, then up theil
ooses, and refuse to associate with her
the result of which is that she becomes
hardened and callous and is again driv
. IN to crime"