Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-01-11
LUNACY AND CRIME
Bv II. Addington Bruce


~ ECENTLY a murderer named Bartlett
| X was given life sentence for the Staying
~ of Boston druggist. This crime was
! the elimination OF a long series of offenses
against society committed by man who, &C
| cording to expert evidence, had been in some
/ degree mentally deranged from youth
Such an impression did this evidence make
| on the prosecuting attorney that he specifical-
| ly recommended that Bartlett be held forever
| ineligible for either parole or pardon. AS he
| pointed out:
THE defendant in this case has been GRIM
| inal from boyhood, the major portion of his
! life has been spent in prison. While in the
state prison in Connecticut number of years
| ago he was committed to the insane ward of
! the prison for delusOnal insanity.
"His whole life story indicates mental in
stability. His record is that of a habitual
| criminal. l feel that for the protection of the
community the court sentence should never
be interfered with
Now, this is the sort of recommendation
that ought to be made in many, many cases.
If it had been made with regard to Bartlett
years ago--as some judge prosecuting at
torney might well have made 1.-THE Boston
druggist killed by him would be alive today.
And if it were more frequently made in the
case of criminals demOnstraby of pSychOpathfc
personality. if not positively insane, there
would soon be an appreciable lowering Of the
murder rate, now so high as to be matter
Of pubic comment and discussion everywhere.
To lower this rate it has been urged that
laws be enacted more vigorously restricting
the sale of firearms and pOisons. Such laws
would help and cannot too soon be enacted.
But far more important, it seems to me, is
the detection and confinement of potential
users of firearms and pOisOns for purposes of
murder. To an extent greater than is COM
monty suspected their detection is possible.
AS everybody knows, the psychopathic and
insane are peculiarly likely to commit deeds
of violence 1t is commonplace that insanity
is increasingly advanced as a defense in muir
der cases. And, though the general belief is
that it is mostly advanced to avoid punish
ment, the fact remains that mental diseases of
all sorts on the increase.
Also it is fact-as shown by statistics of
prison psychologist-that inmates of our jails
and pententiaries are numeroulsy of psyche
pathic types. Some of them are as dangerous
to their fellow-beings as would be tiger
roaming the city streets.
Yet on the expiration of their prison terms
they are released unless in the meanwhile
they have become patiently insane. They may
even be released, as Bartlett was in Connecti-
cut, albeit displaying symptoms warranting
rather more than a suspicion of insanity. And
sometimes they are freed on parole, or are
pardoned outright before their prison terms
are done
Again and again murder follows their free
ing. Again and again, too murder is com
mitted by men and women who, though never
in prison, gave ample preliminary warning by
their behavior that they were of unsound
mind.
While it may be difficult, perhaps impossi-
ble to detect all potential murderers of this
latter sort, some protective action may be
taken even against them. And clearly it is
possible, through examinations conducted by
competent al1enists, to deny liberty to psyche
paths already convicted of crime if there is
reason to fear that their mental faint may
some day have murder it's expression.
This course, I am persuaded, would be in
the interest OF the psychopaths themselves
and certainly Of the society they meance
Copyright 1929