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Italian psychiatrist, professor of forensic medicine of the 19th century, Cesare Lombroso is often called the founder of criminal anthropology. This science tries to explain the connection between the anatomical and physiological characteristics of a person and his propensity to commit crimes. Lombroso came to the conclusion that there is such a connection, and it is direct: crimes are committed by people with a certain appearance and character *.
As a rule, criminals have congenital physical and mental defects, Lombroso believed. We are talking about anomalies of the internal and external anatomical structure, characteristic of primitive people and great apes. Thus, they do not become criminals, but are born. Whether a person is a criminal or not depends only on an innate predisposition, and each type of crime has its own anomalies.
Lombroso devoted his entire life to the development of this theory. He examined 383 skulls of the deceased and 3839 skulls of living criminals. In addition, the scientist studied the characteristics of the body (pulse, temperature, bodily sensitivity, intelligence, habits, diseases, handwriting) 26,886 criminals and 25,447 respectable citizens.
The appearance of a typical rapist
Large bulging eyes, full lips, long eyelashes, a flattened and crooked nose. Most often, lean and rickety blondes, sometimes humpbacked.
The appearance of a typical thief
Irregular small skull, elongated head, straight nose (often upturned at the base), running or, conversely, tenacious gaze, black hair and a sparse beard.
The appearance of a typical killer
Large skull, short head (width greater than height), sharp frontal sinus, voluminous cheekbones, long nose (sometimes curved downward), square jaws, huge orbits of the eye, protruding quadrangular chin, motionless glass gaze, thin lips, well-developed fangs.
The most dangerous killers most often have black, curly hair, a sparse beard, short hands, excessively large or, on the contrary, too small earlobes.
The appearance of a typical scammer
The face is pale, the eyes are small, severe, the nose is crooked, the head is bald. In general, the appearance of the scammers is quite good-natured.
Lombroso was able to identify the features of the handwriting of various types of criminals. The handwriting of murderers, robbers and robbers is distinguished by elongated letters, curvilinearity and certainty of features in the endings of the letters. For the handwriting of thieves, letters are characteristic, extended, without sharp outlines and curvilinear endings.
Lombroso believed that people from the lower class become murderers, robbers and rapists. The middle and upper class are more likely to be professional fraudsters.
Lombroso's reputation suffered greatly when the Nazis began to use his ideas - they took measurements of the skulls of concentration camp prisoners before they were sent to the ovens. During the Soviet period, the doctrine of the natural-born criminal was also criticized for its contradiction to the principle of legality, anti-nationality and reactionary character.
As far as we were able to find out, Lombroso's theory was never applied in litigation - even the scientist himself did not see any practical value in it, as he stated at one scientific dispute: “I am not working in order to give my research an applied application in the field of jurisprudence; as a scientist, I serve science only for the sake of science. "Nevertheless, the concept of a criminal person proposed by him came into use, and his developments are still used in physiognomy, criminal anthropology, sociology and psychology.
* Information taken from the following books: Cesare Lombroso. "Criminal Man". Milgard. 2005; Mikhail Shterenshis. "Cesare Lombroso". IsraDon. 2010
As a rule, criminals have congenital physical and mental defects, Lombroso believed. We are talking about anomalies of the internal and external anatomical structure, characteristic of primitive people and great apes. Thus, they do not become criminals, but are born. Whether a person is a criminal or not depends only on an innate predisposition, and each type of crime has its own anomalies.
Lombroso devoted his entire life to the development of this theory. He examined 383 skulls of the deceased and 3839 skulls of living criminals. In addition, the scientist studied the characteristics of the body (pulse, temperature, bodily sensitivity, intelligence, habits, diseases, handwriting) 26,886 criminals and 25,447 respectable citizens.
Appearance of criminals
Lombroso identified a number of physical signs ("stigmata"), which, in his opinion, characterize a person who is endowed with criminal inclinations from birth. This is an irregular shape of the skull, a narrow and sloping forehead (or a forked frontal bone), asymmetry of the face and eye sockets, overdeveloped jaws. Red-haired criminals are extremely rare. Most often, crimes are committed by brunettes and brown-haired people. Brunettes prefer to steal or engage in arson, and brown-haired people are prone to murder. Blondes are sometimes found among rapists and scammers.The appearance of a typical rapist
Large bulging eyes, full lips, long eyelashes, a flattened and crooked nose. Most often, lean and rickety blondes, sometimes humpbacked.
The appearance of a typical thief
Irregular small skull, elongated head, straight nose (often upturned at the base), running or, conversely, tenacious gaze, black hair and a sparse beard.
The appearance of a typical killer
Large skull, short head (width greater than height), sharp frontal sinus, voluminous cheekbones, long nose (sometimes curved downward), square jaws, huge orbits of the eye, protruding quadrangular chin, motionless glass gaze, thin lips, well-developed fangs.
The most dangerous killers most often have black, curly hair, a sparse beard, short hands, excessively large or, on the contrary, too small earlobes.
The appearance of a typical scammer
The face is pale, the eyes are small, severe, the nose is crooked, the head is bald. In general, the appearance of the scammers is quite good-natured.
Features of criminals
“I myself observed that during a thunderstorm, when epileptics have more frequent attacks, prisoners in prison also become more dangerous: they tear their clothes, break furniture, beat the ministers,” wrote Lombroso. In his opinion, criminals have decreased sensitivity of the sense organs and pain sensitivity. They are incapable of realizing the immorality of their actions, therefore, repentance is unknown to them.
Lombroso was able to identify the features of the handwriting of various types of criminals. The handwriting of murderers, robbers and robbers is distinguished by elongated letters, curvilinearity and certainty of features in the endings of the letters. For the handwriting of thieves, letters are characteristic, extended, without sharp outlines and curvilinear endings.
The nature and lifestyle of criminals
According to Lombroso's theory, criminals are characterized by a desire for vagrancy, shamelessness, and laziness. Many of them have tattoos. People prone to crime are characterized by boasting, pretense, weak character, irritability, highly developed vanity bordering on megalomania, quick mood swings, cowardice and painful irritability. These people are aggressive, vindictive, they are not capable of repentance and do not suffer from remorse. Graphomania can also indicate criminal inclinations.Lombroso believed that people from the lower class become murderers, robbers and rapists. The middle and upper class are more likely to be professional fraudsters.
Criticism of Lombroso's theory
Even during the life of Lombroso, his theory was criticized. Not surprisingly, many senior government officials had an appearance that completely coincided with the description of natural-born criminals. Many are sure that the scientist exaggerated the biological and completely did not take into account the social component in the cause of crime. Perhaps this is what made Lombroso to reconsider some of his views towards the end of his life. In particular, he began to argue that the presence of a criminal appearance does not necessarily mean that a person has committed a crime - it rather speaks of his propensity for unlawful acts. If a person with a criminal appearance is successful, he falls into the category of hidden criminals who have no external reason to break the law.Lombroso's reputation suffered greatly when the Nazis began to use his ideas - they took measurements of the skulls of concentration camp prisoners before they were sent to the ovens. During the Soviet period, the doctrine of the natural-born criminal was also criticized for its contradiction to the principle of legality, anti-nationality and reactionary character.
As far as we were able to find out, Lombroso's theory was never applied in litigation - even the scientist himself did not see any practical value in it, as he stated at one scientific dispute: “I am not working in order to give my research an applied application in the field of jurisprudence; as a scientist, I serve science only for the sake of science. "Nevertheless, the concept of a criminal person proposed by him came into use, and his developments are still used in physiognomy, criminal anthropology, sociology and psychology.
* Information taken from the following books: Cesare Lombroso. "Criminal Man". Milgard. 2005; Mikhail Shterenshis. "Cesare Lombroso". IsraDon. 2010
