| 101 | discharged prisoners led a good life, i.e. | 60% |
| 20 | conducted themselves passably, i.e. | 12% |
| 24 | were put down as bad, i.e. | 14% |
| 24 | disappeared (died, etc.), i.e. | 14% |
| 169 | discharged prisoners | 100% |
As I have already remarked, the fact that all do not lead good lives proves nothing against the theory of environment, for it is quite possible that earlier evil influences have not been eliminated in a comparatively short detention. To prove how strong an influence the environment exercises anew upon discharged prisoners, let us look at the following figures, which also have to do with the pupils of the Lyons “Quartier correctionnel”:[242] [[497]]
| Discharged Inmates whose Parents: | Reformed. | Recidivists. | |
| Had a good | reputation | 83% | 5% |
| Had,, a,, doubtful | reputation,, | 52% | 16% |
| Had,, a,, bad | reputation,, | 37% | 16% |
| Had,, been convicted | 50% | 29% | |
Ireland, 1891.
Among the children subjected to correctional education in 1891 there were: 1.2% of illegitimate birth; 8.1% who had lost their parents; 16.2% without father; 19.3% without mother; and 0.6% who had been abandoned or whose parents were unknown.[243] 43.6%, then, were entirely or partially orphaned. These figures have no great value since they relate to so small a number (160).
Italy, 1885–1889.
With regard to illegitimacy among criminals I have data for the years 1885, 1886, and 1889. In these years there were among those convicted at the assizes 2.35%, 2.25%, and 2.21% respectively, of illegitimate birth.[244] The number of natural children in general in the years 1872–1889 was about 7%;[245] the mortality among children in general in the first year was 19%, and that among the illegitimate children 26% (these percentages are the averages for the years 1884–1893).[246] Italy is an exception, therefore to the rule, good everywhere else, that a larger proportion of criminals than of the general population are illegitimate.
In his “Entartete Mütter”, Ferriani says that more than 25% of the 806 juvenile criminals examined by him had become such because of the depravity of their families.[247] In his “Minderjährige Verbrecher” he gives the following results from an examination of 2,000 juvenile criminals: 207 (10.3%) came from families of which one or more members had been convicted; 53 (2.6%) from families entirely demoralized; 701 (35.0%) from families of bad reputation; and 169 (8.4%) from families with a doubtful reputation—all together 56.3%; while 896 (44.8%) had been corrupted by bad examples.[248] [[498]]
Dr. A. Marro gives the following figures:[249] of 507 criminals examined by him there were:
| 19 | ( 3.6%) | whose father or mother was a criminal |
| 98 | (13.4%) | who had a criminal brother or sister |
| 115 | (22.6%) | whose father was immoral or violent |
| 56 | (11.0%) | whose,, mother was,, immoral,, or,, violent,, |
| 209 | (41.0%) | whose,, father was alcoholic |
| 26 | ( 5.1%) | whose,, mother was,, alcoholic,, |
| 120 | (24.1%) | had lost their father before the age of 16 |
| 90 | (18.1%) | had,, lost,, their,, mother before,, the,, age,, of,, 16,, |
| and 36 | (7.0%) | were orphans before the age of 16. |