“Many of the criminals so called are not responsible for their acts. Their apparent moral obliquity is, in reality, a mental deficiency, for which they are not any more to blame than you or I. I have seen men who had been guilty—yes, even convicted of most heinous crimes, who from the very conformation of their heads revealed certain things that, to say the least, should have been considered in mitigation of their supposed guilt.
“I have made a study of criminals for years, and I think that it is safe to say that in most cases that have come under my observation there were either congenital or hereditary deformities to which the special obliquity could be traced. Such has been the history of crimes in all eras, and one only has to turn to the medical history of the world to see that scientific men have even given greater cognizance to these causes than can ever be brought before juries composed of men whose training has not been such as to enable them to appreciate how much these physical conditions have to do with the commission of crime.
“I see men every day who would be criminals if the stress of circumstances forced them to it, and they would not be entirely responsible for their action. Crime has more origin in the head than the heart, and it is in the study of phrenology that we have the fact revealed.”
A MURDERER’S MENTALITY.
Fritz Anschlag, a German Farmer in Los Angeles county, California, in 1888 murdered Charles Hitchcock and wife, a highly respected couple living at Garden Grove in that county, to obtain possession of their farm, for which a deed had been executed to him, but not delivered, awaiting payment. He was tried, convicted, and sentenced to hang, but defeated the law by committing suicide. An interesting feature of his case was the receipt of a letter from his sister in Germany, before his trial, informing him of the fact that she, his parents and all his relatives had utterly disowned him and regarded him with no sympathy whatever. As this was done before he was proven guilty, and upon mere knowledge of the accusation, it is significant in showing that the whole family were as deficient in the social propensities as was Anschlag himself.
DOOMED ANSCHLAG.
A Phrenologist Examines the Murderer’s Head.—The Brute Becomes Angry at His Visitors, But Says Nothing—A Report of the Examination.
[From the Los Angeles (Cal.) Express.]
This morning, through the kindness of Jailor Henry Russell, an Express reporter was allowed to enter the cell of Fritz Anschlag, the condemned murderer of Charles Hitchcock and wife, of Garden Grove, to witness an examination of Anschlag’s head by Prof. William Windsor, assisted by his wife. Jailor Russell swung open the iron door of the death-watch cell and allowed the reporter and the Professor, accompanied by his wife, to enter, and then followed himself.
As the little party entered the place of confinement, Anschlag looked nervously around, and seeing the visitors, frowned and mumbled some incoherent words in German. The reporter was asked to speak to the murderer in German and make known to him the object of the morning’s visit. Anschlag at first was not willing to have his head examined, but when assured it might be for his benefit, he readily consented.