behaved, says he committed the criminal act because of an uncontrollable and incomprehensible impulse; and that, when he came to himself, he was ashamed, and sent the girls away. Since his apoplectic attack, B. had been weak-minded, incapable of business, and hemiplegic; but, soon after arrest, he made an unskillful attempt at suicide. He often cried childishly. His moral and intellectual energy in opposing his sensual impulses was certainly much weakened. No sentence. (Giraud, Ann. méd. Psychol. March, 1881.)
(3) Dementia After Injury of Head.
Case 150. K., when fourteen years old, was injured on the head by a horse. The skull was fractured in several places, and several pieces of bone required removal.
From that time K. was weak mentally, passionate, and ill-tempered. Gradually he developed an inordinate and truly beastly sensuality, which drove him to the most immoral acts. One day he raped a girl of twelve, and strangled her for fear of discovery. Arrested, he confessed. The medical experts declared him responsible, and he was executed.
The autopsy revealed ossification of almost all the sutures, remarkable asymmetry of the halves of the skull, and evidences of healed fractures. The affected hemisphere had bands of cicatricial tissue running through it, and was one-third smaller than the other. (Friedreich's Blätter, 1885, Heft 6.)
(4) Acquired Mental Weakness, Probably Resulting from Lues.
Case 151. X., officer, had repeatedly committed immoral acts with little girls; among other things, he had induced them to perform manustupration on him, had exposed his genitals, and handled theirs.
X., formerly healthy, and of blameless life, was infected with syphilis in 1867. In 1879 paralysis of the left abducens occurred. Thereafter mental weakness was noticed, with a change of his disposition and character. Headache, occasional incoherence of speech, failure of power of thought and logic, occasional inequality of pupils, and paresis of the right facial muscles, were observed.
X., aged 37, shows no trace of lues when examined. The paralysis of the left abducens is still present. The left eye is amblyopic. He is mentally weak. Concerning the trial that was before him, he said it was nothing but a harmless misunderstanding. Indications of aphasia. Weakness of memory, particularly for recent events. Superficial emotional reaction; rapid exhaustion of memory and ability to speak. Proved: that the ethical defect and the perverse sexual impulse are the symptoms of an abnormal condition of brain induced by lues.
Suspension of criminal proceedings. (Personal case. Jahrbücher für Psychiatrie.)
