What is eugenics? / by Leonard Darwin.

  • Darwin, Leonard, 1850-1943.
Date:
1928
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Credit: What is eugenics? / by Leonard Darwin. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    65/104 (page 53)
    THE HABITUAL CRIMINAL ' 53 explanation is that it was the boys with worst natural qualities who on the whole committed offences against the law earlier in life. They had in consequence the longest reformatory training; but, when coming out, their bad quahties began to tell once again and soon led them to a life of crime. No doubt many who have been led astray mainly by the force of bad example can be and are put on the right road by care and training; and this fact amply justifies the existence of institutions for this purpose. But here we have a proof of the existence of hereditary quali¬ ties tending to promote crime which cannot be denied. Those criminals who have the worst predispositions will do most harm to posterity by having children. We should, therefore, ascertain as well as we can which classes of criminals have the worst natural quahties. The men who receive heavy punishments have often committed crime requiring at all events skill, intelhgence, and courage. Habitual criminals, who commit many trifling offences against the law, need have only courage enough to face a trivial punishment and the attendant disgrace. Moreover^ they are found as a rule to be very stupid, and often lazy, bad-tempered, thoughtless, and decidedly inferior in strength and other bodily quahties. They take to crime early in life, and they far outnumber what are generally called the worst offenders. For aU these reasons it is the habitual offender—that is, the person often convicted of petty offences—to whom most attention should be paid when considering how to diminish crime in the future. We see, therefore, that it is on all accounts desirable that habitual criminals should have few children. But how is this result to be brought about, whilst at the same time giving a fair chance to all who have failed through bad surroundings to get on their legs again ? It is now generally admitted that prison does no good to the criminal himself ; for the more often he is shut up, the more certain he seems to be to commit another crime. Short imprisonments do nothing, moreover, to lessen the size of the family. The best plan would be to treat the habitual criminal in three