Should All Ugly Men be Hanged.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 4 December 1914, Page 3

Should All Ugly Men be Hanged.

The old law of mediaeval Europe, that "if two people are accused of a crime and guilt cannot definitely l.ie assigned to either one of them, the ugliest one is to be hanged," bids fair to come into operation again, according to the latest developments of penology. As an outcoane of the Lombroso methods of treating criminals, the importance of the relation between the shape of the body and the character of the mind now is considered very closely, and the time is coming when a man accused of crime will have far less chance in a court of law if his general person is ill-formed than if he is a model of grace. Although, tfor a considerable time, the measuring of criminals by the Bertillon and other systems was intended only for purposes of identification, lately the usefulness of these measures has been extended. For example, if a convicted thief has long, thin fingers, there is more likelihood of his being a confirmed thief than if his fingers are short and broad ; if a criminal's hair is cylindrical in section a.nd coarse, less mercy should be shown him when convicted of assault than if his hair were fine and thin, for it is clear that his brutality is the fault of his nature and is a persistent danger to society, not, perhaps, simply the effect of a momentary anger. While it is well known that there are a large number of criminals who are not of the "criminal type" there are very few persons of the "criminal type"—that is to say, having- not less than five of the special "marks" of the type—who are not criminals. "Yon Cassius hath a lean and hungry look," said Caesar ; "such men are dangerous." A fat man is seldom executed. At least 75 per cent, of the men and women who go to prisons for unnatural crimes show the outward forms of degeneracy. Most of the men are of the stocky type, most of the women are tall and longlimbed. Each of these has a special reason in the development of men and women. The "handle-shaped" ear is frequently found with criminals who have belonged to gangs, seldom among the leaders, and when found it is generally a sign of malicious mischief or dostructiveness, such as, for example, blackmail and arson. A perception of this characteristic has induced artists in all ages to make ears of imps "handle-shaped," just as the pointed ears of the immoral women are seen in art exaggerated to the sharp ears of the faun. It might reduce the human race a hit too suddenly if all the ugly people were to be handed, but modern science is giving a great lift to a. desire for personal beauty by showing- that it is. an efficient means of keeping out of gaol.