Canada and the World
Current Events with a Canadian Perspective
Last update
19 November 2010
Do Criminals Have
Similar Facial Features?
Italian psychiatrist Cesare Lombroso claimed most criminals have odd facial characteristics; now two economists say his theory may have some merit
In 1876, Cesare Lombroso (right) published his book The Criminal Man. In it he wrote,
“…one has to conclude that while offenders may not look fierce, there is nearly always
something strange about their appearance. It can even be said that each type of crime
is committed by men with particular physiognomic characteristics.”
Criminals are
Evolutionary Throwbacks
Lombroso founded his theory on the evolutionary notions popular in the late 19th century. He said that criminals represented genetic throwbacks who possessed physical characteristics from more primitive stages of human development.
In the online magazine Brain and Mind (March 1997) Renato Sabbatini wrote that Lombroso called these physical features stigmata, which “could be expressed in terms of abnormal forms or dimensions of the skull and jaw, asymmetries in the face, etc, but also of other parts of the body.”
Among the many features that Dr. Lombroso identified as being characteristic of crooks were:
- Unusually shaped ears, occasionally very small but more likely large “jug handle” types similar to those of chimpanzees;
- Upturned or twisted noses – hawk-
like in murderers and flattened in thieves; - Large, protruding jaws;
- High cheekbones;
- Fleshy, swollen, or protruding lips;
- Hard, shifty eyes; and,
- Excessively long arms.
Different Crimes: Different Features
Lombroso wrote that: “In general, thieves are notable for their expressive faces and manual dexterity: small, wandering eyes that are often oblique in form, thick and close eyebrows, distorted or squashed noses, thin bears and hair, and sloping foreheads. Like rapists, they often have jug ears.
“Rapists, however, nearly always have sparkling eyes, delicate features, and swollen lips and eyelids.”
The Criminal Mind Republished
A new edition of Cesare Lombroso work was published in 2006 by Duke University Press. In reviewing The Criminal Man Isobel Williams of Swansea University wrote: “Given that alcoholism is now seen as a disease, and that alcohol is often pinpointed as an impetus for crime, perhaps Lombroso was not so far off the mark in looking for biological causes for at least some crime. And, while society has, we hope, advanced beyond condemning a person as a criminal because of jug ears or a low brow, scientists continue to find physical characteristics that mark differing abilities or tendencies.”
Crime isn’t pretty
Two economists have, to a limited extent, backed up some of Dr. Lombroso’s theories.
H. Naci Mocan and Erdal Tekin co-
In an abstract of their paper they say: “Using data from three waves of Add Health
we find that being very attractive reduces a young adult’s (ages 18-
They quote a Miami man’s explanation as to why he committed robberies as “I am too ugly to get a job.”
Sources
“Criminal Man Rediscovered.” Isobel Williams, H-
Cesare Lambroso: A Brief Biography.” Renato Sabbatini, Brain and Mind, March 1997.
“Ugly Criminals.” H. Naci Mocan et al, American Economic Association, December 2005.
© Canada and the World, July 2010
All rights reserved
GOOD LOOKING
PSYCHOPATHS
Some of the most vicious criminals look like regular folks; some are more attractive than average, such as Ted Bundy (pictured below).
He admitted to killing 30 women between 1974 and 1978, although the actual number was probably higher. He was executed in 1989.
Other good looking serial killers include Paul Bernardo, David Berkowitz, and Jeffrey Dahmer.
However, Albert Fish (below), who tortured his child victims before killing them, more closely fits Dr. Lombroso’s thesis. He was executed in 1936.
