About book Killer Of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story And The Birth Of Forensic Science (2010)
After reading that in response to Vacher shooting a woman multiple times in the face at close range, he spent a few weeks in hospital, I flinched. After some further treatment this man was released and tragically went on to murder and mutilate at least 11 people (1 woman, 5 teenage girls, and 5 teenage boys) during a 3 year period beginning in 1894. Many of his victims were shepherds, hence the title of the book, caring for their flocks in isolated fields. These were violent crimes: victims were repeatedly stabbed, often disemboweled, raped, and sodomized. Paralleling this story in the book is another of Dr. Lacassagne, a physician and criminologist, who found a school of criminology coupling his interests in sociology and psychology and then finding correlation of these disciplines to criminal and "deviant" behavior. Thus leading to forensic science.Although not a topic I'm generally drawn to, this is interesting and well done.See: The Poisoner's Handbook by Deborah Blum. This is an immensely interesting book for anyone into forensics, and immensely timely for anyone interested in social aspects of crime and punishment. It's easy to forget that much of the roots of 19th century science, especially forensics, is rooted in social Darwinism, and how much of that folds over into the attitudes of modern Americans (who knew we could sound so much like Victorian French peasants?). The crux of the tale is competing dogmas--Lacassagne's psychosocial approach to forensics versus Lombardo's social Darwinism of the "born criminal"--and, where they intersect, the question of what makes someone legally responsible for their actions. It's amazing how many of these conversations we're still having today, shadowed by Vacher and his repugnant murder spree.
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LOVED this! What a fascinating couple of stories neatly woven together.
—Infinyty
I am currently reading this and find it hard to put down.
—Dextreus
