[Introduction to the medico-psychological study of Marie Besnard]

The author carried out a study on the somatic and mental health of Marie Besnard who, having at first been accused of poisoning eleven members of her family, was finally acquitted in 1961. He bases his study on medical reports contained in the case file, which is kept in the Palais de Justice in Bordeaux. In the light of the medical literature, the author criticizes classical psychiatric data concerning poisoners, who, in the main, are hysterical, perverse and unbalanced women. He does not believe that there is a characteristic psychological profile of such criminals. Having described the physical condition of Marie Besnard, the author analyses her psychiatric file. He criticizes the way in which the document was compiled, since in his opinion the three psychiatric experts who consigned it interpreted in an accusatory manner the subjective data of their examination. The author concludes that the penal responsability of a defendant should not be founded on psychological data, but only on objective material proof. The study finishes with the integral text of the Marie Besnard psychiatric report; the reader may therefore form his own opinion on the case.