Die Psychologie des Mordes

This is a new and annotated edition ("Kommentierte Ausgabe") with the following features: * A comprehensive introduction on the author and historical background * Extensive notes explaining unusual and obsolete words as well as supplying information on persons, events, and the general background. * An appendix with a selection of additional material. "Die Psychologie des Mordes" (The Psychology of Murder") was originally published in 1875. Here Franz von Holtzendorff (1829-1889), one of the leading legal scholars of his time and an outspoken opponent of the death penalty, studies the different types of homicide, their motivations and judicial evaluation. One of his purposes is a critique of the distinction between "Mord" (murder) and "Totschlag" (manslaughter) in German law, which at the time makes the difference between the death penalty and a long prison sentence. This is part of a larger argument Franz von Holtzendorff develops in his book "Das Verbrechen des Mordes und die Todesstrafe" (The Crime of Murder and the Death Penalty), also published in 1875. All texts are in German.