It is, moreover, noteworthy that a remarkably large proportion of the cases in which homosexuality has led to crimes of violence, or otherwise come under medico-legal observation, has been among women.  It is well know that the part taken by women generally in open criminality, and especially in crimes of violence, is small as compared with men.[144] In the homosexual field, as we might have anticipated, the conditions are to some extent reversed.  Inverted men, in whom a more or less feminine temperament is so often found, are rarely impelled to acts of aggressive violence, though they frequently commit suicide.  Inverted women, who may retain their feminine emotionality combined with some degree of infantile impulsiveness and masculine energy, present a favorable soil for the seeds of passional crime, under those conditions of jealousy and allied emotions which must so often enter into the invert’s life.

The first conspicuous example of this tendency in recent times is the Memphis case (1892) in the United States. (Arthur Macdonald, “Observation de Sexualite Pathologique Feminine,” Archives d’Anthropologie Criminelle, May, 1895; see also Krafft-Ebing, Psychopathia Sexualis, Eng. trans, of 10th ed., p. 550.) In this case a congenital sexual invert, Alice Mitchell, planned a marriage with Freda Ward, taking a male-name and costume.  This scheme was frustrated by Freda’s sister, and Alice Mitchell then cut Freda’s throat.  There is no reason to suppose that she was insane at the time of the murder.  She was a typical invert of a very pronounced kind.  Her mother had been insane and had homicidal impulses.  She herself was considered unbalanced, and was masculine in her habits from her earliest years.  Her face was obviously unsymmetrical and she had an appearance of youthfulness below her age.  She was not vicious, and had little knowledge of sexual matters, but when she kissed Freda she was ashamed of being seen, while Freda could see no reason for being ashamed.  She was adjudged insane.

There have been numerous cases in America more recently.  One case (for some details concerning which I am indebted to Dr. J.G.  Kiernan, of Chicago) is that of the “Tiller Sisters,” two quintroons, who for many years had acted together under that name in cheap theaters.  One, who was an invert, with a horror of men dating from early girlhood, was sexually attached to the other, who was without inborn inversion, and was eventually induced by a man to leave the invert.  The latter, overcome by jealousy, broke into the apartment of the couple and shot the man dead.  She was tried, and sent to prison for life.  A defense of insanity was made, but for this there was no evidence.  In another case, also occurring in Chicago (reported in Medicine, June, 1899,