Notorious Criminals: Albert Fish. Alexandria M. Yockel - "The ' Herkimer County Community College SS 136 Professor Kathleen D. Stables. April 15, 2024 Abstract Albert Fish was a very troubled individual who committed many great atrocities from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. Fish’s history can be traced back to his early years at an orphanage, where his untoward behavior first started. He is most known for the kidnapping and murder of Grace Budd, which led to his inevitable downfall. In light of his crimes, the theories behind Fish’s behavior could be split between Fish’s family history of mental illness and learned traits from his youth. However, in this instance, both are plausible. Keywords: Albert Fish, Sadomasochism, Molestation, …show more content…
It has been noted that he had relatives that were admitted into asylums, as well as an uncle who was diagnosed with mania and his sister was diagnosed with a mental affliction. It was also reported that Fish’s mother had both visual and auditory hallucinations prior to Fish going to the orphanage (Fernando, 2022; Montaldo, 2019). Additionally, there have also been instances where eyewitnesses have reported that Fish would often act dazed and mutter to himself incoherently (Bardsley, 2012). When Fish was taken into custody for the murder and kidnapping of Grace Budd, there were several psychiatrists that came into contact with Fish. These psychiatrists deemed him truly insane after a few sessions they shared with him. They based this on the nature and cruelty of his crimes as well as his claims of being ordered by God to carry out the acts that he committed. His concept of specific excerpts from the Bible proved his ideologies of right and wrong were skewed. He also presented several traits of psychopathy, such as wetting the bed until he was eleven years of age, a lack of impulse control, and a need to keep stimulation regardless of the means he received it (Fernando,