"It Didn't Work"

Millard Wright had spent 15 of his 38 years in jail when, in an attempt to cure his urge to steal, he had a prefrontal lobotomy (cutting of nerve pathways in the forebrain). That was five years ago (TIME, July 14, 1947). For his possible contribution to medical science, Wright drew a light sentence, and he behaved so well that after 2 1/2 years he was paroled. He got married, worked as a bus washer, and his lawyer and physician thought he was going straight.

But in Pittsburgh last week, Wright was identified as the man who had passed some stolen articles. In his home, police found thousands of dollars worth of goods. Back in jail, Wright said simply: "With me, it just didn't work." Dr. Edward E. Mayer, Allegheny County court behavior expert, went further: in his opinion there was never any reason to believe that it would work, because a lobotomy reduces self-control.

When detectives asked Wright why he had gone back to crime, he shrugged and said: "You fellows know the questions, so you ought to know the answers." The truth was that neither the detectives nor the neurosurgeons were any nearer to knowing what makes an incurable thief, let alone how to cure one.

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