Litchfield enquirer., 1856-05-15
Not Guilty, hut insane.

the New Ysrk Observer, and copy them with
the belief that the sentiments expressed are
just and true. The deplorable increase of muir
ders mast awaken the public to a sense Of the
Insecurity of human life while such notions pre-
vail as have been exhibited at certain murder
trials recently held
I" Not guilty il he will leave the state" was
the ludricrous verdict of rural jury, but we
doubt whether it was q more injurious YER
dict than one which recently declared three
wretches in New Haven not gully, on the
ground of insanity. We allude, of course, to
the acquittal of the Wakemanites as they are
called, who murdered one of their own number,
in a most horrid manner in December last. The
sect Of which Mrs. Wakeman was the leader
held an eclectic system of faith, made up of the
NEST beautiful features of the perfectionist, Mix
lerite, and spiritualist schools, but holding, so
far as we are able to learn, nothing more absurd
than many of the notions of other fanatieal
seets that abound among us at the present day.
One of their peculiarities was belief that g the
power of sin" has been successfully lodged in
the breast of one man, from generation to gen
Grafton, since the fall of Adam, and lately it had
taken possession of one Mathews whose exist
ence unless he was dspossessed, was fatal to
the peace and life of Mrs. Wakeman, the leader
and as soon as she died, the day of Judgment
was to come! TO save the life of Mrs. Wake
man and postpone the day of Judgment, these
fanatics took Mathews tied his hands behind
| his back with his own consent, kept him fast
ing six days and as the evil spirit still remained
in. him, they cut his throat. The circumstall-
Il -, Ia
the last degree, and present one of the most
awful lessons in the annals of fanatcism
But 4 Connecticut jury have honestly, and
with the best Judgment they could bring to
bear on the subject pronounced these murder
ers not guilty on the ground of insanity They
(the muriercrs, not the jury,) will probably be
sent to the Insane Asylum.
If this verdict is to be sustained by the sense
of the intelligent people of this country, we may
expect to see the bloody fruits of tanaticsm
rapidly crmsoning the land. The members of
this sect in New Haven are still at large with
the exception ofthree of them, who were arrest
ed as the more immediate participants in the
murder, and now they are instructed by this
verdict that killing any one whom, they suppose
to be under the power of SIM is not murder as
they are insane in the eye of the law Safety
in New Haven would seem to require that the
remainder of this sect should be seized at once,
and confined with their acquitted felow-mem-
bers as it is certainly better to prevent mis-
chief when it is possible than to deplore it af-
forwards a
Then comes the question how fanatical must
q person become in order to be allowed to com
NIT murder with impunity. Here is a body OF
spiritualists in this city, receiving revelations
from the spirit-world every day, and believing
these communications as implicitly, as they be-
leye any thing in the world of truth The di-
reetions raped out to them they obey as cheer
fully as if they were hidden by the voice OF
God from heaven. How many crimes against
society, how many social disorders they have
caused We cannot undertake to say We have
heard of many, and some most foul Husbands
have been driven from their wives, children
separated from parents, property torn away
from its lawful owners, and untold wrongs per-
petrated under the name of spiritualism 1t
has SO far been done with the consent of the
victims, themselves the miserable dupes Of the
mposture. Hence the law has not been in
vokcd to punish these abominable violations of
the rights of society and individuals But we
shall soon hear that these spritualsts have com
mtted an atrocious murder perhaps some
magistrate or divine is in their way and must
be removed. A revelation comes from the
spirit of Paul, or Luther or Daniel Webster or
John c. Calhoun, stating that it is necessary
that one of the Candidates for Presidency, or
some other eminent man should be put out OF
the way. There arc fanatics enough in this
city to do the deed, in the name of patriotism
or for the glory of God Would New York
Jury acquit the murderers on the ground of in
sanity! If they ought to acquit them, then
there is great and growing sect of most dan
gcrously insane people going at large in this
community, and the sooner the New Insane
Asylum is completed, and filed the safer it
will be for those of us who believe the whole
thing to be born of the devil and one of his
most active and efficient instrumentalties.
Manifestly there is no protection in law, no
power in the fear of death, to restrain this class
of men from the worst of crimes, ii this New
Haven verdict is just. We do not believe that
these people were unable to distinguish between
right and wrong. We find in the circumstances
of the crime, as proved on the trial, abundant
evidence that they knew they were committing
murder, and their attempt to make it appear
that the victim was suicide, shows more me-
thod than consists with madness So far as
We are now advised we would hold them all
guilty of murder, and by making them suffer
the penalty, we would give terrible and useful
warning to all the imposters and fanatics of the
country, that their decisions and impostures are
not to shield them from the grippe of Justice,
when they step over the confines of law.
sv[ - -...