Carson daily appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1873-1877, 1873-06-19
Is EvEmY CRIMINAL CRAZY

resource Of criminals. It is reported
that Frank Walworth, the young assas
sin Of New York, who invited his father
TO his room, and then shot him to death,
WILL Set up the plea of insanity, being
uplhle, with any chance of success, t.
| plead self drfeuse
| All men and women who Kill for love
| or lust are held to he insane, Of course.
Ali who kill for revenge are equally in
sane. So are all who kill by any unus-
ual method. All who poison 3 large
number of people are obviously insane
So many trials of this sort have taken
place in this country within the last
three years, and 50 many homicides
have been remanded to the tender Gus
tody of their relations as temporary
lunatics, that the question now arises
whether. in fact. every offender against
the law is irresponsible. 1t has come to
PASS that two classes of persons are GER
tain to b. tried, and likely to be aeauit-
ted. OH thi. ground: First, those ar
raigned for crimes prompted by irresist-
ible human nature, and which, it is
assumed OH trial, "any man would COM
nit" Second. those who are arraigned
for crimes of peculiar enormity. which,
it is assumed, mo SANE person would
The members of the first
class are very numerous. The second
class seems in 10 danger of being abol-
ishrd
In the H,usatonic valley, Connecticut,
Mrs. Sherman was recently tried for the
murder of eleven persons by poison, and
she Was acquitted for no reason except |
because it WAS proved that she did it
the legal assumption being that she
: ,uld not have done it if she had been |
,ne |
A year ago. III one of the rural coun-
lies of Illinois, citizen, more enliyht-
ened aud intelligent than the average of
lis nei ,hbors, but cursed with an uncon-
reliable temper, fell uLon his eleven
fear old son with leathern whip. in the
presence of his mother then in conine-
n-nt. beat him bfutally, roasted him on
he red-hot stove, and alternately q 'gged
md fay-d him till his rage Was exhaust
ID and the suffering boy died. Then
IA he the reaction, and the savage father
xrung his hands and walled at his terri
DE deed, called piteou-ly for the dead
:hild to come back, and finally buried
be little corpse in the garden and adver-
Used the missing boy as runaway! The
rhine leaked out, and the incensed com
nunitv, in sudden anger at the disclosure
# such an appalling barbarity, assem-
led aud hung the wretch to Il tree and
1T him hanging for two days. If he
ad lived to take II regular trial, the plea
+ insanity" would probably have
aved him.
professor" " st. in New Jersey, who
,st December murdered Jan inoff-nsiv-
egro. stranger to him. AMI then
kinned him from head to heel, blew up
De building. ran away and tried to pass
# the mntilated body As his own SD that ,
is family could draw the insurance. has !
lade confession. II lie sets up the
lei. of insanity in view of his unique |
nd diabolical crime, he stands a good
nance to get clear. :
To return to the question. Il every :
.imin i insane? 1t is. of course obvi
"a that no offender is ''in his right
ind"--because he is necessarily in his 4
rong mind. Nor il this mere verbal +
nibble. The whole criminal record o.
le world proves that. when an intelli- |,
mt man lisobeys the moral law. he has Il
st. or voluntarily surrendered, his con- Il
81 over the Good NJ IN within him =
ut better SILT that resides in every hui t.
IN frame, and blesses wherever il
inmates. In certain subtle sense
d-rstood by NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS., every =,
minal has, at the moment of crime, RI
rfrited aud lost II fraction of his res G
He Is swept away in !
roxysm Of overmastering passion. n