New-York tribune., 1873-07-04
INSANE CRIMINALS.
A REVIEW OF CERTAIN MURDER TRIALA.
THE CASES or wALwoRTH, SMITH, MFARIAsD.

|
the case of young Walworth-a case in which. for
reasons that will presently appear ! have taken
great interest cannot say that was surprised at
| the verdict indeed IL is pretty nearly what most
people expected after the closing arguments but IL
is not what was generally looked for when the eyi-
dence on tho point of insanity was first presented
10 the Jury The counsel laid much less stres, upon
this branch Of the defense in the summing mp THAI
| in the examination, and J confess do not under
stand his retcence That, however, Is no affair Of
mine Ny purpose in writing this letter is TO show
tho absurd Inconsistency IN our treatment Of IN
sane or so-called insane criminals, and 10 ask
if the law respecting them cannot be reformed.
No fact in mental pathology is better established
than tho heritability and simultaneously the inter-
changeability Of mental diseases. All men know
that insanity and the modified degrees Of idiocy
very commonly transmitted from parent to offspring
complete idiots do not propagate their kind sOms-
| times from one generation 10 the next, sometimes
skiDpin0 alternate generations. 10 ~ not 30 gen.
| orally known that tho various notifications Of
mental disorder which do not amount to insanity
are also transmssible Eccentrcity, extraYagancs
Of temper extreme nervous sensitiveness all alice
tions Of the nerves and their center the BRAIN
| hertabe in the same way; 50 likewise are morbid
| inordnato passions and appetes such az intemper-
| ance &c. which more or less affect tho mind.
| III.
directly or indirectly referred TO mental disease is
interchangeable in the process of transmission with
| other affections of the same kind. The faint which
deyeIops itself az intemperance in tho first victim
| nav become mania in the second, epilepsy IN tina
| third a tendency TO suicide or homicide IN tbs
fourth. and culminate perhaps in complete idiOcy
This happens often that If We know Of tho exist
ence of mental disease in the father we may natu-
rally look for some sort Of mental or nervous afoc-
ton in the son OF grandson. Often 1t Is 80 slight a.
to be hardly noticed but it Is the exception who're
close and intelligent scrutiny cannot Do
| tect something wrong Now it was pretty
! clearly shown. / think, that Mansfield Tracy
| Walworth was madman. No sane creature
| with soul could have written the bideOus etten
read at the trial, put upon paper tho blasphemes
which no journal has dared to print or pursued for
! years the awful course of unprOYOaed violence and
| outrage which finally brought him to his DEATH
| and done all this in the midst Of an unconscious
| perpetual outflow of roaring folly. II was shown
that the son. boy of excellent natural disposition.
was subject to fits of mental disturbance His
| memory occasionally wandered. He became Alb
stracted without any immediate cause. He once or
twice showed phenomenal tendency towards aotS
of violence, Of which the victims were close friends
who had done nothing to offend him. AT first good
student, he lost tho power of application to hs
books At this time he was the victim Of certain
physical ailments also. He discovered
several times with rigid limbs in a condition Of par
tial Inconsistencies He used 10 scream IN hrs
sleep, and his pillow sometimes stained az IL
with blood and froth These things point clearly 70
| epilepsy Dr. Gray found in the symptoms and ae-
tions Of the prisoner tho indications OF =" q very
marked case Of epilepsy, with mental Impairment
He declared that tho mental change which accompa-
MES the disease is sometimes manifested in acts OF
ia rt,,fa tha emilia
tic influence often seems to act nationally; and that
when the external symptoms are slight the brain "a
| usually most affected. The medical testimony
offered by the prosecution in rebuttal did not mate
rally affect the weight of Dr. Gray5 evidence, fOt
tie witnesses merely declined to pronounce upon ths
existence of the disease without moro facts than
the District-Attorney chose to lay before them.
Now here was pretty good Of emotional
insanity famed into activity by encounter with
the person most closely associated with all the pris
oner's troubles and mental disturbance. Yet tha
jury found him guilty of a degree Of murder which
condemns him to imprisonment for life. And ths
public is almost unanimous III saying that the jury
did right.
Tako now the case of Albert H. Smith. hanged
last week at Springfield. He was railway switch.
tender, man ofinoffonsiye and apparently toeraby
correct life, who fell violently in love with
farmers daughter She discarded him FOX another
suitor named Sackett. Smith had repeatedly
threatened his rival and one night meeting Sacket
and the girl together, he shot them bOth killing
Sackett and slightly wounding the young woman
He then went TO his house, made no attempt n
| escape and was arrested shortly afterward. IL wa
shown on the trial that he had elder brother whd
was deficient in intellect, and that his grandfather
| had been weak-mnded. The prisoner bimself had
received several injuries on the head IN early life.
| the external marks Of which still remained. From
boyhood he had been subject TO frequent dizziness
| and pains in tho head. These attacks 80 far im'
paired his memory that he was utterly unable 70
learn the trade of bookbnder. though he worked as
it for eleven months But the most curious evidenced
his mental condition is afforded by a Confession
History of his Life which he wrote in Jail and gave
to Springfield journalist just before his execution.
| II should be observed that this long story was
apparently not intended to influence the executive
| clomency; the circumstances under which 1t WA
made public forbid that supposition; although
| Smith doubtless felt natural desire TO make as
| favorable o showing for himself as ho could. With
regard to his physical troubles, at any rate the Con-
/ fession is probably true. My head would bother
me at times" he wrote 81 will give you some Of
| the effects uly head had with me. At times would
| grow dizzy at times and would do things that was
not ordered to do not because lmea TO be contrary
but the reason was, did not know what was
about" Unfortunately there Is little OF no evidence
as TO his pathological condition, and We cannot tell
| whether it resembled young WalwOrths but there
can be no doubt after reading tho Confession, that
| hisintellect was moro less impaired His mind
may have been cOngentally weak or 1t may have
beon gradually impaired by disease any way itwas
uDsouni "a. "a. story 81 'trange compound OF arte's
self-complacency and pious folly lie has no SIN 10
fl ,lsa N.f haI