The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1881-12-15
State AssaSsius.
now PAE INSANITY sHoULD BE ACcEPrLD ~
CRIMINAL CASES. :

/ How FAE INSANITY rHoILD BE AttEPilD IL
CRIMINAL. CASES.
fBy james ". Clark I'm December All,ntic.l
The tragedy OF the I'd OF july last sud-
denly revived public interest in an old
topic-the defence OF insanity in capital
cases. II is n well-worn theme, much dis
cussed, and always with an unsatisfactory
result. hat is moral insanity What il
legal insanity Conclusive answers to
both these questions have often been
attempted, but never given with such
dcfintoneSs and dCcisiycncss rs TO shut
off debate. Every day the controversy is
resumed in our courts, and apparently will
20 on to the end OF time. ii Is settled one
day and the day after we find il is not set.
tied at all. what" said the late, -
Forbes Winslow, sis my lGTtrE, insanity;
i maEe none n al. gl'8w Of no uncrring, in
lHoir 1' g 9iei' safe rule or standard appica-
bic TO all cases." SO, too, the British
I Judges. whose efforts TO define the undeiln-
able we shall examine at length, after all
their elaboration OF statement touching what
does and what does not constitute legal in
sanity, finally confessed that "thc facts OF
each particular ease must OF necessity pre-
sent themselves with endless diversity, and
with every shade OF difference in each case"
But il it be difficult To define what is legal
Insanity, which is n mere matter OF human
law. how much more difficult is it 10 deter
mine and define what is moral insanity {?
DR.. Sam Johnson declares that call power
OF fancy over reason is degree OF insani-
ty," and Montague asserts that between
genius and madness there is but IA half
turn of the toe" NJ. Taine concurS in this
dictum, and philosophically AYERS that
d" insanity il not distinct and separate en-
pirc; our ordinary life borders upon It.
and we cross the frontier in some part OF
our nature
1t has been the periodic mission Of the
assassin TO revive this moot question. One
day the world stands and shoulders with
an unanimous horror, and the next divides
upon the old iSsue-Was he insane! II is
oppressively mOnotOnous, in looking back
over these historical tragedies. TO find how
invariably the modern imitatOr Of Bru-
( tus comes down TO the footligbts
with pistol in one hand and Il plea OF
insanity in the other. In American his
tory so far we have had only two creatures
corresponding TO what in the vocabulary OF
Europe would be called regicides. In the
/ first case there was no opportunity offered
10 the assassin TO plead insanity. \ vast
amount OF legal lore and medical metaphy-
sizes was foreStalled by the summary shoot
ing of Wilkes Booth in the iarn where lie
was brought 80 bay.
IL is perhaps worthy of note that not
one OF the men who have OF late muir
dercd. or attempted to murder, Cars or
Emperors have offered the plea Of insanity.
In Great Britain and the United States Ii
seems TO be the aSSassin's inyariablc de-
fence. And i'm both countries counsel for
the accused start with the advantage
OF being able to ask the jury, n Mr..
COckburn did in the cases both OF Pate
and McNaughten, could they believe that
any sane man could have committed such
m act? And that is the question which
the tragic event that has recently shocked
and saddened both hemisphercs once more
invests with melancholy Importance, and
presents for decision 10 an American jury.