Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-01-25
afternoon Session.

After recess Judge Porter resumed his argu
ment and pointed out the cunning, the du-
plicitY, the acting of the prisoner since The
beginning OF the trial. You are, gentlemen
of the jury, no more kings IN respect of law
than the prisoner in the dock, who sits lin
crowned save in his own conceit.
Referring to the oft-repeated assertion that
he had sent Garfield prepared to meet his God
and he (Guiteau), too, was ready to die if God
wiled it, Judge Porter with deliberate EN- pha-
sis said: 81 do not believe in all this assem-
| such abject terror the possibility of facing his
Maker as does this braZen murderer
Guiteau whirled around with the ferocity of
a wild beast and fairly yelled "That's a
miserable lie and you know it, Porter, and you
are an internal scoundrel. l hope God AL
| mighty will send for you soon, both you and
Corkhill. Such miserable, sinking whine
as that is"
"The law" said Judge Porter, "as it bears
upon this case is the supreme court, and you
are but simply made, under the obligation of q
solemn oath to bring in your verdict under
the law and the facts"
QUESTIONS TO BE DECIDED.
Summing up the questions presented by the
case upon which they were soon to be called
upon to pass, Judge Porter said:
"The first OF the questions for YOU to con-
slider is was the prisoner insane on the second
of July. If he was not, the case is at an end
| and your sworn duty is ended"
Second, If you reach the conclusion that he
was insane on that day, was he insane to that
degree that on the second of July he did not
know that murder was morally and legally
wrong. If he was not insane to that degree,
yeu are bound under your oaths to convict
him.
"Third, if in utter disregard of his COMES
sion under oath, you shall find he actually and
honestly believed that God had commanded
him to kill President Garfield, and that he
was find UNI under f,,., Co.. d ehs unless
disabled him from knowing such act was NOR.
ally and legally wrong, you are bound under
| your oaths to convict him.
"Fourth--If you find such delusion did not
| exist, as that God commanded him to do the
act, and such delusion was the sole product of
| insanity, and then only can you acqut him
when you find he was unable to control his
] own will. And you must remember, that I'M
| der oath he has sworn he was able to control
it, for he said, had Mrs. Garfield been with
him at the depot on the I'd of July, would
not have shot him.
| "Fifth-If you find that even though he was
partially insane, it resulted from bis own
malignlty, his own depravity, yet still you are
bound under the instructions Of, the court to
convict him.
''Sixth-If upon the whole case you have nc
reasonable doubt whether he was wholly OF
partially insane; If you believe that he knew
his act was legally and morally wrong, you
are under your oaths bound to convict him .
"The law" said Judge Porter, sis founded
upon reason and law land established principles,
which will not let murder, and rapine, and
arson run riot through the land"
Mr.. Porter then went on to discuss the
points of law as laid down by Judge Cox in
this case. After he had disposed of thai
question he took up again the question of the
responsibility Of the prisoner. ''What house
hold" be said, "would be safe, whist church
would protect its worshippers, If this mar
| were to escape on the plea of responsibility
Is it true, any man who has had an insan,
father, an insane uncle, an insane aunt or al
insance ancestor, and who is not himself in
sane, but knows perfectly that murder is le
gally and morally wrong, is to escape punish
ment, may be stab or shoot, or waylay, OF
murder by day or night, and then claim in
his yindlcation, not that he is insane himself
but that somebody else was? If so, what il
human life worth? Nay more, if it were true
every insane man, no matter in what degree, NJ
matter whether from melancholia, or from an,
of those casual or occasional conditions O
mind, is at liberty to commit burglary to fir,
your dwelling house, to set the city of Wash
ington on fire when frost shall stiffen the wa
ter and when fire is destructive, to ravisl
your daughter; what security is there? Tha
license for which this brother-in-law of Quit
eau contends, namely, that the law is INTENDED
only for rational men, and that all of thos,
crimes which have mentioned may be com
mitted by license, not from law, but from on,
OF the twelve emperors or kings in defiance O
law and of instructions from the court.
Nay, more, the insane Of this country,