The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1882-01-06
The GUITEAU TRIAL.
rHrRry-rHtnD DAY.

/ temporary insanity, and witness was asked if in
his practice he had not met an instance Of tenn
porary insanity. He replied: Yes, sir, !
/ know of man who was insane for twenty-feur
hours."
Scoville eagerly -" And then he got well p
NO, sir; he died." Laughter at Scoville 3
| expense1
Witness was asked what he meant BY saving
:" think he (the prIsoner) has been playing q
! part IN court, and replied 81 believe be has
been feigning what he believed to be INSANITY
/ not real insanity. believe that re has been
| attempting to give the impression in court that
he is insane, and with that idea bae been acting
part"
! DIR. Randolph Barksdale, superintendent of
the Central Lunatic Asylum, near Richmond,
va, visited the prisoner at the jail. He had
also closely observed him in court, and from
his personal examination and observation was
of opinion he was sane. Witness also testified
that he believed Gulteau had been feigning in
court. Witness believed taking as true the
tac.s set forth in the two hypothetical ques-
tons OF the prosecution. that the prisoner was
sane when he shot the PRECEDENT.
DR.. john Fl. Collender, of Nashville, Super
mtenoent OF the Tennessee State Asylum for
Insane, had given special attention to the study
of insanity for the past twelve years. He had
seer about 1900 cases during his connection
with the Tennessee asylum. Witness visited the
prisoner In Jail and also closely observed him
in court, and believed him perfectly sane. He
(witness) did not believe the Deity ever inspired
man to take tile life of fellow-creature ::
that if person labored under al insane delu-
sion that he was inspired to kill the President
of the United States he would, even if he did
not talk about it, disclose his purpose by his
changed manner and conversation.
Splteful comments by the assassin, to-
gether with his threats to strike his
guards caused Judge Porter to demand
that the. prisoner be placed in the dock.
Gnlteau interrupted with a promise that he
would remain quiet. District ATTORNEY Cork
bill insisted that the assassin be kept in the
dock with no special protection, when Guiteau
shrieked out that God would curse him. SEQ
vile protested that the demand was an invita-.
ton 70 shoot the prisoner. Judge Cox sent the
accused to the dock, which failed to keep him
quiet.
The witness (Collender }, in answer to ques.
ton, said that he should not consider it an in.
sane delusion for man to profess himself as
"a member Of the firm of Jesus Christ & Co. y
unless there were other evidences of disease.
A plaster cast of the prisoners head was Their
handed to the witness, and he was asked
whether there was any marked popularity in
the head
The prisoner-"I looks like Humpty
Dumpty."
The witness replied that the cast presented q
more shapely and symmetrical head than he
had expected it would but he placed no inn
portance on the shape OF the head az indicating
sanity or insanity.
On redirect examination the witness stated
that he dld not think the prisoner had heen
feigning insanity in the courtroom. He had
merely been exsggerating his characteristics
lence. A--'0
The prisoner other words, when / am as
saulted talk back. Porter expects to get T5. 600
for hanging me. He sees his money slipni,p
away because the American people don't want
me hanged. and he is mad at me-"
Thirty FOURTH DAY.
The prisoner was taken without demonstra
ton to the prisoners dock, which is located
aho,it t-.enty-fva feet from The counsel, upon
the left of the room. A letter written by the
prisoner to Don Cameron, asking for the sum
of $500, was submitted by the defense as evil
dence of insanity. The letter is as follows:
Hon. Don Cameron
DEAR SIR: 1 am on trial for my life and need
money. I am stalwart of the stalwarts, and
you. You think great deal of Gen. Artist, and 20
Go /, My inspiration made HIM President, aid
am going to ask you to let me have $500. Ii get
out OF this will return it. If not, charge it to the
stalwarts.
Yours for our cause, and very cordially,
(Signed} CHARLES GUITEAU.
In court, Washington, D. c., Dec 10, 1881
d.
Gulteau, of Boston, and make it payable to my
der c. e.
When the letter was produced in court, the
prisoner denounced his brother as nuisance
and Scovie as jackass.
Dr. Calender, who occupied the witness
stand, was then asked by Scoville: "Will you
give your opinion whether such letter as that
written to man he didn't know, does not in
dictate unsoundness of mind?"
Answer-"I don't think it indicates unsound-
ness of mind. 1t seems to me consistent with
his character and habit through life of solicit
ing money from sources where he had no reason
to expect it."
Dr. Walter Kempster, Superintendent OF the
Wisconsin State Hospital for the Insane, had
devoted his attention to the study of insanity
for the past fifteen years. Witness was familiar
with the process of taking the conformity of
the head, and did not believe much importance,
as rule. could be attached to the shape of the
head IN determining the question of sanity or in
sanity. Witness exhibited slips showing the
shape, as taken by the conformiter, of the
heads of q number of gentlemen.
Witness related incidents within bis knowl-
edge of persons who had committed crimes
while acting under the influence of insane de-
lusions, and defined what he considered insane
decisions to be,
Witness was then asked if he had ever seen
case where person committed cri&e and
claimed divine inspiration, and if so, hgS such
persons deported themselves before and after
the act. He replied that in such cases the de-
Ius1on Cor inspiration as they claim it to be)
comes to the person suddenly and with intense
pressure, and that such persons act quickly and
upon sudden impulse, delaying neither to con-
slder opportunity or weapons; that it would be
impossible to conceive, without actually witness
ing 1t. the energy and impetuosity and de-
termination with which persons acting under
an insane delusion carry out their purposes :;
that 1t would be equally Impossible to describe
1t with language.
Guteau-" You don't agree with Abraham.
Doctor. He took plenty of time to make his
arrangements"
Witness stated that he did not believe in a
distinct type of insanity which could be called
moral insanity. 1t was simply a convenient
term Which had been invented to excuse the
commission of heinous crimes. Witness had
never seen a case where an insane man. after
committing crime, paraded his insanity and
urged 1t as an excuse for his crime Insane
murderers do not boast of their acts, but. on
the contrary, very rarely ailude to them I'M
less good deal of ingenuity is used to
draw them out. Witness. until he entered this
courtroom, had never heard of a case of aile9ed
inspiration that came from within. Always
such persons claim to have heard the voice of
God or seen His image or something of that
sOAt. puCu INSPIRATION Is n6Ver conviction ar
rived at after mature rehectlen on the part Of
the person SO affected.
Witness was asked if the BELIEF of prisoners
father, L. w. Guiteau, that disease could be
cured by PRAYER, should be taken as all evil
dence of insanity. He replied: "By no
means. We Gil know that thousands and
thousands of sane people prayed daily for the
salvation of President Garfeld's hfe. They
would hardly have done so if they had not en-
tertained some belief in the efficacy of prayer +"
Witness had visited the jail and examined
the prisoner with a view of determining his
mental condition. The witness detailed at
some length conversations he had with the
prisoner, with occasional contradictions by
Gulteau.
Guiteau had been engaged with his mail for
some minutes, and here called out ~ would
like to have You know, ladies and gentlemen.
that my letters now come addressed, The
Hon. Charles Guiteau,' quite change from
last summer"
The witness was cross-examined by Reed.
who produced pamphlet, report pre-
pared by The witness as Superintendent
of the Wisconsin Insane Asylum. and read ex-
tracts from it. During the reading DISPUTE
arose between counsel, who seemed to have
gradually developed vast amount of bitter
ness.
Guiteau shouted from the dock: ~ want it
understood that Judge Porter is making all
this fuss and interruption simply to divert the
minds of the jury from the point which he
sees that Reed has made against him. 1t SIM
SEf