The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1882-06-25


the governments masked batterya
Feeling, therefore, that Guiteau's case
has not been presented fairly, either medi-
cally or legally, to the world / signed q
petition in favor of a stay of execution and
examination by an expert in lunacy, in
order to put myself as protesting against
such trial as that of Guiteau, which was
disgrace to American jurisprudence and
an indication that we think more of re
venge than justice
do not think that I am obliged. as an
expert, to- consider the protection of So
ciety. If Guiteau is insane, he is the sub
ject of disease requiring certain definite
treatment to restore his mind to healthful
action. To kill man because he is dis
eased is barbaritY. Yours very truly,
WALTER CLAIMING
DIR. THEODORE W. FISHER,
superintendent of the Boston Lunatic hos
pital, and for many years previous en-
ployed by the city to examine all its insane
to be committed to state or city hospitals,
and who has examined thousands of insane
persons, possibly more than any other
physician in the country. writes thus
BOSTON LUNATTC HOSPITAL,
Boston, June IL, 1892
have an opinion in the Guiteau case
and have no hesitation in expressing it
publicly in any form likely to further a
stay of execution. | read paper at
meeting of the association of superintend-
ents at Cincinnati, maintaining Guteaus
| insanity. / have none but respect for
| gentlemen who hold the opposite opinion
as sincerely as l hold mine and I do not
wish to criticise the conduct of the trial
too severely / think, however, the de-
| q. n. a.
| opinions of most of its own experts. 1t is
| for this reason that, having been called by
the defense, / have felt bound to put my
| opinion on record In spite of its length
and the latitude allowed the prisoner, | do
| not think his trial was a fair one. His ut
| terances Immediately following the assassi-
nation should have been put in evidence;
| he should have been put under skilled and
unprecedented medical observation from the
| fist; he should have been examined by a
commission of experts agreed to by both
sides, and as unbiased as possible where
every natural instinct constituted terri
BILE bias against the prisoner. His defense
should have been in ADLER hands, under
the circumstances. to make his trial fair
one
/ cannot assent to the proposition that,
although insane, having been convicted,
| no attempt should be made to save him.
| 1t is never too late to reverse a wrong de-
cision while the subject of it lives. | do
not think it right or eXpedient to hang a
| man in any respect insane, whether re-
sponsible according to the legal test of
knowledge of wright and wrongor not
believe that the ends of justice and the
public safety only require that Guiteau
shall be imprisoned or confined in a hos
pital for the insane for life. / have care
fully avoided the expression of any feeling
on the subject, because I fear that public
feeling, outraged by the act of assassina-
ton, has obscured and belittled the evil
dences of Guiteaus insanity. You may
make any use you please of this letter.
Yours sincerely,
THEODORE w. FISHER.
DIR. A. MCFARLAND.
late superintendent of q state hospital in
Illinois, and now superintendent of Oak
Lawn Retreat, Jacksonville, H.. whose ex,
positions of insanity in the courts have
often been listened to and acted upon by
Acting Vice President David Davis.
writes:
Il can't for my life see how any one
even witnessing Guiteau's insane rant in
the court could fail to pronounce him
stark mailman, to say nothing of all
his later life history, which is lunacy all
over. / happened to know his father,
and all his children that | have seen (3)
are true actions of thoroughly crazy
stock, singularly alike in the radical es-
sence of disease in them all The
defence in the court was of itself piece
of half-craZy work, little worse, l think,
than no defence at all. just to think of
it, that my appearance in court was
fought off by John Guiteau because l
could prove the fathers insanity and he
would have Charles Guitcau hanged ten
times over before any man should pro
nounce father insane" DR.. MacFarland
further writes The hot breath of per
sonal, popular clamor will not be felt on
the cool check of history, and then you
will get the reward due to an effort to save
our age from what will be lasting re
proach if consummated.
DIR. GEORGE NJ. BEARD.
DR. George M. Beard expresses his views
as follows:
NEW YORK, Jnne 16, 1882.
In response to your inquiry I may say
that the case of Guitcau has ut last re
turned to the profession to which, as a
scientific study, it belongs, and from which
it never should have been taken. My own
opinions have been publicly expressed so
often and in so many different ways, be-
fore, since and during the trial. that only
the priefest re-statement is necessary.
These opinions are and from the first have
been: First-That Guiteau has been in
sane, beyond hope, for more than twenty
years the murder of the president being
only frightful incident and accident in y
life crammed and crowded with insane
deeds and words. Second-That his in
sanity is not of mild or gentle, or mere
ly laughable nature, but severe and terrible
as well as hopeless. Religious mono
MANIA when inherited, and of long stand
ing, is one of the most pitiable and incura-
BILE diseases known to psychology. 1t is
one of the very worst of the varieties of
insanity, having far fewer chances of per-
feet and permanent recovery than the more
familiar forms of raving mania and mel
ancholia. Third-That, in the murder of
the president, Guiteau was rs irresponsI
BILE as the pistol he held in his hand. The
essence of insanity is impairment of re
sponsibility. The man who is perfectly
responsible is not insane; and usually in
the act of violence on the part of the in
sane the responsibility is practically abso-
Lutte The trial in Washington was
crime, not against Guiteau-to whom, in
deed, it was the most delicious and enjoy
oh IL of IL y,