The daily gazette., 1882-01-06
SECOND EDITION
GUITEAU'S TRIAL.
PRAYERS FOB INSTRUCTIONS NY
THE DEFENCE.
Legal DeanItIOns or Insanity.

WASHINGTON, Jan. s, 16S2.-The
prayer OF instructions for the defence il
the Guiteau case was finished to nig hI
and will be given to Judge Cox to-mor-
row. The arguments thereon will be
made Saturday. or the fourteen points
four contest those contained in the
prayer submitted yesterday by the pros.
ecntion. The rest are independent, and
one directly brings up the question Of
jurisdiction, and is based on O decision
heretofore made by the District Court,
the facts of which have been recently
given Ia the Herald. One special pro-
position relative to insanity is also based
upon q decision OF the Supreme Court
Of the the District of Columbia, and II
the law, as there decided, 10 not con-
strued differently, the plea Of insanity
may avail the defendant. From what
Judge Cox said in his rulings Saturday,
that the law presumed q man sane, it is
not unreasonable to infer that he may
upset the decision alluded to and charge
that the insanity must be proved beyond
all doubt.
LAW OF INSANITY.
New Jersey is the only State where
the insanity must be proved beyond q
reasonable doubt. In Massachusetts,
Maine. Virginia, California, Louisiana,
Minnesota, Georgia, Mississippi, Ala
bama, Ohio, Missouri, Pennsylvania,
Delaware aud Texas the burden oi
proof is on the prisoner. but come of
these make the degree of proof an open
question. In New Hampshire, Ken
tucky, New York, Nebraska, Tennes-
see, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan
and North Carolina the law is that the
j1ry must acquit If there be q reason
able doubt as TO the prisoners sanity.
TEST OF RESPONSIBILITY.
The test of insansty as to the prisou
ner's responsibility in criminal trials
has elicited a great diversity OF
opinions, which are embraced in three
classes. In some Of the States the Jury
is allowed to determine whether the
act committed was the result Of Inc
sanity. The English test as to the
defendants knowledge of right and
wrong obtain some States. The
knowledge of right and wrong, coupled
with inquiry as to The prisoner 6 power
to control his actions is the third class
OF tests. The United States courts
have generally adhered to the test of a
knowledge of right and wrong. This
also prevails in California, Nebraska,
New Jersey, Wisconsin, Missouri,
Tennessee, Texas, Alabama, Virginia,
North Carolina, Maine, Georgia,
Louisiana, Delaware and Mississippi.
The power OF the defendant to control
himself is with the above test the rule
in Kentucky, Massachusetts,, Pennsyl-
vania, Ohio, Iowa, Minnesota, New
Hampshire, Michigan, Illinois, In
diana and Kansas, 50 that the question
is really unsettled so tar as uniformity
OF decisions and law apply in this
country, and the instructions of Judge
Cox, as well as the arguments of
counsel, will be Of interest to juris-
prudence.
Mr.. scovILLE's LABoRs.
Mr.. Scoville did not finish the docu-
ment until . late hour tonight. His
room is full of medical and legal
pamphlets and books, besides mass
Of papers and letters. He and his
client have received about five thou
sand letters since last July, and the
daily mail 10 not decreasing. Mr..
Sceville congratulates himself upon
having almost ended his severe la
bors, and says he maintains strong
hope in the prisoner being adjudge1
Insane.
THE MURDERER STILL sANaUINR.
"How does the prisoner conduct him.
self to day p
Just about as usual. He has taken
considerable exercise, eaten three meals
with his ushal appetite and occupied
himself in the intervals with reading the
papels. think he has appeared rather
more serious and thoughtful within
the past two OF three days. Until quite
recently the thought that he has been q
central figure in the public attention has
gratItied his vanity and intense egotism
and overshadoved all other eonsidera.
tiOns. He is q wonderfully sanguine
man. He has undOub edly fed his hopes
Of acquittal upon the expectation of in
terposition OF some sort on the part Of
the 'stalwarts' or OF the President, but
think he 10 beginning to realize that he
has over r-estimated his chances of as
sistance from that quarter.
PROPORTIONS OF THE DEFENsE.
Msssrs. scovllle and Reed tonight
finished the preparation OF the PROPOSE
tions 10 be offered by the defense to the
Court for Instructions to the jury. There
are fourteen propositions. The main
points raised are that the legal test ofin.
sanity is whether the act was done as
the result of an insane delusion, or com.
mitted under an influence or power
which the accused could not resist by
reason of his unsoundness of mind; that
IL the Jury believed the prisoner to be
of so1nd mind but withent malice In tho
comm ssion OF the act they should rem
der a verdict of manSlauK hter; that the
jury should 6nd verdicG of not guilty
upoa the counts of the indictment rep
resenting the death of the President in
the District of Columbia, andlthat q
knO Wedge that his act was contrary to
law would not make the accused liable
to punishment il he did it under the de-
luslon that it was commanded by God.