The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-04-30
Mistakes of Exnerts.

miSl0hcc VI IApCIlSs
The unreliability of the testimony of
'sexperts'' in cases where the lives and
liberties of accused persons are at stake
has received many illustrations at murder
trials, when learned professionals on
opposite sides have given evidence that
neutralize each others scientific deduc-
tons. But the most striking instance of
this kind was furnished in the trial OF
DR.. BUCHANAN in New York, which was
concluded day or two ago.
The defendant was charged with poison
ing his wife, morphine being the alleged
agent of the murder. Experts were put
on the stand by the prosecution who
swore to finding morphine in the remains
submitted to their examination. They
had proceeded according to the chemical
tests laid down in the standard works,
and gave minute accounts of the process
and the results. What they found
established the presence of morphine,
as they understood the authorities on the
subject.
Professor VICTOR q. VAUGHAN OF the
University of Michigan was put on the
stand by the defence, and he demonstrated
by chemical experiments in court that
the orthodox tests were valueless as
proofs of the presence OF morphine. He
showed that by the use of amylic alcohol
the experts were more likely to extract
than morphine; that when he needed
ptomaines in his experiments he always
resorted to amylic alcohol to extract them
from decomposing tissue; and that there
was nothing produced in the expert
analysis of the body of the deceased which
could be identified as morphia.
! DR.. VAUGHAN said the only certainty
was in the extraction of actual chrystals
of morphine observable under the micro
scope. All the so-called coIored tests were
deceptive, for they could in every instance
be used with the same results with
ptomaines as with morphia. He proved
| this before the court. The experts were
unable to tell which of two walls con-
tanned solution of ptomaines and which
solution of morphine. He applied ex-
actly the same tests as those experts had
used in this case, and produced exactly
the same apparent results with the
ptomaines as with the morphine.
When questioned as to whether he
denied that morphine had been found by
the experts in Mrs. BUoHANAN's remains,
he answered that he denied positively that
they had brought any proof into court
that they had found it. A rigorous
cross examination only served to estab-
fish the doubt he had cast upon the other
experts Of findings by the experiments
made before them and the jury.
A German analytical chemist named
ScHEELE was also introduced by the de-
tense, who showed that amylic alcohol
| itself contained ptomaines, and that there
is no rule in medical science by which the
amount OF morphine or any other alkaloid
can be determined by the strength or
brilliancy of color tests, which were those
used by the expert witnesses for the
prosecution.
The adage about doctors differing is
made serious in view OF the opposing
theories and deductions of professional
gentlemen. We would not charge them
with being influenced by fees. But it
does look often as though their
opinions were, to some extent, warped
by the side they are on in case in court.
And when it is possible that defendent
may be placed in jeopardy of his life by
the apparent production of morphine,
said to have been administered to him as
poison, when it is possible, aye probable,
that what is brought forth is but proof of
the presence of ptomaines, naturally
formed in decomposing tissue, the expert
business becomes alarming in its doubt
full evidences aud justice calls for some-
thing more definite and worthy of con-
| fdence.
The New York conflict of experts will
be OF value to the cause OF humanity as
well as to the world OF seience, If it brings