The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-07-28
FEIGNING INSANITY.
The Case of GOuverneur Kortright
Is Interesting.

Is Interesting.
From Law Notes
A remarkable study for lawyers and the
medical profession is presented by the case
of Gouverneur Kortright. The success with
which he feigned sanity and for a time i'm
posed on a court and some members of the
medical profession is almost without a par
anel; for, although the books show that an
insane person occasionally attempts TO con
ceal his insanity, there are few or no
cases in which the attempt has been sue
cessful, even for a time. It Will be re-
membered that fortnight, a wealthy and
prominent man, when his sanity was first
questioned last summer, made, assisted by
able attorneys and physicians, a Vigor-
Gus fight for his liberty. and finally sue
ceeded in convincing the court that he was
sane, Notwithstanding the opinion of DR.
Flint, who unqualifiedly pronounced him
insane, and adhered to his opinion with
such stubborness as to evoke a storm of
personal abuse. The opinion of that emf
lent alienist finds ample Vindication in the
recent commitment of Kortright by Justice
Francis VI. Scott of the New York Su-
preme Court, who, upon the showing of in
sanity made, deemed il inadvisab'e TO
bring Kortright into court because he
Insanity is more frequently feigned than
sanity, of course; but there are a sufficient
number of recorded cases where the at
tempt TO simulate sanity has been made to
cause us TO pause and wonder if there are
not many such cases in which the at
tempt is so successful that il is never dis
covered. What assurance have we that in
some cases. al least. men have not been
executed for murder when, in fact, they
We're not because of their insanity. guilty
of that onense? Why may not an execution
at the hands of the law be a crazy man $
method of committing suicide? We know
of a least one reported case in which
man charged with assault with intent to
kill arose in court and repudiated his
counsel's statement that he was insane,
said that his counsel had new
er consulted him on the sub
ject of his defense. denied that he was
al any time suffering under any aberra-
ton of mind and actually went so far as
10 Cross-cXamine the witnesses called to
prove his insanity. His attempt to impose
on the court was not. however, successful
Witnesses whom he himself called testified
that he was insane and he was found not
guilty. And there was a case in Lord
Mansfeld's time Illustrating the cunning
of mailman, where a doctor was indict-
ed for keeping one Wood in madhouse
Wood on the trial of the doctor underw ent
a most severe examination by the defend
ants counsel without exposing his mental
malady, and the defendant was about TO
be convicted, when Lord Mansfield, on the
suggestion Of a physician, asked Wood
what had become Of the Princess with
whom he had correspouded in cherry juice
He Immediately showed his insanity by an
swering that he had been imprisoned in a
high tower and debarred the use Of ink
ana that he had to write his letters in cher
ry juice and throw them into the river
which surrounded the tower where the
Princess received them in a boat.
The case Of Kortright aud the others TO
which we have alluded show that insane
persons frequently display great subllety.
and that not infrequenty one Of their
crazy notions is that they are not crazy.
In view of the possibility which we have
above suggested, that men may be execu-
ted as criminals who are insane. and con-
Iseouently not responsible for their actions