The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-02-01

howeN er certain forms of intermitting
or recurring insanity. Might not Van
Horn been afflicted with such form of
mental disorder? Considering his his
tory as given in the evidence, which
covers the larger portion of his life, such
a supposition is untenable for the rea-
son that these intermtting or recurring
forms are essentially chronic as to their
duration and acute, or violent at their
onset; in other words they are permd-
nent forms of insanity; but each recur-
renee constitutes such an active and
prolonged epoch Of disaster in the pa
tents life as to leave him quite helpless
during such period. Again, the terms
intermittent" "recurrent," periodic"
as applied to disorders of the mind, are
used merely in relative sense. as the
patient is never sane during the interim
between one attack and another; he is
merely less actively insane, and his con-
diton would be apparent to the trained
and experienced medical observer The
term "lucid interval has a far more eX-
tended application in law than it has in
medicine, Insanity cannot be put on and
taken off as a garment; person is not
insane for day or n week and then sane
again. Insanity is a prolonged depart
ure from ones normal natural manner
OF acting, speaking and thinking. 1t
must not be invoked to excuse the violent,
brutal outbreaks Of the drunkard, nor
the criminal impulses of the depraved.
Van Horn when on the witness stand
in answer to the direct question whether
he considered himself to be insane, re-
piled that he thought he was not so.
| However this question might have been
answered, it would have no value for me,
| until l had examined the defendant. But
his testimony is evidently that of sane
person. He knew that the only posi-
| BILE story for him to adopt was that of
| accidental homicide, and he clothed 1T
| in all the alleged circumstances that
might render it least incredible He told
| IL well in court and repeated it to me in
| his cell more than year later almost
word for word as in the printed testi-
| mony. When told him finally that did
| not believe it ne simply reaffirmed that it
was true, within increased appearance
| of earnestness, but without anger or eX-
citement.
HE TALKED FREELY.
After my first visit to him, he talked
with me very freely and naturally and
1 believed that 1 gained his confidence to
some degree. At my first visit he clumsl-
| ly feigned O greatly impaired memory,
especially as to details as to homicide;
| but at my second and at all subsequent
visits, his memory for both past and
|
| he claims not to know where he was
and what he did, nor the sequence Of
events for some hours after he followed
| his victim out of the cellar and fled.
| This is very common subterfuge with
| such criminals who appear to think that
such feigned unconsciousness palllate5
their crime to a certain degree In this
case, it is wholly inconsistent with his
| excellent recollection of preceding and
of subsequent events.
| / have purposely refrained from bur-
dening this report with the narrative of
| the crime, and all its attendant circum-
| stances, as they are already on file with
your board; but l have given all that
| matter very close study.
Physical examination of the prisoner
Van Horn revealed to me no abncrmalty,
| nor does he have any marks of degener-
| acy. He has we'll shaped head, which
| is quite free from scar, surface depression
| or any sign of injury, or of congantal
| or acquired malformatiOn. His eyes have
| no popularity Of expression; the pupils
are even in size and respond equally TO
| light, and there is no trembling of the
| eye-lids nor oscillation of the eye-balls.
! There are certain organic diseases of
the brain, such as paresis, that dissi-
pated persons freq emily acquire; but
this prisoner has no sign of them, neither
| has he any form or indication of alcO-
holic insanity.
| This prisoner Is very stolid, cool, un-
| emotional and evidently has great SELF
| control. While it was evident to me
that he felt considerable anxiety as to the
| result of my examination, he allowed mo
| TO depart without his making any direct
inquiry on the subject.
NOTHING MORE COMMON.
1t should be remembered that nothing
| Ia o.
| currences of an active, outdoor life than
| injuries to the head Of more or less Sc
verify. Fortunately, his skull is 50
formed as to resist ordinary shocks and
| to protect the brain.
| 1t does not follow that, because a per-
son has once received such an injury, his
mental soundness should be questioned
in the absence Of distinct symptoms con-
Meeting the injury with mental weakness
or disorder. Such connection has not
| been established in the case of this pris-
| oner.
While it is, of course, impossible to
state exactly what Van Horns mental
It was on August 2S, 1899, the date of the
murder, L have thought 1t proper and
| within the scope of my duty to point out
what were the probabilities as to his
past mental state, viewed in the light of
his present mental condition. / consider
| George n. ' an IlOiH 10 De uDSOlultly
sane at this time, and of good mental ca
pacity. Had l found him in an hospital
for the insane committed thereto in the
ordinary manner / would have ordered
his discharge on the ground that he was
| not insane.
These facts with which 1 have reached
| these conclusions and formed this
positive medical Judgment, and opin-
ion that the prisoner George X
Van Horn, is sane man, has led
me to devote as much time and
earnest study to his case as l have TO
those presenting more difficult problems.
| / am convinced that he is a perfectly
responsible being with a clear knowledge
of right and wrong, and possesses that
| self determining power and self con-
troll which, when exercised prevents the
good citizen from committing crime.
Respectfully submitted,
Henry NJ. Wetherill NJ. D.,
| SepretarV of the Committee On Tunarv