Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1901-07-24

gard the plea of insanity in the nature
Of q confession and avoidance, and hold
that it must be made clear, must be
beyond reasonable doubt.
A large array of respectable courts go
to the opposite extreme, and hold that
when insanity is plead and evidence
offered in support of the plea, il then
deyolves upon the prosecution to prove
beyond a reasonable doubt every ele-
ment of the crime. including the sanity
of the accused. The third rule rests
upon sort OF middle ground, and has
been adopted by a number OF courts of
last resort, including our own. 1t
places upon tho defense the burden of
proving. by fair preponderance of the
evidence, that the defendant was legal
ly insane at the time the act complained
of was committed.
Another presumption deserves few
words. We find 1t laid down in some
OF the books, that an insane condition
when once established is presumed TO
continue until the contrary is shown by
evidence or Prescriptions. Many forms
OF insanity are quite as durable as the
ordinary diseases of the body, and for
that reason it would seem as though no
presumption should beindulged in at all.
The weight of reason is on the side of
the courts which hold that there is no
presumption of law whatever relative
to the continuance Of disease OF any
kind, the question being one OF fact for
the jury to determine in each case from
the nature of the disease and the con-
dition of the person in whom it acts.
What IS or is not an insane delusion,
is a question Of law for the court; but,
whether the prisoner is or was under
the influence of delus,on, is always a
question Of fact for the jury.
Insanity, when it does not establish
irresponsibility and acquit, should
never be allowed to mitigate or reduce
the grade of the crime. The law does
not undertake to measure the degrees
OF mems understandings.
When the sanity of the prisoner at
particular time is put in issue, it is
proper to show the condition OF rhis
mind for reasonable period both be.
fore and after the date in question.
The morbid nature of the malady fur
nishes the reason for this rule.
The opinions of experts, those who
understand the pathology of insanity.
are, of course, always admissablei so,
also, are the opinions of non-expert wit
nesses, But the non.expsrt witness
must describe the appearance, state the
language and specify the actions upon
which he bases his opinions The law,
however, should not look with favor
| upon opinions. AS rule ordinary wit
nesses had better contine their testi-
mony to facts, and as far as possible leave
the court and jury to draw conclusions
and form opinions from the facts thus
brought before them.
The unreason which constitutes a
defense must be due to disease. 1t will
not avail if its origin is anger, revenge
or some condition directly self produced
| by the use of alcohol or other drug.
| Section 2279 of our present Code
gives, or at least purports 10 give. the
commissioners of insanity authority to
have prisoner Charged with crime
but not convicted thereof nor on trial
therefor" brought before them, and if
they find him insane they are given
power to direct his removal to one of
the hospitals for the insane. 1t is
doubtful whether the legislature has q
constitutional right to provide for such
an interference with the district court.
Il At any event the jurisdiction of the dis
trict court attaches at the time of the
service of warrant issued upon an in
dictment, and from that time on its
jurisdiction is exclusive, and subject
only to review on appeal. Stone w.
Conrad. 1O5 Iowa. 81.
4. When insanity is plead, for the pur.
pose Of excluding responsibility for
crime, any of the recognized causes
, ofinsanitY which exist in the prisoner
case, may be shown in support of the
plea. No one can enumerate all the
secret sources OF disease in disordered
, mind, but many OF the causes of insan.
ity ale known. and this paper would be
incomplete If reference should not be
made to some of them.
Heredity is always an important fac
tor. As in tuberculosis SO in insanity,
it is not as rule the actual disease that
is carried over from parents to their
progeny, but the tendency thereto.
The disease itself is usually developed
under the influence of exciting causes
Alcohol and luetic poisons stand at the
head of the list of exciting causes, and
are responsible for long line of mental
disorders. The children of pronounced
alcoholics come into the world with
weak nervous systems. Darwin goes SO
far as to assert that "the families OF
drunkards do not descend beyond the
fourth generation" And Morel de.
scribes the plan OF their decadence.
Other drugs, such as OPIUM and cocaine,
have their percentage OF victims. Dis
eases which leave the blood in toxic
condition. such as typhoid fever, pneu.
monia and la grippe are responsible for
many cases of mental unsoundness.
Shakespeare seems to have understood
the effect Of poison on the mind. Those
who eat hemlock see subjective things
as objects, and when Banquo had en-.
countered the witches, who vanished as
mysteriously as they appeared, he said
to Macbeth:
"Were such things here as we dc
speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root,
4 That takes the reason prisoner?"
pOisOna circulating in the blood in.