The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1904-11-18
terest. not only to the medical and Lee
gal professions, but to the layman.
Report Of the Physjeians.


gal professions, but to the layman.
Report Of the Physicians.
IN their report to the district attor-
Hey upon which the court committed
the woman to the hospital, the physi-
clans said:
1.-The salient features of the case.
which indicated more especially ir-
responsibility were: Lack Of moral UNI
Outstanding, Of natural feelings, and
Of the ordinary motives for conduct.
including criminal acts, al. . the gen.
eral absence in her of sufficient self
control to restrain her from crime. and
her disregard of the consequences. as
shown, for example in continuing to
poison patients in full knowledge that
her guilt in other cities was suspected:
by her desire to confess her guilt at
the outset: her indifference to her fate.
etc. These facts seemed to us to evil
dence her inability both to help doine
what she did, and to be affected by
punishment. conditions which are the
best tests of accountability"
To this DR.. Stedman adds:
Moral insanity belongs to the
group known as insanities of degen-
GRAFTON. and is better termed degenera-
tive insanity of the moral type. It
should be exclusively reserved to des-
ignate a congenital. primary. consti-
tutionaI and permanent mental con-
dition affecting the moral nature and
unassociated with evident intellectual
impairment. These patients have good
memory and understanding, ability to
reason and contrive. much cleverness
and cunning, and general appear
ance of nationality, coexisting with
very deficient CONTROL absence of moral
sense and human sentiments and feel
ings. perverted and brutal instincts.
and propensities for criminal acts Of
various kinds, which may be perpet-
uated deliberately and cleverfy
planned. yet committed with little or
no motive and regardless of the con-
sequences to themselves and others.
This latter point is important as indic-
alive of a perversion Of the fundament-
al instinct of self-preservation (Kel-
logg.) In their general conduct also.
these individuals are rarely governed
by the same motives that govern, and
it is often difficult to see what the
motive is"
Family and Early Life.
Jane Toppan is now As years old.
Not much has been ascertained of her
earliest life, but it is known that she
and her sister were placed in found
ling hospital by their father, an &C.
centric man, who drank freely. The
sister is a respectable and capable wo-
man. A younger sister is chronic in
sane patient. A third sister led dis
solute life and is dead.
The kind and Christian training
which Mrs. Toppan gave her ward.
(whose name had been Honora Kellyp
was thrown away; her incorrigible
propensities for deceit. falsehood and
trouble making. never absent from the
first. proved too much, and she was
sent away.
1t is thus evident that her faint 10
Unborn. Once she told Dr. Stedman:
Il seem to have a sort of paralysis Of
thought and reason. Something comes
over me; I don't know what it is. I
have an uncomfortable desire to give
poison without regard to the conse-
quences.'
All her poisoning was done with
opium, with a fatal dose of atropine,
and the draft was so given in Hunyadi
water as to be unsupported by the