The New York herald., 1922-02-19
Courts Hold 1t Not Action
able to Torture Person
Into Suicidal Mania.
SOME UNIQUE DECISIONS
Self-Murder Due to Insanity
Is Not Natural Result of
Physical Injury.
BY VIM. M,MuRTRIE spEER.

ny w Ms w III Ik1JtlE SIEESn.
Andrea Salsedo jumped from the
fourteenth story of the Park Row
Building to the pavement of the street
below on May 3, 1920. For two months
he had been held by agents of the De-
partment of Justice who were seeking
evidence OF the existence and identity
OF band Of italian anarchists and
seditionists.
The United States Circuit Court Of
Appeals has now decided that Maria
Salsedo "as administrative of the
goods. chattels and credits of Andrea
Salsedo, deceased. plaintiff in error"
may not recover damages for her husA
bands death, from the former Attor-
ney-General, the former head of the
Secret Service Department, the man
in charge of the New York branch of
the Department of Justice and several
of their associates.
1t was an interesting case. more
sensational than a melodrama and
more exciting than an ordinary detec-
tive story which the opinion of Judge
Rogers of the United States Circuit
Court of Appeals for the Second Dis
trict narrates.
Salsedo was not an American cii-
zen. He was IAN alien, being sub
ject of the kingdom of Italy" He was
arrested by agents Of the Department
of Justice and instead of being taken
TO the Tombs he was kept in custody
in one of the rooms of the Park Row
Building. where a floor is occupied as
offices by the Department of Justice.
g.
In this room he was held from
March / to May 3. being examined
from time to time by the agents of the
Department of Justice to get evidence
from him as to his friends and asso-
ciates and their plans.
His family did not know where he
was. 1t was doubtful whether any of
his friends knew where he was. His
whereabouts were known only to the
men who were trying to get informa-
ticn from him. After two months of
this he jumped out of the window of
his room. fell fourteen stories and
died on the sidewalk.
His widow brought suit In the Su-
preme Court of the State of New
York to recover damages for the
death of her husband. The defendants
named were A. Mitchell Palmer,
William J. Flynn, George f. Lamb,
Charles J. Scully and John Francisco.
The complaint alleges that the de-
PENDANTS caused the death of Andrea
Salsedo by the following acts and con-
duct:
''They lawlessly and wrongfully ar
rested and seized his body and held
him in confinement and captivity
without process of law and against
his will; they assaulted him; they in
fiicted upon him blows and grievous
bodily injuries: they subjected him
against his will to repeated inter
rogations and inquisitions.
"In, during and throughout said
period the defendants and each of
them tortured the said Andrea Sal
sedo mentally by the following acts
and conduct: They threatened to in
fIict upon him grievous physical in
Jury and death. and to cause his
prosecution. conviction and imurison-
ment for a crime of which he was
innocent. and they made and broke
repeated promises to set him free;
they caused him to believe. and he
did believe, that they had present
power and ability to nfiict upon him
said wrongs with which they threat
ened him. and they caused him to be
and live in constant fear.
''In and by said tortures the de-
PENDANTS and each of them caused
said Andrea Salsedo TO lose control
of his mind and will and to become
suicidally despondent and mentally
irresponsible for his own conduct, with
the result that on or about May 3,
1920. nc projected his body from a
window of his chamber of confine-
ment in the premises occupied by the
so-called Department of Justice, on
the fourteenth story Of the building
at Park Row, New York city. to the
pavement Of the street below, and
died"