Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-12-14
HoItzoff Coils
Ii Indefinite
And PuzzIinq


laid down by the courts gen
eral, indefinite and puzzling in
practical application"
His remarks were made in an
opinion refusing an uncon-
ditional release from St.
Elizabeths Hospital for Milton
T. Rosenheld. an admitted
housebreaker.
In December. 1856. trial,
RoSenfield was found not gull
". after he had pleaded in
sanity at the time the crimes
were committed.
He was sent to St. Elizabeths
Hospital. as required by Dis
trict law. but was granted
conditional release last April.
He followed this up several
days ago with request for an
unconditional release.
Refusing this last request
yesterday, Judge Holtzod said
Rosenfield'S recovery from his
mental illness was shown to
be only temporary"
Wants Certain Cure
THE mental illness is pre-
sumed to continue until a COM
plete recovery is convincingly
proved, the judge said.
He should be kept under OBJ
servation in the institution for
a sufficiently long period, even
after cure appears. to make
certain the apparent cure is
not merely temporary
The judge admitted 1t is in
humane to impriSon insane
criminals.
But he said that to turn
insane criminals free would be
dangerous both to the public
and themselves.
Noting that there has been
o recent increase in requests
for mental examinations by
defendants. Judge Holtzof said
o plea OF insanity at a trial
should not become IAN escape
route from conviction"
Judge Holtzof blamed much
Of this on the 1854 Durham
doctrine. in which the U. S.
Court OF Appeals for the Dis
trict OF Columbia set up new
trial tests for a finding Of in
nocence by reason OF insanity.
Old Tests Upset
The old tests said defend
ant must be found innocent
when pleading insanity. II the
Jury feels: tn He did not
know right from wrong at the
time OF the crime. or ~ he
committed the crime as the re-
suit OF an irresistible i'm
pulse"
But the Durham doctrine
states there must be a verdict
Of innocence. If the defendant
was: uD suffering from
mental disease ordefect at the
time Of the crime. or o. the
crime was a result OF the men,
tai defect or disease.
Judge HoltZof called the
Durham doctrine "a test re-
Jected in every jurisdiction.
Federal and State. in which its
adoption has been proposed"
He said the only exceptions
are in the District and New
Hampshire.
He said the doctrine is espe-
cially hard to apply in court
trials because 'psychiatry is far
from an exact science"
He recalled that 1.-The staff Of
an outstanding mental hos
pital" tSt. Elizabethsl once
agreed a person with a socio-
pathic personality disturbance
did not have a mental disease.
Poins to Change
This was changed a month
ago, however. so the hospital
now calls such a person men
tally diseased.
In other words" Judge
Holtzof said, the concept
was changed overnight by the
psychiatrists themselves
BY coincidence. another
hearing held yesterday before
Chief Judge Boiitha ]. Laws
Of the U. S. District Court for
the District Of Columbia tied
In with Judge Holtzofs re-
marks.
The hearing involved John
d. Leach. who was acquitted
several weeks ago after he had
pleaded innocent by reason OF
insanity to charges he received
stoinn t1ronerty
He was ACQUITTED after DR..
Addison B. Duvsl. assistant
superintendent at st. Eliza
beths, testified about the
change in policy on sociopathic
personalities.
Earlier testimony had shown
Leach was a sociopathic per-
sonality, and the jury found
him not guilty by reason OF
insanity.
Yesterday the Government
asked for a delay OF trial OF
Leach on robbery charges still
standing against him. Assist
ant United States Attorney
Frederick Smithson said time
was needed TO determine II
Leach is now mentally we'll
enough TO be released from
ST. Elizabeths. where he was
sent after his trial last month.
But 81. EliZahnlhS pSVchia-