Glasgow Courier. — 1844-10-29 (Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland)

VERDICTS OF INSANITY.  An inquest was lately held on the body of a woman who had taken oxalic acid, and who, although she continued to suffer the most excruciating agony until her death, did all she could to prevent her life from being saved. The Coroner (Mr. Wakley, M.P.) add the determination of some people to die was wonderful. Some time since he held an inquest on the body of • woman in Clarendon Square, who had swallowed the strongest preparation of sulphuric acid, who had lived 19 hours afterwards, suffering the direst corporeal torment—for her tongue, palate, throat, and stomach, must have been seared as If a red-hot iron had been passed over them—yet she never acknowledged what she had done—kept the act a secret from her medical attendants; and it was not till after death that the truth was discovered. "The present," continued the Coroner, " is one of those cases in s hich there is no evidence of insanity, though some persons think that the very act of taking poison:is an evidence of unsound mind. It will be found that persons who commit suicide adopt the means best calculated for the end they have in view. I think it is a very dangerous practice for coroners' juries.to come to the conclusion that persons who destroy themselves are insane. The very samejury may be called to the Old Bailey, and placed in a very great difficulty in trying a man for murder when insanity would be pleaded, because no motive for committing the murder could be proved, sad divers eccentricities could be shown in the previous life of the murderer. They might be told that they had just before returned a verdict of Insanity in a case of suicide committed without motive, having taken that as well as previous eccentricities of character into consideration, and they might be told that want of motive and eccentricity in case of murder should weigh equally in their minds, and induce them to record • verdict of insanity. I want to get rid of the dangerous practice of returning verdicts of Insanity when the evidence does not fully justify them. I ask whether it is possible for you, with the evidence you have, to determine the state of mind the woman was in when she took the poison ? I atu of opinion that it is impossible, and I think it would be a mark of insanity to come to any determination of the sort. lam also of opinion that the proceedings of our law courts are tinged with itivauitv. Counsel in case, of murder plead that the murderer acted under uncontrollable impulses, and the plea succeeds, and the culprit is pronounced Insane, and provided for during life; but ifs poor lad, suffering from hunger, end I think such privation most likely to produce uncontrollable impulses, steals • loaf of bread, the plea of insanity will avail him nought, and the House of Correction will be his lunatic asylum. Think you, if Mllaughten, instead of murdering the unfortunate Mr. Drummond, had stolen hie horse, or his on, or his am, or anything that was his, would he be held guiltless of the crime on the plea el insanity? No, gentlemen. I advise you, then, in cases of this sort to pass a medium verdict—one neither of sanity nor insanity." The jury instantly acquiesced and said, "Deceased had destroyed herself, but the state of her mind when she did so was not known to them."—London Paper.