Democratic Sentinel, Volume 4, Number 33, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 September 1880 — A Strange Plea. [ARTICLE]

A Strange Plea.

In Paris, some time ago, a druggist's assistant was tried for causing the death of a man by misreading a prescription. The doctor, whose writing is very clear, ordered eight drops of laudanum, which the assistant carelessly read as eight grammes, or about a quarter of an ounce. The overdose naturally killed the patient, and the court sentenced the prisoner to three month’s imprisonment. His advocates urged as an extenuating circumstance that if the mistake had cost the deceased his life, it had at least provided him with a painless death.