Democratic Sentinel, Volume 5, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 January 1882 — THE GUITEAU TRIAL. [ARTICLE]

THE GUITEAU TRIAL.

nomen day. Th# MMsain opened proceeding# by making a half apology for his brutality to George Scoville, classing him as a fins examiner of titles, ahd announcing that Charles H. Retd had consented to assume charge of the case. Judge Cox stated that he saw no objection to the participation of Mr. Reed. A totter from Dr. Bpitzka was read, advising the production of a cast of GuitSau’s head, to show malformation. During the lull the prisoner shouled, excitedly : “A vast amount of rubbish is getting into ttqa.cafg) that has notbingto dp Oh it No one #as tell wljrt my conditioßcf pnnd was on July 3. ; Wao can tuli what Is w the mind of the Ydremau of the j tuyy< ye est. rt ? Il will probably take airact ot Goo Wstrßgh.en this thing out. I expect He v* ill have to take one of these jurymen off the panel (pointing dramatically m that direction). He fa Juror’s wife, and I expect Ho will -SkW Juror It it cannot be done in any other way." Dr. 8. H. Talcott, Middletown, N. Y., testified in most emphatic tei ms, as the result of careful examination of the prisoner in jail and observation of his conduct in court, that he was sane. This statement waa received with applause. Dr. Talcott stated that he had made insanity a special study for the past seven years, and was at present Medical Superintendent of the State Homeopathic Insane Asylum, Middletown, N. Y. He had treated about 1,000 cases of insanity. Several of bis patients had attempted homicide. “I have seen some cases where patients had attempted murder under the insane delusion that they were inspired by the Lord. Ti:e characteristics were great excitability, and they have spok< n of their intentions before attempting their murderous work. I have never known a case where a patient claimed insanity as an excuse for crime. Upon the assumption that. the prisoner was telling the truth so far as he knew with regard to the actual transaction, and upon the ts-umption that tee record of his life emied ed the main facts of his life, I should be of opinion that on the 2d of July, when he shot the Fiesiduut, the prisoner Was sane;" There was a demonstration of applause here, which was Speedily suppressed by tue cuuitoliicers. Witness said lie had heard the hypothetical base read, and", assuming the proposuicns true, he had no hesitation in saying the piuouui' was sane. . Scoville cross-eXaiiiined witness, and asked. “ Do you believe in the Deity’s inspiring people to do things at the present day ?” “ Not of that chu racier,” camo the prompt reply, followed by an outburst of applause. Witness d.-d not believe the prisoner’s claim of inspiration to be an insane d lusion. “1 do not. behove that he thought he was honestly inspired.” ■ - He said he thought Guiteau in court .attempted to cjt'a-ggefateTjfs natural tciidenries, egotism and irritability, fur the purpose of producing an impression of insanity ; that it was possible for a man to commit murder when honestly feeling-impelled by a power he was unable to resist, and when the act was against uw natural feeling, and that such :.etdid uot prove insanity, so far as the brain was concerned, instancing the ci.BC of Abraham and Isaac and the people of the. Ganges. Dr. Henry F. Stearns, Superintendent of th; Haitford Retreat for the lr<M lne > was the nex: witness; from 800 to 1,000 cases of insanity had come under hik supervision during li.u eight years he has been connected with the Retreat. The witness had made tour examin itions of the prisoner at the jail, directed to his . b>• steal and mental corfltiou. Guiteau interrupted, saying : “You came to me, doctor, as a friend, and I, supposing yorw were going to testify for tLo de ense, talked, very freely with you aboutmy religious leehi.gsl and all about myself, but Corkhiii s money was too much for you. I waut to say here that I don’t pretend that I am anymore insane at this minute than Davidgo is I won’t say Corkhiii for I think he is cracked [laughter], but 1 rest my case right on this claim—that I was insane ou the 2d of July, when my inspiration and the state of my mind impelled.me upon the President. To make it short, that is all there ij about it. I don’t care what these experts s.iy about my sanity now ; that’s got nothing to do with it.” The witness detailed at great length the results of his examinations and interviews with Guiteau. Pending the cross-examination the court adj our tied. , THIRTY-FIRST DAT. Guiteau’s actions during the day’s proceedings were more outrageous, if possible, than at any previous time since the beginning of the trial. He insulted witnesses, defied the court, and abused the : lawyers for the prosecution without stint. When at length the Judge admonished hiin that if these performances were continued he should feel obliged to confine him iu the dock," the assassin promised to behave himself, and he did restrain himself to some extent. The witnesses were all doctors, and their testimony went to show that the prisoner was legally sane. Dr. Stearns of the Hartford asylum, Dr. janiu Strong of the Cleveland institution, and Dr. Thew, of Middletown, Ct;,, united in declaring that their investigations bad led them to believe the prisoner sane. Dr. Thew was considered the best witness of all the experts thus far called by the prosecution. Turning from the prisoner and lawyers, he faced the jury and explained his views with singular clearness and force. When Strong, of Cleveland, who had visited the jail and investigated the mental and bodily condition of tbe prisoner, was about to state the result of his examination, Guiteau looked up and said : “ Doctor, let me cut this short by saying that Fm in good physical condition, and as sane as you are.” Guiteau’s actions in court Saturday were outrageous. THIRTY-BEOOND DAT. The assassin opened court with the announcement that he “bad a nice Christmas dinner, with lots of fruits, flowers, and lady visitors* and a good time generally.** Dr. A. E. McDonald, Superintendent of Ward’s Island Insane Hospital, testified that during his practice he had attended 6,000 cases of insanity, and given special attention to tho study of insanity. Witness stated the difference between “ delusions ” and “ insane delusions ” the one being subject of correction by judgment and the senses, and the latter not being correctable, and for that reason denominated an insane delusion—also illusions aud hallucinations, giving illustrations from his own experience. He believed, judging from experience, that the claim of inspiration frequently asserted by insane persons proceeded from a source of hallucination or jpsaue delusion, an affection of the senses. Witness was then, asked if persons’ action, under a claim of “inspiration,” would indicate it in any other way ttian by their assertions, and replied : “ Their actions and behavior, would indicate it, as well a# their assertions. To illustrate it. a person clajfcing to be Jesus Cnnst, and acting under an Inspiration, clothed himself like tbe Savior, gave away his property and slept out of dbors, because the Savior ‘ had not where to lay his head.’ ” * Witness was asked jJajsTO persons wotfW' feel any apprehension Or bodily injury, or would take any precaution to guard against danger. He replied : “ Inspiration always overrides all fear, bodily pain or injury, and renders the person who believes beTsltctiug under inspiration wholly oblivious to such considera- ? Witieiß wait asked if usually ©lanuqd' wiih Mil rMlied: “Ua nhe-cobtraij-, tueir'acts areeteifeu m bothcou.QlpUon and execution, as a& they seldom' attempt to avoid consequences in any way.” “There are two kinds of insanity, doctor,” suggested the prisoner, “ the crank insanity and the Abraham insanity. The latter is the schiKtl '■? ” leU U 8 wliat - Witrffes described what is i&nmoffly called temixirary insanity, as where a man commits an act which is the ouly evidence of his insanity and where a person is to all appearanc. s pflr» fectly saue iu all other respects, both beiore and after the act. Guiteau—“ That’s just my case exactlv.” Witness—" I do not believe in su<Mi«anity, qnitin all my experience have intflpnce of it.”. M ffL ' Witness thought a person acting under an inspiration to commit a certain deed would not be deterred from the commission of that act throughconsideration oi personal harm to “bb, you are l&lfet eknka. Now, I don’t belong to thatjrhffai ” Witney Visited the prisonHr dis cell at the, jail, remaining two hours, and making the usual mental examination in such cases. He believed, from liiß examination and observar tion of the prisoner in court, [bat iw in pwfectlynneman. ... ... ’

Guiteau, who had kept unusually quiet all through the morning, here addreseed witness (speaaing without any show of excitement): “ You are making a great ado about nothing, Doctor. I don’t pretend that I am insane now. Teh us what you know about Abraham. Get your money and go home.” Witness, continuing, closely analyzed the conduct jjnd remarks of the prisoner during the trial, and concluded that he had seen playing a part ever since the first day. At the outset the prisoner, he said, had directed all his abuse against one of the counsel, and afterward against all of them. Guiteau —“Well, you see, Doot or, Corkhill has euirupted the rest of them. Evil communications, you know, corrupt good manners.” The assassin, looking over to the jury, continued : “ These experts are doing this business with a good deal of parrot-like talk. Dr. McDonald has deviated somewhat from the course pursued by the rest of them. I deem it but justice to myself to say that I did not say to him that I had examined the law in regard to this matter.” Mr. Reed conducted a long cross-examina-tion, and.- propounded a aeries of hypothetical questions, based upon the acts and conduct of the prisoner, to show such acts and such conduct would not be inconsistent with the theory of insanity. The witness admitted that insane persons were liable to be adjudged sane; that sane.peraons were liable to be adjudged insane, bcoville took up the cross-examination, and quesI tioned the witness at some length relative to I the symptoms and causes of insanity. The ' witness stated that insanity was the result I of a diseased brain, and was asked : “ Are ' you net confounding cause and effect ? And I oan not the unusual excitation of the emotions, j or excessive worry find care and anxiety, I overturn their reason and cause a dis- ; ease of the brain?” The witness admitted that ! such might be the case, with some oualifica- . tion ; that overwork, care and anxiety might j produce dyspepsia, which, with other causes, ' might lead to insanity, and that would mske i necessary a disease of the brain, and a disi ease of the brain would, in its turn, stimulate insanity. I THIRTY-THIRD DAT. Dr. McDonald resumed the witness stand i and was crosfi-examined by Mr. SboVille. The ' (juestions were directed mainly to the subject of i temporary insanity, and witness was asked if in ■ bis practice he had not met an instance of temporary insanity. He replied: “Yes, sir, I know of a man who was insane for twenty-four hours. ” i Scoville (eagerly)—“And then he got well?” I “ No, sir ;he died.” [Laughter at Scoville s 1 expense.] | Wmess was asked what he meant by saying. “I thjiuk he (the prisoner) has been playing a part in fiourt;” and replied : “I believe he has been feigning what he believed to be insanity—not real insanity. 1 believe that he has been attempting to give the impression in court that hb ic insane, and with that idea has been acting a part.’’ i ij Dr. Ksndolph Barksdale, superintendent of tljfe Central Lunatic Asylum, near Richmond, ■VA, visited the prisoner at the jail. He had also closely observed him in court, and from his personal examination and observation was <a# opinion he waa sane. Witness also testified that he believed Guiteau had been feigning in ' court. Witness believed, taking as true the facts set forth in the two hypothetical quesi tiqns of the prosecution, that the prisoner was i sane when he shot the Pre-ident. ’ Dr. John H. Collender. of Nashville. Superintendent of the Tennessee State Asylum for Insane, had given special attention to the study of insanity for the past twelve years. He had seen about 2,000 cases during his connection with the Tennessee asylum. Witness visited the prisoner in jail and also closely observed him in court, aud believed him perfeatly sane. He (witness) did uot believe the Deity ever inspired j* man to taAe tbe life of a fellow-creature ; that if a pctson labored under an insane delusion that ne was inspired to kill the President of tbe United States he would, even if he did opt talk flbout it, disclose his purpose by his cbangoiFmannet and conversation Spiteful comments by the assassin, together with bis threats to strike his guards, caused Judge Porter to demand [hut the prisoner be placbd in the dock. Guiteau interrupted with a promise that he would remain quiet District Attorney Corkhill insisted that the assassin be kept in the dock with no special protection, when Guiteau shrkked out that God would curse him. Scoville protested that tbe demand was an invitation to shoot the prisoner. Judge Cox sent tht accused to thb dock, wtilth failed to keep him i quiet. i The witness (Collender ), in answer to a qnes- ' tion, said that lie should not consider it an in sane delusion for a man to' profess himself ar “ a member of the firm of Jepus Christ & Co.’ unless there were other evidences of disease. A plaster cast of the bead was thei handed to the witness, and he was askec whether there was any marked peculiarity ii ! the head. i . The i prisoner—" It looks like Hump!} Dumplv.” The that the cast presented : ; tnbreMiflpfely ‘arid Symmetrical head than hi had expected-1 it would, but he placed no imI pcrtanco on the shape of the head as indicating san tv or insanity. On redirect examination the witness stated that ho did not Jhmk (he prisoner had beer | feigning insaMtr in’the court-Tbom. He had mriclv been istaggerating liis characteristics ! of self conceit, impudence, audacity and inso- ; knee. • i (The prisoner—“ln other words,when lam asi sanlted I talk back.' Porter expects to get $5,000 i for hanging.me. He sees his money slipping ! away becausp the Am (l 'i i:an people don’t want , me hanged, and he is mad at md.” TiniiTY-FOURTH DAY. The prisoner was taken without demonstration to the prisoner's dock, which is located about twenty-five feet from the counsel, upon ; the left of the room. A letter written by the I prisoner to Don Cameron, asking for the Bum 1 of SSOO, was submitted by the defense as evidence of insanity. The letter is as follows : Hon. Don Cameron: -Da.\B Slit: I am on trial for,m> Ilfs and I need , moi.ey. I “im a stalwart of tiie stalxarts, and so are ' 'You think a great deal of Gen. Arthur, and so do 1. My inspiration made him President, and I am going to ask yon to let me have SoOO. If I get out of this I will return it If not, charge it to the stalwarts. I . Yours for our cause, and very cordially, (Signed) Charles Guitxau. In court, Washington, D. C», Dec. 19, 1881. P. S.—P.ease give your check to my brother, J. W. Guiteau,' of Boston, and make it payable to my orI der. C. G. ; When the letter was produced in court, th# jaisouer denounced. his brother as a nuisance and ScOvihe as a jackass. Dr. Callender, who occupied the witness J Stand, was then asked by Scoville : “ Will you give your opinion whether such a letter as that, ! written to a man he didn’t know, does not in- ' dicaip uiu?oqndne»ti ol ‘ i Answer—“l don’t' think it indicates unsoundness of mind. It seems to me consistent with his character and habit through life of solicit- ■ ing money from sources where he had no reason ! to expect it” Dr. Walter Kempster, Superintendent of the ~ Wiscopsiu State Hospital tor the Insane, had : devbtcif his attention to the study of insanity i for thb'past fifteen years. Witness was familiar ' with the process oi taking the conformity Of T IheTJeacT, and did not Geneve riiuch importance, i afea be attached to of the ! tiead m determining the question of sanity or insanity! ; Wjiliens exhibited slips Showing the i shape/ as takffn by-The "confornfiter, ’ of the Beads ot a.number of gentlemen. Witnegs related inaifiente within his knowl- ■ edge of. persons whp had committed crimes i : while acting under the influence of insane det liwiofls, and defined what lie considered insane delusions l« be. ; . . j W'itneea was then asked if he had ever seen a ] case where a person committed crime and : claimed divine inspiration, and if bo, how such peishAa'deported themselves before and after the act.' He'rdphed that in such cases the delusion (or inspiration as they claim it to be) i comes to thti person suddenly, and with intense ; pressure, and that such persons act quickly and i upon sudden impulse, delaying Heitner to consider opportunity or weapons ; that it would be impossible to'bodeeive, without actually witnessing it;. th# energy. and impetuosity and de- ! termination with which persons acting under p.a«"iftßane delusion carry but their purposes ; | that it< wcuid be equally miposaible to describe I it with language. ■p Guiteau—“ Yeti don’t agree with Abraham, ; Doctor. He took plenty of time to make his I arrangement.” | Witness stated tbat he did not believe in a i distUSoCA3sis'6f to sanity be called ! moral insanity. . It was simply a convenient | term which, had been invented to excuse the [ commission of heinous crimes. Witness had ' never seen abase where an insane man, after i committing a crime, paraded his insanity and : urged it as an excuse for hii crime. Insane I murderers do not boast of their acts but, on I the contrary, very jarely allude to them un- | less u good deal of. ingenuity is used to * them out. Witness, tintd he entered this •. ’•«- • " i■ -- -!• r ■

court-room, bad never heard of a case of alleged inspiration that came from within. Always suer persons claim to have heard iho*voice of God or Been His image or something of that sort Such inspiration is never a conviction arrived at after mature reflectien on the part of the person So affected. Witness waa aeked if tbe belief of prisoner’a father, L. W. Guiteau, that disease could t»e cured by prayer, should be taken as w evidence of insanity. He replied: “By no means. We all know that thousands and thousands of sane people prayed daily for the salvation of President Garfield’s life. They would hardly have done so if they had not entertained some belief in the efficacy of prayer.” Witness bad visited the jail aud examined the prisoner with a view of determining bia mental condition. The witness detailed at some length conversations he had with tbe prisoner, with occasional contradictions by Guiteau. The witness had asked the prisoner if he thought he was- insane, aud his reply was : “ Not what you experts call insane ; but legally insane.” When asked what he meant by that term, the prisoner had said that if he could get a jury to believe he was acting under an inspiration from the Lord when he shot the 1 resident, that would be all he wanted, and would acquit hint Guiteau had been engaged with his mail for some minutes, and here called out: “ I would like to have you know, ladies and gentlemen, that my letters now come addressed. ‘The Hon. Charles Guiteau,’ quite a change from last summer.” The witness was cross-examined by Reed, who produced a pamphlet, a report prepared by tbe witness as Superintendent of the Wisconsin Insane Asylum, and read extracts from it. During the reading a dispute arose between counsel, who seemed to have gradually developed a vast amount of bitterness. Guiteau shouted from the dock : “I want it understood that Judge Porter is making all this fuss and interrupts?fa siinply to divert the minds of the jury from the point which he sees that Reed has made against him. It simply shows a contemptible meanness that only such fellows as he and Corkhill can indulge Tbe cross-bxamifaation was continued by Scoville—with occasional outbursts on the part of the prisoner—until adjournment; '“He came here,” said Guiteau, “as an expert for the defense. That’s what he said when he was in my cell. But good living at Wiliard’s and Corkhill’s money have been too much for him.” Judge Cox, in rendering a decision on the application of Col. Corkhill to place Guiteau in the prisoners’ dock, explained why he had g’ven tbe assassin such latitude heretofore. e did not wish-even to appear to’ deprive the prisoner of auy of his constitutional guarantees. He wished also to give the jury aud the experts an opportunity of judging for themselves whether Guiteau was insane or not, aud for that reason gave the prisoner more latitude than he would otherwise allow. He decided that tbe prisoner should be placed in tbe dock, because he was manifestly abusing tbe privileges granted to him.