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Not guilty of murder by reason of paroxysmal insanity: The “mad” doctor vs. “common-sense” doctors in an 1865 trial

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Abstract

In July 1865, the Harris/Burroughs trial marked the first time in a U.S. court-room that expert medical testimony supported a plea of paroxysmal [temporary] insanity in amurder defense. Furthermore, the “medical expert” [“mad doctor”] was pitted against “common-sense” physicians. Forensic rationales and societal reactions of the 1860s appear to be remarkably similar to what happens in the 1990s. By merely changing the antebellum language, the arguments and ripostes could readily be recycled into current temporary insanity confrontations. Sociocultural aspects of the Harris/Burroughs murder case may yield clues as to the persistence of the forensic and attitudinal stances toward temporary insanity pleas by the mass media, the physicians, the legal profession and the public.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 428 Cannon House Office Building, 20515-4609, Washington, D.C.

    Allen D. Spiegel Ph.D., M.P.H.

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  1. Allen D. Spiegel Ph.D., M.P.H.
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  2. Merrill S. Spiegel J.D.
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Additional information

Allen D. Spiegel, Ph.D., M.P.H., is Professor, Preventive Medicine and Community Health, State University of New York, Health Science Center at Brooklyn, College of Medicine. Merrill S. Spiegel, J.D., is Legislative Director for U.S. Representative Rick Boucher [VA].

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Spiegel, A.D., Spiegel, M.S. Not guilty of murder by reason of paroxysmal insanity: The “mad” doctor vs. “common-sense” doctors in an 1865 trial. Psych Quart 62, 51–66 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01958838

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