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Uncontrollable Frenzy and a Unique Temporary Insanity Plea

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Abstract

On a bright, sunny April 1859 afternoon in Washington, D.C., a brutal murder occurred in Lafayette Park, directly across from the White House. Ironically, a close friend of President James Buchanan shot and killed his wife's lover. Daniel E. Sickles, a cuckolded U.S. Congressman, attacked and killed Philip Barton Key, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Key was one of the eleven children of Francis Scott Key, the author of the poem that became The Star Spangled Banner. At the trial, Sickles' seven lawyers presented an insanity plea claiming that an “uncontrollable frenzy” created a “brainstorm” resulting in temporary insanity. In addition, the defense argued that the “unwritten law” provided immunity to a husband who avenged his honor. Only lay witnesses testified as to Sickles' intense emotional outrage. There was no expert medical witness to support the insanity plea. Prosecutors maintained that the killing was a premeditated murder, or at the very least manslaughter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, State University of New York, USA

    Allen D. Spiegel

  2. College of Medicine, Health Science Center, Brooklyn, New York

    Allen D. Spiegel & Peter B. Suskind

Authors
  1. Allen D. Spiegel
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  2. Peter B. Suskind
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Spiegel, A.D., Suskind, P.B. Uncontrollable Frenzy and a Unique Temporary Insanity Plea. Journal of Community Health 25, 157–179 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005133808459

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