Answer.—“It might be insanity, and might apply to rape.[85] In insanity there is a tendency to thieve. Theft is one of the indications of moral insanity; and a man may desire to possess another man’s goods, till he cannot control his acts. He is then insane. If a man permits himself to indulge a passion till he becomes uncontrollable, that is moral insanity, and he is not responsible. Consulting a sorcerer, and all superstitious beliefs, are indications of a weak mind. Belief in clairvoyance and dreams is not necessarily an indication of insanity. A belief in spiritual rappings, I should infer, was an indication of a weak mind. Talking to persons about strychnia, and his wife’s death, I think indicated a feeble state of mind.”
On re-examination, Dr. Williams said—
“Imitativeness is one of the characteristics of insanity, and hearing strychnia and Palmer’s trial very much talked about would be very likely, in a weak mind, to produce imitation. You must know a man’s history before you can say whether his acts proceed from vice or insanity. Madness very frequently developes itself in great cunning and foresightedness when reasoning on false premises. I have frequently known insane persons to attempt to escape from the asylum, and to have shown great cleverness in their preparations for it extending over several days.”
Question.—“Suppose you had heard the case of a man put to you who wished to get rid of his wife, and had from his childhood displayed cruelty of disposition—had threatened to shoot his father; said he heard supernatural noises, sometimes treated his wife kindly, and sometimes cried like no other man, would you have any doubt that he was insane?”
Answer.—“No! and not fit to be at large. I should have no difficulty, as a medical man, in certifying that he was a lunatic. Lunatics have often displayed great ingenuity in committing theft and concealing it. The passion of lust frequently becomes a disease of the mind. When the prisoner gave his cows linseed to take one night, to fatten them for market the next morning, that I should deem an indication of an unsound mind.”
In reply to questions by the Judge, the witness said:—
”It would require a longer period than a month to establish disease and an uncontrollable propensity to commit a crime. If a man committed a crime, having thought of it for a month, I should not say he was of unsound mind. The difference would depend on length of time. Some men’s minds, previously weak, would take a shorter time, and very exciting causes would shorten the time; but there must be an appreciable period, and an interval for the mind to pass into a morbid condition from the continual contemplation of one object. The period is necessarily very uncertain, from the variable effect of emotions and circumstances on the mind.”
The Judge.—“Suppose, at the time when he shot the cat, a policeman had come in, would he have shot it?”[86]
Answer.—“No. The presence of the policeman would probably have controlled him; he would probably have expended the impulse on some person or something else. Unless the person is exceedingly violent, the presence of a policeman would have some influence to control him.”
Question.—“Whenever a man commits a crime, is it because he is uncontrolled by existing circumstances?”