Then, the next one is dated the 16th of November, and is signed by three Soviet doctors and one French doctor, Dr. Jean Delay, dated the 16th of November. Have you got that?
DR. VON ROHRSCHEIDT: Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: Then there is another report of the 17th, signed by the three Soviet doctors alone, without the French doctor.
DR. VON ROHRSCHEIDT: Yes, I have that one.
THE PRESIDENT: Now, will you refer us to the passages in those reports upon which you rely?
There is another report by two English doctors which is practically the same. That is the one I have already referred to, that does not contain the name of Lord Moran on it, dated the 19th of November.
DR. VON ROHRSCHEIDT: Yes, I think I can shorten the proceedings by saying that in my opinion all the reports surely agree—even if not in the same words—that the ability of the accused Hess to defend himself, to face a witness, and to understand details of the evidence is impaired. And under this assumption that all the medical opinions agree on this point I, as the defendant’s counsel, must come to the conclusion that the defendant is unable to plead. The reduced capacity of the defendant to defend himself, which is caused by his mental defect, recognized by all experts as amnesia and described as a mental condition of a mixed character, but more than mere mental abnormality, must be accepted as meaning that he is unfit to plead.
I am of the opinion that the conclusion reached by the medical experts implies that, in the way the question was formulated, the Defendant Hess cannot adequately defend himself on account of this mental defect, namely, amnesia. The medical reports also state that the defendant is not insane. That is not the important point at the moment because in my view it can already be convincingly stated, on the basis of the reports as such that on account of his reduced mental ability the defendant is not in a condition to understand the entire proceedings.
I myself believe—and I think that my opinion on this agrees with the medical opinion—that the defendant is completely incapable of making himself understood in a manner expected from a mentally normal defendant.
In view of my own experience with him I consider that the defendant is incapable of grasping the charges which the Prosecution will bring against him to the extent required for his defense, since his memory is completely impaired. On account of his loss of memory he neither remembers events of the past nor the persons with whom he associated in the past. I am, therefore, of the opinion that defendant’s own claim that he is fit to plead is irrelevant. And since, as the medical report says, his condition cannot be rectified within appreciable time, I think that the proceedings against him should be suspended.