Papers read before the Medico-legal Society of New York, from its organization : Third series. 1875-1878 / Printed by a committee of the Medico-legal Society.

  • Medico-Legal Society of New York
Date:
1886
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Papers read before the Medico-legal Society of New York, from its organization : Third series. 1875-1878 / Printed by a committee of the Medico-legal Society. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.

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    should not be neld legally responsible ; and for such a spec- ial plea is advanced. This plea^ I need hardly say, is irresis- tible impulse. It means that the person concerned was ''ruled by one motive with such absolute sway that there could have been no room for the influence of any other. [Mill, J. S. Logic, p. 524, Am. Ed. 1867 ] It rests on a basis of reasoning like the following : Granted that the person knew he was doing an unlawful act and would be punished therefor, yet at the time of doing it he was mastered by an orgasm so over- whelming that he had no power of self-control. The question at once arises, is there such a state ? After which, supposing its existence conceded, comes the further inquiry as to whether it is a valid ground of exemption from legal responsibility ; for, as you will observe, the unlawful act of a person so situated has the essential requisite of crim- inality,—intention, and still its non-criminal character is as- serted by many respectable authorities. Is there a state of mind such as that meant by the expres- sion uncontrolable impulse. Authorties are not all agreed in their answers to this question. Some doubt if it often ex- ists even among the insane Geisinger, for example, says that, Few of the acts of the insane have the character of forced, purely automatic movements ; in mania also, accord- ing to the testimony of individuals who have recovered, many of the wild desires could often be restrained : the criminal deeds of the insane are not generally instinctive. [Mental Pathology, Sydenam Ed., 1867, §47.] Dr. Hammond also doubts if it ever exist in the insane. All he feels at liber- ty to concede is that the insane have impulses which are al- most irresistible. [Hammond, op. cit, pp. 71, 72 ] On the other hand a great legal authority says, It would be absurd to deny the possibility that such (irresistible) impulses may occur, or the fact that they have occurred, and have been acted on. The only question which the existence of such im- pulses can raise in the administration of criminal justice is, whether the particular impulse in question was irresistible as well as unresisted. [Stephen, English Criminal Law, Lon- don, 1S63, p. 91. ] It is pretty certain that the insane can us-