Does anybody know who the the 1st and 2nd plea of insanity in the U.S were?

Question

I am doing research for my Criminal Justice class and need to know who the 1st and 2nd plea of insanity cases were. I know that M'Naghten was one of them...does anybody know the other one?? Thanks for the help! :)

Answer 1

Daniel Sickles was the first in the US. Not sure about second.


Congressman Daniel Sickles saw the man walking in front of his house. The man, whose name was Phillip Barton Key, was a member of Washington D.C.’s social elite and the son of Francis Scott Key, author of The Star Spangled Banner. Sickles watched as Key attempted to call up to a second story window where Sickles’ wife slept. Sickles became enraged because he had known for several weeks that Key was sleeping with his wife. And worse, his friends and neighbors knew it too. Consumed by rage, he grabbed two handguns from his bedroom and ran out into the street where several pedestrians were walking. He ran up to Key screaming: “You must die! You must die!” Without provocation, he fired several shots at Key, striking him in the leg and thigh. The men engaged in a hand-to-hand struggle in full view of the White House where President James Buchanan (1856-1860) may have watched the drama unfold from his office window. Sickles managed to fire several more shots. Key fell back against a fence and pled for his life: “Please don’t kill me!” Sickles pointed a handgun at the victim’s chest and fired point blank at the helpless man. Key staggered away and died a few minutes later. There were at least twelve people who witnessed the killing. It was 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 27, 1859. Congressman Daniel Sickles (D.-NY) was arrested a short time later at the home of a friend and charged with murder. When he appeared in court to face a charge of 1st degree murder, his attorney said that Sickles could not be held responsible because he was driven insane by the knowledge his wife was sleeping with Phillip Key.

Daniel Sickles was a Union Army general who fought for several years in the Civil War. In the following years, he became Ambassador to Spain, the County Sheriff for New York, re-elected to Congress in 1893 and later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. But today, Sickles is remembered mostly for being the U.S. Congressman arrested for murder and one of the first defendants in American history to utilize an insanity defense. After a sensational trial that became the talk of Washington D.C. for weeks during 1859, Sickles was acquitted of murder and walked out of court a free man.

NOTE: Although the crime library cites his as "one of the first" Wikipedia claims he was the first. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Sickles


Looks like Garfield's assassin, Charles Julius Guiteau, was among the first also, although his attempt was unsuccessful.

Answer 2

M'Naughten was an english case from 1843. I could not find the first or second US cases after a pretty thorough search. When searching, keep in mind the distinction between insanity and competence.

Answer 3

Doctor Frankenstien and Dracula.

Answer 4

Lizzy Bordon had an ax; gave her mother forty whacks. when she saw what she had done she gave her mother forty-one