THE INSANITY PLEA

Hardback. With an Intro' by August Vollmer (Chief of Police, Berkeley, California). 'Usually invoked in the shadow of the noose, the insanity plea is often viewed as a bare-faced and desperate lunge. Few subjects in criminal jurisprudence are so saturated with controversy. Few subjects are so broadly misunderstood.' The author discusses the insanity plea with the aim of presenting some more adequate idea of its place in jurisprudence that existed at the time. The reasoning behind the insanity plea is shown; he tells how alienists go about it to determine degree of responsibility; how the plea of temporary insanity may be justified; how it is that alienists so violently disagree at times; how manipulations in court sometimes defeat justice and common sense. He goes on to present a dissection of three dramatic cases, including that of the "Ghost of the Garret" who, doctors concluded, was neither "insane" nor wholly sane, neither malingering nor wholly reliable; who confessed a murder in detail but failed to inspire credence, although he was believed to be sincere; who finally, was pronounced guilty and by that verdict, set free. 169pp. small 8vo. h/back. From the library of true-crime writer, Wilfred Gregg, with his personal b/plate. Uncut edges which have a small stain, browned eps, v. sl. slanted sp. o/w Nr. Vg+ in sunned Nr. Vg+ dw.