Importance of the study of legal medicine : a lecture introductory to the course on medical jurisprudence at the New York Medical College / by James Wynne.

  • Wynne, James, 1814-1871.
Date:
1859
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Importance of the study of legal medicine : a lecture introductory to the course on medical jurisprudence at the New York Medical College / by James Wynne. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    chest, but the hands and arms were uninjured, except a slight excoria- tion on the finger. The inference was conclusive, that lie had been murdered before falling over the rocks. It was now remembered that a neighbor, of violent and revengeful temper, was on bad terms with the murdered man. These circumstances led to his arrest; he was tried, found guilty, and executed.* In the case of Donnelly, who was tried and executed for the murder of Moses, the question of suicide was raised, and rejected on account of the severity of the wound, which produced death by bleeding from the deep thyroid artery. Dr. Finned in July last exhibited to the members of Pathological Society the cervical vertebra of a man who had come to his death in a precisely similar manner to Moses, but, as was alleged, by suicide. He was an intemperate man, and while laboring under delirium tremens is supposed to have arisen at night and plung- ed a shoemaker's knife into his throat with such violence that it was found impacted in the vertebra, and then returned to bed; in this state he was found in the morning by his wife, who was sleeping by his side. I have not sufficient evidence before me to determine whether the de- ceased died of a self-inflicted wound or otherwise.f In medico-legal investigations too much caution cannot be observed, as illustrated by the following case : Mr. Prelet, who resided at Chambery, died suddenly on the night of the 13th of January. 1842, after having supped with his nephew. He was buried on the 16th. Two days after the civil authorities received an anonymous note, de- claring that Prelet had been poisoned by his nephew with prussic acid. On the receipt of this note, the authorities caused his body to be exhumed and subjected to an examination, with the view to ascer- tain the truth or falsity of this charge. The two medical men who were selected to conduct this examination, declared that they had dis- covered the prussic acid, which had been given to him in wine. Upon this testimony the nephew was condemned, but the defence obtained a stay of judgment in order to invoke the aid of the celebrated Orfila. This learned toxicologist, after a full investigation, decided that the patient had died of unequivocal symptoms of apoplexy, and that the medical men who had made the first examination were in fault in sup- * Poilroux Med. Legale Criminelle, p. 97. t Had this case been on record at the time of Donnelly's trial, it would Lave furnished his counsel with a formidable argument to sustain the theory of the suicide of the deceased. In the liurdel murder suit, the character ol the wounds, as developed by the testimony of Prof. Carnocban, Dr. Francis, and others, doubtless exercised a material influence over the minds of the jury. t American Med. Monthly, vol. 10, p. G2.