Report on the medical jurisprudence of insanity / by C. B. Coventry ; extracted from the Transactions of the American Medical Association.

  • Coventry, C. B. (Charles Brodhead), 1801-1875.
Date:
1858
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report on the medical jurisprudence of insanity / by C. B. Coventry ; extracted from the Transactions of the American Medical Association. 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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    Peeliminary Remarks.—The subject of insanity, in all its rela- tions, is one of the most interesting that can engage the attention of the physician, the philanthropist, or the medical jurist; and one of the most brilliant achievements of the medical profession in modern times, is the reform which it has effected in the cure and treatment of that unfortunate class of our fellow-beings, who are afflicted with insanity; in rescuing them not merely from the neg- lect, but from the cruelty and abuse which they were formerly made to suffer. The name of Pinel, who was the first to remove the chains and shackles from the insane, should be ranked with that of Harvey and Jenner, prominent among the benefactors of mankind. Thanks to the philanthropic exertions of Pinel, Esquirol, Has- lam, Conolly, Prichard, Combe, and others in Europe; of Rush, Woodward, Brigham, Ray, McDonnel, Earle, and others in this country; insanity is no longer considered by the educated, a mys- terious infliction of Divine Providence, but as a symptom of disease, demanding all the care, kindness, and attention of any other form of disease. Reforms of every kind are slow in their progress; and although much has been accomplished as regards our knowledge of the causes, pathology and proper treatment of insanity, much as regards the care and well-being of this unfortunate class of patients, it is only necessary to examine the records of our courts, the conflicting opinions advanced by judicial authority, and the verdicts often given, to see that the legal relations of insanity, and the responsi- bility for supposed crime are as uncertain and unsettled as in the time of Blackstone or Lord Coke. In the general community, the idea of insanity has been formed from the few cases the individual may have seen of raving maniacs, or from reading the works of Shakspeare, Scott, aud other writers of this class, which, however 2