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The Civil War General Who Was The First American To Successfully Use Temporary Insanity Defense
Congressman Daniel Sickles, who later became a Civil War Union General, killed his wife’s lover and then presented a unique defense in court
When a defendant is on trial for murder, any number of defenses are considered in an effort to secure a not guilty verdict. One of the most recognizable modern strategies is claiming temporary insanity caused the deviant behavior. The first American to successfully utilize this approach was former Congressman and Civil War general Daniel Sickles, after he killed his wife’s lover (who also happened to be the son of the man who wrote The Star Spangled Banner).
A person accused of a crime can only be fully legally responsible if they are also competent. Therefore, it’s of the utmost importance to be able to demonstrate that a defendant was of sound mind when perpetrating an alleged act. The idea of temporary insanity is that during the commission of a crime, the accused briefly “lost their mind” and caused them to act out in a way they would otherwise not have done.
The first person to ever successfully employ temporary insanity in the United States was renowned Civil War Union General Daniel Sickles. Born…
