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Old 01-14-2018, 00:27   #1
Penn
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Concept of temporary insanity

Chronology of Congressional Sex Scandals
Compiled by JOHN W. DEAN
1857

Teresa Sickles, the wife of Rep. Daniel Sickles (D. NY), had an affair with Phillip Barton Key (son of the writer of "The Star Spangled Banner.") Key was the U.S. attorney in D.C. When Sickles discovered the affair, he forced his wife to sign a lurid confession. Then Sickles shot and killed Key, when Key came by their house to signal for a tryst. Teresa's confession was published in the newspapers, producing many front-page stories. At Sickles’s trial for murder, his lawyer argued Teresa had driven him insane with her hideous betrayal. Dan Sickles enjoyed less than a pure reputation. He was said to have seduced his own mother-in-law, and was censured by the NY Assembly for bringing his mistress, a prostitute by the name of Fanny White, onto the Assembly floor. He married the beautiful Teresa when she was 16 years old. None of Sickles’s many infidelities were mentioned at the trial, however; rather, the Washington establishment lined up to support him, including President Buchanan himself, who convinced a major prosecution witness to leave town. Sickles was acquitted, and introduced the concept of temporary insanity into American criminal law.

When the verdict came down Sickles's lawyer danced a jig in the courtroom. After the acquittal, Sickles said, "Of course I intended to kill him. He deserved it."

http://supreme.findlaw.com/legal-com...-scandals.html
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