Treatise on Poisons by Sir Robert Christison
4. The next article in the moral evidence relates to the intent of the
747 words | Chapter 33
person who is proved to have administered poison. When the
administration is proved, little evidence is in general required to
establish the intent. It is sufficient that the giver knew the substance
administered was of a deadly nature; and in regard to any of the common
poisons this knowledge is sufficiently constituted by his simply knowing
its name.
In some cases, however, the exact nature of the poison is not
established with certainty; and then something else may be required to
prove the prisoner’s knowledge, and through that knowledge his intent.
In the case of Charles Munn, formerly alluded to [p. 50], arsenic was
the poison presumed to have been taken by the deceased. But the purchase
or possession of it by the prisoner was not for some time satisfactorily
established; neither was there any chemical evidence, the deceased
having lived forty days and upwards after taking the poison. It was
proved, however, that whatever it was which had been administered, the
prisoner knew very well that what he gave was deleterious; because he
persuaded the deceased, who was pregnant by him, to take it by assigning
to it properties which no drug either possesses, or is so much as
thought by the vulgar to possess. On one occasion he persuaded her that
it would show whether she was with child, and on another that it would
prevent people from knowing she was with child. In such cases, then,
good evidence may be derived from the arguments used by the giver to
persuade his victim to take the poison; and sometimes, as in the
instance now mentioned, it will lie with the medical witness to inform
the court whether or not the reasons assigned are false.
Sometimes it has been pleaded by the prisoner that he gave the poison by
mistake. In all such cases, if he descends to particulars, which he
cannot help doing, there is every likelihood that the falsehood of the
defence will be made evident by the particulars of the story not
agreeing with other particulars of the moral or medical evidence. At
present it is only necessary to allude to inconsistencies in his story
with the medical facts. No general rules can be laid down on the method
of investigating a case with a view to evidence of this kind: I must be
satisfied with an illustration from an actual occurrence. On the trial
of Mr. Hodgson, a surgeon, at the Durham Autumn Assizes in 1824, for
attempting to poison his wife, it was clearly proved, that pills
containing corrosive sublimate, and compounded by the prisoner, were
given by him to her in place of pills of calomel and opium, which had
been ordered by her physician. But it was pleaded by him, that, being at
the time intoxicated, he had mistaken, for the shop-bottle which
contained opium, the corrosive-sublimate bottle which stood next it.
This was certainly an improbable error, considering the opium was in
powder, and the sublimate in crystals. But it was not the only one which
he alleged he had committed. Not long after his wife took ill, the
physician sent the prisoner to the shop to prepare for her a laudanum
draught, with water for the menstruum. When the prisoner returned with
it, the physician, in consequence of observing it to be muddy, was led
to taste it, before he gave it to the sick lady: and finding it had the
taste of corrosive sublimate, he preserved it, analyzed it, and
discovered that it did contain that poison. The prisoner stated in
defence, that he had a second time committed a mistake, and instead of
water had accidentally used for the menstruum a corrosive-sublimate
injection, which he had previously prepared for a sailor. This was
proved to have been impossible; for the injection contained only five
grains to the ounce, while the draught, which did not exceed one ounce,
contained fourteen grains.[129]
I believe it must be allowed, that, as the medical inquiries preparatory
to trial are commonly conducted without the inspector being made
acquainted with the moral circumstances in detail, it is rarely possible
for him to foresee what points should be attended to, with the view of
illustrating the intent. But the case now related will show that it is
impossible for him to render his inquiries too minute or comprehensive;
and more particularly, it shows the propriety of ascertaining, whenever
it is possible, not only the nature but likewise the quantity of the
poison.
Chapters
1. Chapter 1
2. PART II.—OF INDIVIDUAL POISONS.
3. CHAPTER I.
4. 1. _On the Action of Poisons through Sympathy._ In the infancy of
5. 2. _Of the Action of Poisons through Absorption._—If doubts may be
6. 1. _Quantity_ affects their action materially. Not only do they produce
7. 2. _As to state of aggregation_,—poisons act the more energetically the
8. 3. The next modifying cause is _chemical combination_. This is sometimes
9. 4. The effect of _mixture_ depends partly on the poisons being diluted.
10. 5. _Difference of tissue_ is an interesting modifying power in a
11. 6. With respect to differences arising from _difference of organ_, these
12. 7. _Habit and Idiosyncrasy._—The remarks to be made under the present
13. 8. The last modifying cause to be mentioned comprehends certain
14. CHAPTER II.
15. 1. The first characteristic is the _suddenness of their appearance and
16. 2. The next general characteristic of the symptoms of poisoning is
17. 3. Another characteristic is _uniformity in the nature of the symptoms_
18. 4. The fourth characteristic is, that _the symptoms begin soon after a
19. 5. Lastly, _the symptoms appear during a state of perfect health_. This
20. 1. As to the _suddenness of their invasion and rapidity of their
21. 2. As to the uniformity or _uninterrupted increase of the symptoms_, it
22. 3. It was stated above, that the third character, _uniformity in kind_
23. 4. In the next place, it was observed that some reliance may be placed
24. 5. Little need be said with regard to _the symptoms beginning, while the
25. 1. It may have been discharged by vomiting and purging. Thus on the
26. 2. The poison may have disappeared, because it has been all absorbed. It
27. 3. Poisons may not be found, because the excess has been decomposed.
28. 4. Lastly, the poison which has been absorbed into the system, and may
29. 1. The evidence derived from _the effects of suspected food, drink, or
30. 2. In the case of _the vomited matter_ or _contents of the stomach_
31. 3. The effects of _the flesh of poisoned animals_, eaten by other
32. 3. The next article, which relates to the proof of the administration of
33. 4. The next article in the moral evidence relates to the intent of the
34. 5. The next article among the moral circumstances,—the simultaneous
35. 6. The next article of the moral evidence relates to suspicious conduct
36. CHAPTER III.
37. CHAPTER I.
38. 1. _Arsenical_ White arsenic 185
39. 2. _Acids_ Sulphuric acid 32
40. 3. _Mercurials_ Corrosive sublimate 12
41. 4. _Other mineral irritants_ Tartar-emetic 2
42. 5. _Veget. irritants_ Colchicum 3
43. 7. _Opium_ Opium or Laudan. 180
44. 8. _Hydrocyanic acid_ Med. Hydroc. acid 27
45. 9. _Other veget. Narcotics_ Nux-vomica 3
46. 11. Unascertained 22
47. CHAPTER II.
48. 1. _Distension of the Stomach._—Mere distension of the stomach from
49. 2. _Rupture of the Stomach_ is not a common occurrence; but it sometimes
50. 3. _Rupture of the Duodenum_ is a very rare accident from internal
51. 4. Under the next head may be classed rupture of the other organs of the
52. 5. The next accident which may be noticed on account of its being liable
53. 6. _Of Bilious Vomiting and Simple Cholera._—Of all the diseases which
54. 7. _Of Malignant Cholera._—The history of this disease affords a fair
55. 8. _Of Inflammation of the Stomach._—Chronic inflammation of the stomach
56. 9. _Inflammation of the Intestines_ in its acute form is more common
57. 10. _Inflammation of the Peritonæum_, or lining membrane of the belly,
58. 11. The subject of _Spontaneous Perforation of the Stomach_ is an
59. 12. The _gullet_ may be perforated in a similar manner either with or
60. 13. _Perforation of the alimentary canal by worms_ may here also be
61. 14. The next diseases to be mentioned are melæna and hæmatemesis, or
62. 15. The last are _colic_, _iliac passion_, and _obstructed intestine_.
63. CHAPTER III.
64. 1. _When concentrated_ it is oily-looking, colourless, or brownish from
65. 2. _When diluted_, it may be distinguished from all ordinary acids by
66. 3. It is seldom that the medical jurist is called on to search for
67. 1. The most ordinary symptoms are those of the first variety,—namely,
68. 2. The second variety of symptoms belong to a peculiar modification of
69. 3. The third variety includes cases of imperfect recovery. These are
70. 4. The last variety comprehends cases of perfect recovery, which are
71. 1. _When concentrated_, nitric acid is easily known by the odour of its
72. 2. _In a diluted state_ this acid is not so easily recognised as the
73. 3. _When in a state of compound mixture_, nitric acid, like sulphuric
74. 1. Hydrochloric acid, _in its concentrated state_, is colourless, if
75. 2. _When diluted_, it is recognised with facility, first by
76. 3. In the last edition of this work I proposed for the detection of
77. CHAPTER IV.
78. CHAPTER V.
79. CHAPTER VI.
80. 1. In the form of a pure solution, its nature may be satisfactorily
81. 2. The only important modifications in the analysis rendered necessary
82. CHAPTER VII.
83. CHAPTER VIII.
84. CHAPTER IX.
85. CHAPTER X.
86. CHAPTER XI.
87. CHAPTER XII.
88. CHAPTER XIII.
89. 3. The arsenite of copper, or _mineral green_. 4. The arsenite of potass
90. 2. _Of the Tests for Arsenious Acid._
91. 7. After the precipitate has thoroughly subsided, the supernatant liquid
92. introduction as a poison into the body. This topic, one of paramount
93. 1. _Arsenic may exist as an adulteration in some reagents._—It must be
94. 2. _Arsenic may be present in some articles of chemical
95. 3. _Arsenic may have existed in antidotes administered during life._—It
96. 4. _Arsenic sometimes exists naturally in the human body._—This
97. 5. _Arsenic may exist in the soil of churchyards._—This proposition too
98. 3. _Arsenite of Copper_.
99. 4. _Arsenite of Potass_.
100. 5. _Arseniate of Potass._
101. 6. _The Sulphurets of Arsenic._
102. 7. _Arseniuretted-Hydrogen._
103. 1. In one order of cases, then, arsenic produces symptoms of irritation
104. 2. The second variety of poisoning with arsenic includes a few cases in
105. 3. The third variety of poisoning with arsenic places in a clear point
106. CHAPTER XIV.
107. 1. _Of Red Precipitate._
108. 2. _Of Cinnabar._
109. 3. _Of Turbith Mineral._
110. 4. _Of Calomel._
111. 5. _Of Corrosive Sublimate._
112. 1. _Hydrosulphuric acid gas_ transmitted in a stream through a solution
113. 1. _Lime-Water_ throws down the binoxide of mercury in the form of a
114. 6. _Of Bicyanide of Mercury._
115. 7. _Of the Nitrates of Mercury._
116. 1. The symptoms in the first variety are very like what occur in the
117. 2. The second variety of poisoning with mercury comprehends the cases,
118. 3. The third variety of poisoning with mercury comprehends all the forms
119. introduction of corrosive sublimate into the stomach. The poison then
120. CHAPTER XV.
121. 1. _Mineral Green._
122. 2. _Natural Verdigris._
123. 3. _Blue Vitriol._
124. 1. _Ammonia_ causes a pale azure precipitate, which is redissolved by an
125. 2. _Sulphuretted hydrogen gas_ causes a dark brownish-black precipitate,
126. 3. _Ferro-cyanate of potass_ causes a fine hair-brown precipitate, the
127. 4. A polished rod or plate of _metallic iron_, held in a solution of
128. 4. _Artificial Verdigris._
129. 1. Should the subject of analysis not be a liquid, render it such by
130. 2. If the copper be extremely minute in quantity, sulphuretted hydrogen
131. CHAPTER XVI.
132. 1. _Caustic potass_ precipitates a white sesquioxide, but only if the
133. 2. _Nitric acid_ throws down a white precipitate, and takes it up again
134. 3. The _Infusion of Galls_ causes a dirty, yellowish-white precipitate;
135. 4. The best liquid reagent is _Hydrosulphuric acid_. In a solution
136. 5. When the solution is put into Marsh’s apparatus for detecting arsenic
137. 1. Subject a small portion of the liquid to a stream of hydrosulphuric
138. 2. If hydrosulphuric acid do not distinctly affect the liquid, or if no
139. 3. If antimony be not indicated in either of these ways in the fluid
140. CHAPTER XVII.
141. CHAPTER XVIII.
142. 1. _Of Litharge and Red Lead._
143. 2. _Of White Lead._
144. 3. _Of Sugar of Lead._
145. 1. _Hydrosulphuric acid_ causes a black precipitate, the sulphuret of
146. 2. _Chromate of potass_, both in the state of proto-chromate and
147. 3. _Hydriodate of potass_ causes also a lively gamboge-yellow
148. 4. _A rod of zinc_ held for some time in the solution displaces the
149. 4. _Goulard’s Extract._
150. introduction of lead into the body; and in the last the whole course of
151. introduction of lead into the body may be presumed to be the real cause.
152. introduction of lead into the system. Dr. Burton thinks it will when the
153. CHAPTER XIX.
154. CHAPTER XX.
155. CHAPTER XXI.
156. CHAPTER XXII.
157. CHAPTER XXIII.
158. CHAPTER XXIV.
159. CHAPTER XXV.
160. CHAPTER XXIV.
161. 1. Apoplexy is sometimes preceded at considerable intervals by warning
162. 2. Apoplexy attacks chiefly the old. It is not, however, confined to the
163. 3. The next criterion is, that apoplexy occurs chiefly among fat people.
164. 4. A fourth criterion is drawn from the relation which the appearance of
165. 5. Another criterion relates to the progress of the symptoms. The
166. 6. Although there is a great resemblance between the symptoms of
167. 7. In the last place, a useful criterion may be derived from the
168. 1. The epileptic fit _is sometimes preceded by certain warnings_, such
169. 2. The symptoms of the epileptic fit _almost always begin violently and
170. 3. As in apoplexy, so in epilepsy the patient _in general cannot be
171. 4. When a person dies in a fit of epilepsy, _the paroxysm generally
172. 5. M. Esquirol, a writer of high authority, says that epilepsy _very
173. CHAPTER XXVII.
174. 1. If there be any solid matter, it is to be cut into small fragments,
175. 2. Add now the solution of acetate of lead as long as it causes
176. 3. The fluid part is to be treated with hydrosulphuric acid gas, to
177. 4. It is useful, however, to separate the meconic acid also; because, as
178. 5. If there be a sufficiency of the original material, Merck’s process
179. 546. There is little doubt that poisoning with opium may cause
180. CHAPTER XXVIII.
181. CHAPTER XXIX.
182. CHAPTER XXX.
183. CHAPTER XXXI.
184. 1. M. Chomel of Paris has related a case of poisoning with the gas
185. 2. The fumes of burning charcoal have been long known to be deleterious.
186. 3. It is probable that in some circumstances a very small quantity of
187. 4. The vapours from burning coal are the most noxious of all kinds of
188. 5. Somewhat analogous to the symptoms now described are the effects of
189. CHAPTER XXXII.
190. CHAPTER XXXIII.
191. CHAPTER XXXIV.
192. CHAPTER XXXV.
193. CHAPTER XXXVI.
194. CHAPTER XXXVII.
195. CHAPTER XXXVIII.
196. CHAPTER XXXIX.
197. CHAPTER XL.
198. CHAPTER XLI.
199. 1. When the dose is small, much excitement and little subsequent
200. 2. When the effect is sufficiently great to receive the designation of
201. 160. In twenty-four hours more the breathing became laborious and
202. 3. The third degree of poisoning is not so often witnessed, because, in
203. CHAPTER XLII.
204. 1. _Poisoning with Arsenic and Alcohol._—A man, after taking twelve
205. 3. _Poisoning with Tartar-Emetic and Charcoal Fumes._—Under the head of
206. 4. _Poisoning with Alcohol and with Laudanum._—Under the head of
207. 5. _Poisoning with Laudanum and Corrosive Sublimate._—Of all the cases
208. 6. _Poisoning with Opium and Belladonna._—A lady, who used a compound
209. 7. In the following cases, the active poisons to which the individuals
210. 2. Apparatus for the distillation of fluids suspected to contain
211. 3. Tube for reducing very small portions of arsenic or mercury. The
212. 4. A small glass funnel for introducing the material into the tube
213. 5. The ordinary apparatus for disengaging sulphuretted-hydrogen. The
214. 6. Instrument for washing down scanty precipitates on filters. It is a
215. 7. Tubes of natural size for collecting small portions of mercury by
216. 8. Pipette, one-fourth the natural size, for removing by suction
217. 9. Apparatus for reducing the sulphurets of some metals by a stream of
218. 36. Quoted by Marx, die Lehre von den Giften, I. ii. 163.
219. 92. Vicarius, Ibidem, Obs. 100. Riselius, Ibidem, Dec. i. An. v. Obs.
220. 1762. See Marx, i. ii. 29.
221. 1. P. 476, changed “exasperated by the use of oil” to “exacerbated by
222. 2. P. 513, changed “I may here add a very opposite instance of
223. 6. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.
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