Abraham Lincoln once advised in the prosecution of Isaac Wyant, who had his arm amputated after being shot in a border dispute with Anson Rusk. Following his recovery, Wyant sought out and shot Rusk four times, then pleaded not guilty by reason of temporary insanity. Lincoln’s old friend Leonard Swett was on the side of the defense.
The previous June, the two men had been arguing and Wyant attacked Rusk with a large knife. To protect himself, Rusk pulled a pistol and shot Wyant in the arm. Between the damage done and the ensuing infection, Wyant’s arm was amputated. Claiming to go to Indiana to be far away from Rusk, Wyant instead stalked Rusk, eventually following him into the courthouse. The DeWitt Courier later reported the incident:
Rusk entered the office of the county Clerk and was standing behind the stove with his arms folded, when Wyant opened the door and commenced firing an Allen revolver at him. The first ball struck Rusk in the side, the second in the shoulder, and the third ball entered his arm. Wyant then stood over the fallen man, put the pistol to his head and fired the fourth shot, the ball passing entirely through the head, and from the orifice it made oozed the brains. Rusk lived near an hour after, but never spoke, we believe. His murderer, Wyant, tried to make his escape, but was secured a short distance from the courthouse and conveyed [back into the] building. Shortly after he was taken to prison and securely ironed. It is thought nothing will save him from hanging, as a responsible witness was in the clerk’s office at the time of the murder. We understand that the wife of Rusk, who was enceinte at the time of his murder, and her child, which was prematurely born, are not expected to live from one minute to another, and perhaps may be dead now. If they die Wyant will be a triple murderer, and consequently, he should suffer the severest penalty of the law. Circuit court is now in session, but it is thought his trial will not take place this term. Some think there will be a change of venue.
This was one of the first such “insanity defense” cases ever tried. Lincoln thought Wyant was faking the mental illness, but the jury found Wyant persuasive and sent him to the state mental hospital for treatment. The temporary insanity defense would later be used successfully by Congressman Daniel Sickles after he shot his wife’s lover in front of witnesses across the street from the White House.
A more substantive murder case, nicknamed the Almanac Trial, hit closer to home and brought into play one of Lincoln’s favorite scientific pursuits, astronomy. Lincoln’s role in setting significant legal precedents through science and technology related cases is discussed in greater depth in Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America, now available for pre-order.
Pre-order Lincoln: The Fire of Genius now on Amazon and Barnes and Noble (click on the respective links to pre-order). The price is likely to drop before the final shipment, and any pre-orders will automatically get charged the lower price at fulfillment. Pre-ordering now helps the publisher get a sense of the interest, which could mean a bigger print run. So please go ahead and pre-order without worries. While you’re there, check out my other books.
The book is also listed on Goodreads, the database where I keep track of my reading. Click on the “Want to Read” button to put it on your reading list. That will also ensure you get informed of the release date AND will let you try for one of ten free hardcover copies of the book that I’ll be giving away this summer. I’ll also be giving away as many as a hundred e-books. [The book will also be put out on audio]
You also follow my author page on Facebook.
I’ll have much more about the book over the next few months, so join my mailing list here to keep informed.
David J. Kent is President of the Lincoln Group of DC and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.
Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!
