A Drunkard's Defense Alcohol, Murder, and Medical Jurisprudence in Nineteenth-Century America / Michele Rotunda.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rotunda, Michele, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Drunkenness (Crime)--Law and legislation.

Defense (Criminal procedure).

Defense (Criminal procedure)--United States--History.

Drunkenness (Crime)--Law and legislation--United States--History.

Drunkenness (Crime).

United States.

Schrepfer, Susan R.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (228 pages) : illustrations

Place of Publication:

Amherst : University of Massachusetts Press, [2021]

Summary:

"Is drunkenness a defense for murder? In the early nineteenth century, the answer was a resounding no. Intoxication was considered voluntary, and thus provided no defense. Yet as the century progressed, American courts began to extend exculpatory value to heavy drinking. The medicalization of alcohol use created new categories of mental illness which, alongside changes in the law, formed the basis for defense arguments that claimed unintended consequences and lack of criminal intent. Concurrently, advocates of prohibition cast "demon rum" and the "rum-seller" as the drunkard's accomplices in crime, mitigating offenders' actions. By the postbellum period, a backlash, led by medical professionals and an influential temperance movement, left the legacy of an unsettled legal standard. In A Drunkard's Defense, Michele Rotunda examines a variety of court cases to explore the attitudes of nineteenth-century physicians, legal professionals, temperance advocates, and ordinary Americans toward the relationship between drunkenness, violence, and responsibility, providing broader insights into the country's complicated relationship with alcohol"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

"Not the result of drink"

"A victim of intemperance"

"Not capable of entertaining this specific intent"

"The broad resemblances between insanity and drunkenness"

"They are simply drunk"

"An apology for sin and for crime."

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"In memory of Susan R. Schrepfer."

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-61376-799-4

OCLC:

1237253114