Did Virginia make a mistake by deeming John Brown Competent? (poll)

[gem]

Did Virginia make a mistake by deeming John Brown Competent to Stand Trial ?

 

[BillO]

IMO Virginia didn't care about his mental state they were going to publicly hang him and they did.

 

[John Winn]

I don't think there was any sort of declaration of competency or consideration of such. The practice of the day just didn't consider mental illness, certainly as any sort of defense (although such a defense had been used a few times - but I don't think in the U.S.). If you were insane and killed somebody they hung you just like they did sane murderers. Why you committed the crime really wasn't an issue.

 

[MacRob46]

Did Virginia make a mistake by deeming John Brown Competent to Stand Trial ?

That was not considered in the mid-19th century. Decisions on competency are a relatively recent legal consideration. Brown was a nut, undoubtedly, but one with a cause that had backing, which enabled him to do what he did. He just had to pay the price for it.

 

[Bruce Vail]

There is no reason to think that John Brown was insane.

He was a genuine revolutionary. Society sometimes mistakes revolutionaries for the mentally ill.

 

[civilken]

I honestly don't know what he was thinking but he certainly became a mortar. So the idea to show the North exactly what they do to abolitionists didn't really work out the way they planned.

 

[Copperhead-mi]

I honestly don't know what he was thinking but he certainly became a mortar.

Sorry, I couldn't help it.