that if he committed murder and died by the hand of justice, there would be time for making his peace with the Almighty between the crime and his execution, which would not be the case if he should die by suicide.591 different realities and reactions Further, Abercrombie mentions a particular individual who reasoned These and other claims by physicians lead us to the conclusion that there are quite a lot of relevant British cases not mentioned in this study. Of significance is also the word ”hallucination” used by Abercrombie. One can wonder if Abercrombie through using ”hallucination” instead of delusion or derangement tried to appropriate as many as possible of these cases for the psychiatrists? The focus on delusion as a characteristic element in insanity probably was the ground for some criminals in Britain not seen as legally insane. On July 17th 1786 in London, Samuel Burt committed a forgery not for financial gain, but to be convicted for a capital crime and be executed. The reason was said to be the refusal of a woman to marry him. He was condemned to death July 19th, but both the jury and the prosecutor asked for mercy. Burt, however, stated that he would not receive a pardon. On January10th 1787 he in court received the news of a royal pardon instead sentencing him to transportation for life. He iterated his refusal of the pardon. Eventually, however, he accepted and wanted to live because the woman had accepted to marry him. Then disaster struck – his fiancée died in a disease she had acquired when visiting Burt in gaol. Anyhow, in February 1790 Burt was on a ship on its way to Australia.592 Burt had at least one predecessor and would have some followers at the Old Bailey. In 1751 Philip Gibson sentenced to death for robbery first refused to accept the pardon of fourteen years’ transportation he 590 Abercrombie 1859 p 237. 591 Abercrombie 1859 p 238. 592 The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, 1674–1913 for 19 July 1786 and 10 January 1787 (internet), The annual register 1793 p 220, The Times 19 October 1790. 169 of the cases, the maniac distinctly avowed his resolution to commit murder, with a view of dying by a sentence of law, and at the same time his determination that his victim should be a child, as he should thus avoid the additional guilt of sending a person out of the world in a state of unrepented sin.590
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