WEBVTT - The Backstory: The first temporary insanity defense

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<v Speaker 1>What would it take to drive you to murder? And

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<v Speaker 1>how would you or your lawyers effectively offer a defense.

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<v Speaker 1>Would it help if you were a pretty powerful guy

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<v Speaker 1>and you could afford powerhouse attorneys? When does that not help?

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Patty Steele, Murder and the first successful claim of

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<v Speaker 1>temporary insanity. That's next on the back story. We're back

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<v Speaker 1>with the back story. History and sex scandals actually go

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<v Speaker 1>together way more than you'd think. I mean, there's something

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<v Speaker 1>so seductive about an illicit interlude, especially when you come

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<v Speaker 1>from a time and place where everybody is expected to

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<v Speaker 1>totally behave themselves right. Well. A perfect example is the

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<v Speaker 1>story of Philip Barton Key, the second. You probably know

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<v Speaker 1>his father better. He was Francis Scott Key, who of

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<v Speaker 1>course was the guy who wrote the lyrics to the

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<v Speaker 1>Star Spangled Banner. But Philip Key was the victim in

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<v Speaker 1>this case, so we have to start with the other

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<v Speaker 1>key players. Daniel Sickles was an American general during the

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<v Speaker 1>Civil War. Despite eventually making it to major general by

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<v Speaker 1>eighteen sixty three, he was simply a political appointee from

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<v Speaker 1>a prestigious family and had almost no military experience. At

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<v Speaker 1>the Battle of Gettysburg, he disobeyed orders and moved his

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<v Speaker 1>troops into a position that left them completely defenseless, and

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<v Speaker 1>his unit was decimated. Sickles himself had a leg shot

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<v Speaker 1>off by cannon fire, But despite disobeying orders and his incompetence,

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<v Speaker 1>Daniel Sickles somehow got a Medal of honor. But let's

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<v Speaker 1>go back. Long before the war, Daniel was a power

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<v Speaker 1>player in Washington, a lawyer and a congressman from New York,

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<v Speaker 1>and a socialite, a notorious womanizer. Daniel nevertheless fell helplessly

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<v Speaker 1>in love with Teresa Bajoli. It was eighteen fifty one.

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<v Speaker 1>He was thirty two years old, Teresa was just fifteen.

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<v Speaker 1>They married the following year and had a baby, girl,

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<v Speaker 1>seven months later. Imagine you're married at sixteen, you have

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<v Speaker 1>a baby at seventeen, and a husband who's twice your age,

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<v Speaker 1>who's a very busy guy, both in politics send in

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<v Speaker 1>his personal life. As she herself later explained, and these

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<v Speaker 1>are her own words, I did what is usual for

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<v Speaker 1>a wicked woman to do. At the age of twenty one,

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<v Speaker 1>Theresa took a lover. That lover was a close friend

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<v Speaker 1>of her husband's, an attorney named Philip Barton. Key the second,

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<v Speaker 1>again the son of Francis Scott Key. In fact, he

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<v Speaker 1>was a US district attorney. The couple would rendezvous at

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<v Speaker 1>an empty house not far from Teresa's home, where she

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<v Speaker 1>lived with her husband and daughter on Lafayette Square in Washington. Now, interestingly,

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<v Speaker 1>extramarital affairs were really pretty common in the upper echelons

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<v Speaker 1>of Washington society. But it seems Teresa's husband, Daniel was

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<v Speaker 1>a really jealous guy. Now. The thing is, when somebody's

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<v Speaker 1>prone to messing around, they pretty often suspect everybody else

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<v Speaker 1>is doing the same thing, including their own spouses. He'd

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<v Speaker 1>often accused Teresa of having affairs, and she had always

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<v Speaker 1>been able to reassure him that she was faithful and

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<v Speaker 1>devoted to him, But eventually the truth came out. On

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<v Speaker 1>the evening of February twenty fourth, eighteen fifty nine, Daniel

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<v Speaker 1>and Teresa are having a dinner party at their home. Afterward,

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<v Speaker 1>they and their guests decide to head over to the

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<v Speaker 1>Willard Hotel for a dance. A messenger approaches Daniel and

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<v Speaker 1>hands him a sealed envelope, which he stuffed in his

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<v Speaker 1>pocket without opening. Later that night, after they got home,

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<v Speaker 1>he pulls the letter out and is shocked by what

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<v Speaker 1>he reads. The anonymous writer tells him what was going

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<v Speaker 1>on between Teresa and u S District Attorney Philip Key,

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<v Speaker 1>and gave him details of their trysts. The letter said

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<v Speaker 1>Key would hang a string out of the window of

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<v Speaker 1>the house, and that meant he was there and she

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<v Speaker 1>could slip in because he'd left the door open. The

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<v Speaker 1>letter ends with the lines with these few hints, I

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<v Speaker 1>leave the rest to your imagination, respectfully, your friend RPG. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>Daniel had no idea who RPG was. At first, he

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<v Speaker 1>thought the letter might be the work of a political rival,

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<v Speaker 1>but then he realized that the dates given in the

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<v Speaker 1>letter matched with his wife's frequent disappearances. He asked a

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<v Speaker 1>friend to scope out the house and question neighbors, and

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<v Speaker 1>it all added up. Daniel confronted his now twenty two

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<v Speaker 1>year old wife and she intently denied the story until

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<v Speaker 1>she couldn't. She sobbed and shouted, I am betrayed and lost,

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<v Speaker 1>finally admitting she was having an affair with Key. Daniel

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<v Speaker 1>forced her to write out her confession. In part, she said,

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<v Speaker 1>I met with mister Key many times in the house

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<v Speaker 1>on Fifteenth Street, I stayed for an hour or more

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<v Speaker 1>each time there is a bed in it in the

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<v Speaker 1>second story, to do what is usual for a wicked

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<v Speaker 1>woman to do. It was an intimacy of an improper kind.

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<v Speaker 1>Sickles was crazy with jealousy and anger, but he was

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<v Speaker 1>convinced that Key had taken advantage of his very young wife,

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<v Speaker 1>so he planned his revenge against Key, his friend. A

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<v Speaker 1>few days later, on Sunday, February twenty seventh, eighteen fifty nine, Key,

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<v Speaker 1>still totally unaware that Sickles knew about the affair, was

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<v Speaker 1>in front of the Sickles house waving his handkerchief and

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<v Speaker 1>whistling to try to get Teresa's attention. That's what happened

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<v Speaker 1>before cell phones. So Sickles came outside, and Key, thinking

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<v Speaker 1>it would be a friendly greeting, put out his hand

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<v Speaker 1>and said how are you. But Sickles was furious and

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<v Speaker 1>he shouted, you villain, you have dishonored my house and

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<v Speaker 1>you must die. He pulled out a pistol and fired it,

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<v Speaker 1>missing Key by a long shot, who then tried to

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<v Speaker 1>grab him by the coat, but Sickles fired again and

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<v Speaker 1>this time hit him. Key yelled out, don't murder me.

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<v Speaker 1>He staggered away, but Sickles ran after him and fired

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<v Speaker 1>twice at close range, killing him. The murder in broad

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<v Speaker 1>daylight and the following trial was all anybody could talk about.

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<v Speaker 1>The eye idea of male honor, female virtue, and the

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<v Speaker 1>law all processed through the lens of insanity. Sickles turned

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<v Speaker 1>himself in and hired a powerful legal team, which included

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<v Speaker 1>Edwin Stanton, who just a year or two later went

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<v Speaker 1>on to become President Lincoln's Secretary of War. Sickles told

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<v Speaker 1>reporters Key had dishonored me, and we too could no

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<v Speaker 1>longer live on the same planet. The trial began a

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<v Speaker 1>little over a month after the murder. While other lawyers

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<v Speaker 1>had used an insanity defense in the past, this was

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<v Speaker 1>the first time anybody had pleaded not guilty due to

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<v Speaker 1>temporary insanity. The New York Evening Post printed Teresa's confession verbatim,

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<v Speaker 1>while The New York Times accused the Post of indecency,

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<v Speaker 1>saying the confession was altogether too disgusting to be laid

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<v Speaker 1>before our readers. The lawyers loved the upset, and the

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<v Speaker 1>destruction of both Key's reputation and of Teresa's made their

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<v Speaker 1>case easier. They said Sickles had been blind with rage

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<v Speaker 1>and was driven temporarily insane, and it worked. The judge

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<v Speaker 1>even told the jury to consider Sickles's state of mind

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<v Speaker 1>when he shot key. After deliberating for just one hour,

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<v Speaker 1>they came back with a verdict of not guilty. But

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<v Speaker 1>here's what shocked people the most. Daniel and Teresa Sickles reconciled.

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<v Speaker 1>The public was furious that he would take back what

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<v Speaker 1>they called a fallen woman. She actually never really recovered

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<v Speaker 1>from the upset and died of tuberculosis in eighteen sixty seven,

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<v Speaker 1>when she was just thirty one years old. Daniel led

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<v Speaker 1>a long life. Aside from being a general in the

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<v Speaker 1>Civil War, he was a diplomat to Spain, where he

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<v Speaker 1>married a young Spanish aristocrat. He served in Congress again,

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<v Speaker 1>and he was made Sheriff of New York County in

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<v Speaker 1>eighteen ninety, among lots of other accomplishments. Daniel Sickles finally

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<v Speaker 1>died in nineteen fourteen at the age of ninety four.

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<v Speaker 1>His successful use of the temporary insanity plea changed the

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<v Speaker 1>criminal judicial system in America. But here's the question, was

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<v Speaker 1>it fair? Hope you're enjoying the Backstory with me, Patty Steele.

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<v Speaker 1>Please subscribe and if you have a story you'd like

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<v Speaker 1>me to dig into and share, feel free to dm

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<v Speaker 1>me on Facebook at Patty Steele or on Instagram at

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<v Speaker 1>Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. The Backstories a production

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<v Speaker 1>of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, the Elvis Durand Group, and Steel

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<v Speaker 1>Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser. Our writer Jake Kushner.

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<v Speaker 1>We have new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free

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<v Speaker 1>to reach out to me with comments and even story

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<v Speaker 1>suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty Steele and on Facebook

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<v Speaker 1>at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening to the Backstory with

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<v Speaker 1>Patty Steele, the pieces of history you didn't know you

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<v Speaker 1>needed to know.