About this episode

The episode discusses the trial of Charles Guiteau, his delusions, and the legal challenges faced by his brother-in-law.

As his trial drew closer, Charles Guiteau became more delusional. He wrote demanding letters to the new president, Chester A. Arthur. He announced plans to run for president himself. He got the word out that he was looking for love — the love of a wealthy, Christian woman under 30, that is! He wasn’t worried about what the future held. He was certain that, if he did go on trial for murder, he’d be surrounded by the country’s best criminal defense attorneys. That didn’t happen. Instead, his long-suffering brother-in-law, Charles Scoville, stepped in. Charles Scoville was a patent attorney from Illinois. He knew he might not be able to stop the government from giving an insane man the death penalty, but he’d sure as hell try. Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Kristin pulled from: The book, “Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President,” by Candice Millard The book, “Dark Horse: The Surprise Election and Political Murder of President James A. Garfield,” by Kenneth D. Ackerman “Murder of a President” documentary and additional resources from PBS.org “‘As a Matter of Fact, I Presume I Shall Live to be…

People in this episode

Host: Kristin

Topics covered

• trial
• assassination
• insanity
• politics
• history
• true crime

Keywords

• Charles Guiteau
• trial
• assassination
• Chester A. Arthur
• insanity defense
• history
• true crime

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: PBS.org, National Park Service, Federal Judicial Center

Books & works: Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President, Dark Horse: The Surprise Election and Political Murder of President James A. Garfield, Murder of a President, United States v. Guiteau: Assassination and Insanity in Gilded Age America, The Trial of Charles Guiteau

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