The Farmer Who Thanked the Jury for Sending Him to Prison
After shooting a man on the Spokane courthouse steps, an eccentric Whitman County farmer rejected an insanity defense and told the jury he would rather be in hell than an asylum.
Spokane, April 2.—A remarkable scene was witnessed here today of a prisoner thanking a jury for sending him to the penitentiary. It was in the case of Siegel, an eccentric farmer from Whitman County, who has killed one man and threatened many others. A few days ago he shot and severely wounded Edward Enwald from the courthouse steps in this city. For this he was placed on trial, and today was found guilty of shooting with intent to kill.
“Gentlemen of the jury,” said Siegel, “I thank you for your sensible conclusion. I am guilty, but not insane. I would rather be in hell than in a lunatic asylum.”
The court had named two young attorneys to defend Siegel, and they put in a plea of insanity, which Siegel greatly resented. “You be damned,” said he after the trial to one of his attorneys. “I'll kill you on sight when I get out of this.” Siegel then took his case into his own hands and gave formal notice of his intention to move for a new trial.
“I am guilty, but not insane. I would rather be in hell than in a lunatic asylum.”
Siegel's courtroom performance is a reminder that mental illness and violence were often sensationalized rather than understood in the 1890s. His insistence that he was sane enough for prison—not an asylum—also speaks to the stigma and fear that shaped how Washington handled people in crisis.
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