6 MAY 1916, Page 1
Of course, neither we nor anybody else want to shoot
a lunatic, and if true lunacy is declared by competent experts in Sir Roger Casement's case, even. if he is guilty, he will not be shot.. But by lunacy we do not mean eccentricity of conduct. Again, a man cannot found a plea of lunacy on the heinousness of his crimes. He cannot be excused from the consequences of his acts on the ground that " nobody could have behaved so badly without being mad." We are not alienists, and therefore of course cannot express any opinion on the medical side of Sir Roger Casement's case. All we or any one can say at the moment is that if his mental state renders him fit to be tried, and if he is pronounced guilty, he must take the consequences of his acts.
