Is Kosminski the man really viable?

[Phil Carter]

I thought Rob House went to pretty great lengths to explore/debunk the issue of what "imbecile" meant in terms of categorizing various forms of mental illness in the context of the day. What part of his analysis do you disagree with, Phil?

Hello Robert,

First of all, thank you for re-posting the Dan Norder transcription of the FULL Scotsman article. Most appreciated.

With the greatest respect to Rob House and his sterling efforts, along with anyone else that have (to quote Roy) "bent over backwards" to try to be fair on the Kosminski subject...

I would rather take the word of Dr. Sir John Batty Tuke, contemporary medical expert.. and I mean EXPERT in this field. Tuke is so highly regarded in his field, over many many years, that I am yet to, after trawled through countless British Medical Journal articles on the subject of lunacy anf the like, find anyone that disagrees with the man.

I really dont think the reputation and eminency of this man is being fully appreciated.

Next..and a somewhat prickly question.

If the Scotsman/BMJ article has been around for so long, and known about, why wasn't it used in the effort to be "fair" in the book? Was it overlooked? Was it even seen? Was it deliberately discarded? (Sorry, but in a suspect book such evidence of contenporary expertise on this level would be the equivilant to sinking Kosminski as his personality, as we know it in all the records, actually proves Dr Tuke completely correct. In one line, and in plain English.. Aaron Kosminski wasn't the right type of madman. He doesn't, personality wise, fit the bill.
As I said earlier..he is a typical example of what used to be called "feeble minded"...a term that those of us of a certain age still remember being used in England.

So the crux of the point id this... how can anyone actually argue with the accepted views of the top man in his field at the time of the murders themselves? Because Kosminski was treated in the same fashion as one would for a person of that era.

That's why it is wrong to try to get modern authority in on this.. contemporary medical expertise..of Tuke's rank, trumps everything, imho.
Even Howden refers to him in his presentation as PRESIDENT of this medical section.

That's what Ive got against it Robert. Simple.

best wishes

Phil

[Errata]

Rob House does a pretty detailed job of discussing Kos's mental condition over the years and what we might deduce from that what he was suffering from.

Ask Rob for a copy. I think it's hard to discuss matters like this when there is a 300 page book that goes into far greater detail than I can on all these issues. You have posted some great insights on this thread and I would imagine you'd have plenty on the book itself.

Well I do have the advantage of also being a crazy Polish (ish) Jew... Actually my grandmother was from Kosminski's hometown. And she was an effing lunatic. So maybe there was something in the water.

[Fisherman]

Phil H:

"I don't think an "accomplice" (in this sense) has to be a party to the crimes, just someone who aids and abets."

True enough - but why would Phillips, of all people, instigate the search for such a person..?

The best,
Fisherman

[Phil H]

Also, seeing as we're on the subject, who might Kosminski's accomplice have been?

Well, an accomplice could simply be someone who knew what he had been up to - a family friend or family member. They might know his comings and goings, even that he had blood on clothes or himself, and helped him wash or hide such evidence.

I don't think an "accomplice" (in this sense) has to be a party to the crimes, just someone who aids and abets.

Phil H

[Simon Wood]

Hi All,

Echo, 12 November 1888—

"It is asserted that the Home Secretary's offer of a pardon to any accomplice was mainly at the instigation of Dr. G. B. Phillips, the Divisional Surgeon of the H Division, who pointed out to the authorities at the Home Office the desirability of such a step being taken."

What did Dr. Phillips know? Why would Her Majesty's Government take the advice of a Divisional Surgeon in the matter of pardons to accomplices?

Also, seeing as we're on the subject, who might Kosminski's accomplice have been?

Regards,

Simon