The Woyzeck Case
While many famous murder trials become the basis of books, movies, and television episodes, I only know of one that later became a famous opera. Johann Christian Woyzeck, a wigmaker and barber who was born and raised in 19th Saxony (now part of Germany) certainly seemed to be an unlikely subject for musical immortality. Details of his early life are sketchy although he is known to have been a soldier at one point as well as an aimless individual who was never very prosperous. The only bright spot in his life was his relationship with Christianne Woost, a widow with whom he had been living. His obsessive jealousy over Christianne led him to murder her on June 3, 1821 after discovering that she had cancelled an arranged meeting between them to spend time with a handsome soldier. He was then taken into custody where he admitted to stabbing her seven times. There was absolutely no question concerning his guilt, only his state of mind at the time of the murder. The court case dragged on for years with medical doctors on both sides of the case arguing over Woyzeck's mental state and whether he could be held responsible for his actions. Legal documents on the case still exist and provide a fascinating look at the trial process. Duke Friedrich August, then-crown prince of Saxony even entered a deposition on Woyzeck's behalf arguing that the murder had been committed while Woyzeck was suffering from partial mania. Despite allegations that Woyzeck had been suffering from hallucinations at the time of the murder, there is no way to tell if he was genuinely mentally ill or simply trying to avoid execution. In the end, it was the testimony of John Christian August Clarus, chief medical officer for Leipzig, whose report on Woyzeck concluded that he had been sane at the time of the murder that eventually led to his conviction. Clarus was asked to re-examine Woyzeck in 1823 but he refused to change his opinion in his second report. Medical professors at the University of Leipzig supported Clarus' conclusions although none of them bothered examining Woyzeck first-hand. Despite an impassioned plea by the defence council, Woyzeck was eventually executed on August 27, 1824 by decapitation in the main square of Leipzig in front of a large crowd. A debate about Woyzeck's mental state and whether it was appropriate to execute a mentally unbalanced man continued in the medical literature for years afterwards.
The case attracted world-wide attention at the time and is now considered one of the most notable forensic psychiatry cases of the 19th century. Still, it would be largely forgotten now except for the later play by Georg Buchner that has kept the Woyzeck case alive. In the decades since the play was first performed, it has been presented as an opera by Allan Berg, as a movie by Werner Herzog, and even as a musical. Who knew that forensic psychiatry could be so entertaining?
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