Providentia

God Save The Queen (Part 2 of 2)

Continued from Part 1

In the hearing at the Old Bailey which took place on July 6, the courtroom was packed as Edward Oxford went on trial for his life.   For a would-be royal assassin, he seemed strangely oblivious to his surroundings and largely appeared to be daydreaming as family members and his few acquaintances all testified to his unsound mind. That both his father and grandfather were alcoholics with a history of mental illness was entered as evidence of his insanity as well (insanity was considered hereditary at the time). 

The various medical doctors who had examined Edward while he was awaiting trial gave their own testimony as well.   Dr. Thomas Hodgkin, eminent pathologist for whom Hodgkins' disease is named, testified that the defendant suffered from a "lesion of the will" while Dr. John Conolly of the Middlesex County Asylum argued that Edward had a disease of the brain based on the shape of his head.   Conolly also reported that, when asked why he had shot at the Queen, Edward replied, "Oh, I may as well shoot at her as anybody else."    Various other medical experts called in by Edward's defense attorneys also testified to his mental infirmities.

With the overwhelming evidence, the jury quickly acquitted Edward Oxford on the grounds of insanity. Under British law of the time, that meant he would be "detained at Her Majesty's pleasure" which, given his target, likely meant a life sentence.   First placed in the State Criminal Lunatic Asylum at Bethlem (a.k.a. "Bedlam"),  Edward was a model patient who spent all his time drawing, reading, and studying different languages.  He also became a painter and decorator in the asylum wards.    That he showed no sign of the presumed insanity which got him sent to the asylum seemed not to make any difference to the doctors.    When asked, Edward openly regretted hs crime and admitted that he had only done it to become famous.  

In the meantime, Queen Victoria's popularity soared due to her courage in facing the assassination attempt.   Up to that time, her subjects had been ambivalent towards her, both for her unpopular marriage to Prince Albert and various court scandals which damaged her reputation.   After the assassination attempt, and the others that followed,  Queen Victoria's courage under fire became legendary.   When a second gunman, John Francis, tried to shoot her just two years later,  Albert was quick to defend her after noticing him in time.   Though Francis managed to get away, Victoria took the controversial step of deliberately traveling by coach along the same route two days later to lure him into a trap.   It worked.   Francis also managed to avoid a death sentence and was transported to Australia, 

On April 30, 1864, Edward Oxford was transferred to Broadmoor Hospital.   Located in Crowthorne, Broadmoor continues to be the chief high-security psychiatric hospital in the United Kingdom and has held some of the most notorious cases in the U.K.'s forensic history.   The exact reason for Edward's transfer is still unclear considering his being a model prisoner at his old hospital although it was likely for administrative reasons (he was just too high-functioning for Bedlam).   Now forty-two years old,  Edward impressed his doctors as being completely sane with no sign of the presumed mental illness that led him to fire a pistol at the Queen.   At Broadmoor, he became a model inmate as he had been at Bedlam and his doctors were obliged to report this to the Home Secretary.

According to a joint submission issued by Broadmoor's adminstrators and Edward's former Bedlam doctors, Edward Oxford was declared to be perfectly sane and ready to reenter the world.   Because of the political aspects,  the application was delayed to 1867 when then-Home Secretary, Gathorne Hardy was prepared to offer him a deal:   he could be released providing he left Great Britain and never returned.   Edward agreed and his doctors arranged for him to emigrate to Australia.    There were still formalities to be dealt witht though, including numerous photographs being taken by the Metropolitan Police and a stern warning that he would be locked up for life if he ever returned to Great Britain. 

The British government hardly felt obliged to fund Edward's emigration but his doctors provided him with a new suit as well as paying for his passage.  That, and a balance of 22 pounds was all that he had in the world when he boarded the U.S.S. Suffolk on November 26, 1867.   A Broadmoor steward, George Phelps, personally escorted Edward aboard the ship and even signed an affidavit afterward verifying that Edward had been on board when the ship sailed.     

If anyone wondered what a 45-year-old man who had spent the past 25 years in an asylum would do in a new country with few funds and no real prospects, they showed no sign of it.   There are actually two conflicting accounts of what happened to Edward Oxford after his emigration.   According to Broadmoor's files,  a man named "John Oxford" who was identified in the local newspaper as being the one who had tried to shoot the Queen was arrested for stealing a shirt in 1880 and spent a week in jail (but they may have been confusing him with John Francis).   A more reliable source described Edward Oxford, under his new name of "John Freeman" as having a successful life as a painter and as a writer for Melbourne's newspaper, The Age.    Marrying a widow with two children in 1881, John Freeman wrote a series of articles about Melbourne's slums that became the basis for a book, Lights and Shadows of Melbourne Life.   At the time of his death in 1900,  his wife and stepchildren had no idea that John Freeman was not his real name.  

Whatever Edward Oxford's final fate,  his shooting at the Queen set an uncomfortable precedent for what to do with assassins and would-be assassins.   Queen Victoria would be especially outraged over the use of the insanity defense in later cases, including the 1843 acquittal of Daniel M'Naghten for the mistaken assassination of Edward Drummond.   Considering that the Queen would face a series of would-be assassins during her reign (along with assorted stalkers and one man who struck her in the face with a cane), her attitude concerning Edward Oxford and the others who followed him is probably understandable. 

In the Queen's own opinion, hanging Edward Oxford might have prevented future assassination attempts by acting as a deterrent.   As she would write to Prime Minister Gladstone in 1882, "Punishment deters not only sane men but also eccentric men, whose supposed involuntary acts are really produced by a diseased brain capable of being acted upon by external influence. A knowledge that they would be protected by an acquittal on the grounds of insanity will encourage these men to commit desperate acts, while on the other hand certainty that they will not escape punishment will terrify them into a peaceful attitude towards others."

If nothing else, the Queen managed to outlive her attacker since Edward Oxford died a year before her.   Whether she took any joy from that (or was even aware of it) is very much an open question.

 

 

Chronic Pain and Suicide

Chronic pain is a known risk factor for suicide. To date, however, few studies of people with chronic pain have tested specific predictions about suicidal ideation that are derived from theory. The interpersonal theory of suicide proposes that the psychological constructs of thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness are unique and independent precursors to suicidal ideation. This hypothesis was tested in a recent study published in Rehabilitation Psychology.  A total of 303 patients of a chronic pain rehabilitation program completed measures of pain severity, duration, and disability; cognitive–affective measures of depression and catastrophizing; and interpersonal measures of relationship distress and self-perceived burden to others. The latter measures were included as indices of the belongingness and burdensomeness constructs. Participants also rated two items pertaining to suicidal ideation. In a multiple regression analysis, both distress in interpersonal relations (β = 0.12, p = .037) and self-perceived burden to others (β = 0.25, p < .001) were significant predictors of suicidal ideation, even after adjusting statistically for demographic characteristics, pain severity and duration, functional limitations, catastrophizing, and depression.  These findings suggest that the interpersonal theory is relevant to understanding elevated rates of suicidal ideation among people with chronic pain, and may have broader applicability to other populations with chronic illness or disability.

For the abstract

Mental Illness Blamed for Bizarre 2010 Spending Spree

For Jeffrey Horan, the problems apparently began with a 2001 helicopter crash.   

Horan and five other passengers were flying home from an NBA playoffs game when the helicopter crashed into a tree in a heavy fog.  Though there were no fatalities, the injuries Horan sustained in the accident appeared to resulteed in serious mental health problems which eventually led to his forced insitutionalization on at least two occasions, most recently at Bellevue Hospital in 2010.    According to Horan's former business partner, Drew Doscher,  ""I lost a good friend and a great business partner... When your helicopter crashes doing 165 miles an hour into trees, it tends to change people’s lives."   

Despite the 43-year old Horan being  a multimillionaire former financial services executive with a home in Manhattan's Upper West Side,  concerns arose about his erratic spending decisions, including extravagant gifts he made to random people.   Although the Bank of America assigned an executive to monitor Horan's finances in 2004, that failed to prevent a bizarre 2010 spending spree in which his account was drained of millions of dollars.  

In a lawsuit against the Bank of America filed by Horan's brother,  Lawrence, the bank is accused of doing nothing while Jeffrey Horan was being systematically exploited bv two casual acquaintances.   The suit also seeks damages against Hoboken-based contractor Alex Gershkovich and Queens woman, Elizabeth Ortiz.    Both individuals had reportedly met Jeffrey Horan on separate occasions and managed to coerce him into making large financial gifts to them.   The suit states that they both lied to Horan  "in order to take advantage of his mania and psychotic delusions."    Asking for more than $4 milion  in damages from both Gershkovich and Ortiz, the suit is also demanding the return of a $460,ooo Lamborghini from Gershkovich and a $72,000 Mercedes-Benz from Ortiz.   The suit also alleges that Gershkvoch received $600,000 for construction costs to Jeffrey Horan's home despite no work being undertaken with an additional $300,000 being fraudulently received by Elizabeth Ortiz as well.

“This is a very unfortunate situation where a guy with a severe mental disorder was taken advantage of by a great many people,” said Kieran Conlon, attorney for Lawrence Horan, in commenting on the case.   Along with allowing Horan to drain his accounts, he was also charged large fees by his bank with no real oversight taking place.   The spending only ended when Lawrence Horan took formal charge of his brother's finances.    

The Bank of America and the other defendants in the lawsuit refused to comment on the allegations.

For more information.

 

Obesity and the Brain

Is there a link between obesity and cognitive functioning?

Though obesity can lead to medical problems including heart disease, diabetes, sleep apnea and depression, can it affect cognitive performance as well?    According to a research study  recently published in Neuropsychology, that may actually be the case.    John Gunstad of Kent State University and Kelly M. Stanek of the University of Alabama led a team of researchers examining the interaction of Body Mass Index (BMI) and cognitive functioning across the human lifespan.   Their conclusions have unsettling implications for the current obesity pandemic as well as the disturbing rise in dementia cases among older adults.

Based on previous research, obesity has been linked to increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease and stroke.  Weight gain has also been linked to long-term decline in cognitive performance even when dementia is not part of the picture.    Even neuroimaging studies of morbidly obese people (BMI greater than 40)  suggest that they are at greater risk for brain atrophy though these results are still controversial for younger age groups.   As people grow older however, they become more vulnerable to brain-related disorders which may make the effect of obesity even more important.

To read more, check out my new Psychology Today blog post. 

God Save The Queen (Part 1 of 2)

On June 10, 1840, the young Queen Victoria and her consort, Prince Albert, were riding in state in their official carriage which was slowly winding through Westminster and returning to Buckingham Palace.   Due to the late spring evening weather, the carriage was open while Victoria and Albert greeted the adoring crowds lining the streets.   The only security they had were two guards on horseback who kept th crowds away.   As the carriage drew level with Constitution Hill, two shots rang out and the Queen, frantic for her safety, took cover (she was four months pregnant with her first child at the time).  

The gunman, an eighteen year-old former potboy named Edward Oxford, made no attempt to conceal himself or to get away after firing his pistols.   He had stationed himself on a footpath right on Constitution Hill and the spectators nearby quickly wrestled him to the ground and disarmed him.   Oxford was certainly open about firing at Her Majesty stating, “It was I.  It was me that did it!”    He was immediately arrested and later charged with treason given the seriousness of his offense.

Except for the question of how serious the offense really was.   No sign of any bullets were ever found and Oxford himself would later deny that there had been anything in his gun except gunpowder.   Whatever his intention had been, daring to fire a gun at the young Queen was enough for the British government to order a full investigation.  That in turn, meant coming to understand exactly who Edward Oxford was and why he had decided to shoot at the young Queen.

Born in Birmingham, England on April 9, 1822 as the third of seven children, Edward Oxford’s early childhood would later be described as extremely abusive due to his father who died when Edward was seven years of age.  That the shooting would take place on the anniversary of his father’s death hardly escaped notice.   After his father's death, Edward was raised by his mother with whom he remained close despite their strained financial circumstances. 

During Edward’s trial, his mother would provide numerous details about her son’s eccentricity as he grew old, especially his “giggling fits” and his fondness for playing with gunpowder.  Since Hannah Oxford came from a family of pub owners, it seemed natural for Edward to begin working in pubs after he finished school.    Described as a pale youth of average appearance and height, Edward did little socializing and preferred to spend his free time at home reading and living in his own fantasy world.

Based on his own writings (which came under intense scrutiny during his trial), Edward had developed an elaborate fantasy about a military society he called “Young England.”   In this society (of which he was the only member), Edward was a captain able to command a hundred men.  On paper, at least, his society had four hundred members who all signed a manifesto supporting various military objectives.  He even wrote himself letters in the third person praising his heroism and the activities of his society.  That nobody else had any idea this society existed hardly seemed to matter but the fantasy was all that he really had.

By 1840, Edward was working as a "pot-boy" (another name for barman) at The Hog In The Pound on Oxford Street while living with his mother and sisters.  He seemed incapable of keeping any job for long and was frequently fired due to his inability to keep his mind on his job.    His increasingly bizarre behaviour ended up costing him his latest job as well.   Not only was he prone to bizarre giggling fits, but he was foolish enough to laugh out loud when the landlord's wife fell down some stairs.   After being fired  from his job at the beginning of May, no other pub in the area would hire him afterward. 

It was around this time that Edward's mother went to Birmingham to visit relatives and he was left completely on his own.    According to later investigation,  he managed to buy pistols around this time with no questions being asked about why he wanted them (it was a different era than today).   He also bought a gunpowder flask and practiced shooting with his pistols at various shooting galleries around London, again with no questions being asked.    Though various witnesses saw him with the loaded gun and asked him what he was planning to do with them,  Edward refused to comment.  After scouting out the best location, he decided on a particular spot on Constitution Hill and waited for the opportunity which finally came on June 10.   

After the shooting and Edward's arrest,  Metropolitan Police tried interviewing everyone who knew him.  That included his mother who had been retrieved from Birmingham by the investigators.    Not satisfied with the investigation, the British Cabinet arranged for Edward to be brought before them and he was relentlessly questioned about his motives and the possibility of a conspiracy.    The police also investigated to see if "Young England" was a real organization or nothing more than Edward Oxford's imagination.    In the meantime, Edward Oxford attracted all the notoriety had had ever wanted and newspapers reported on every detail of the case as it became avalable.   A representative from Madame Tussaud's museum even made a wax impression of his head to be featured in the museum along with all the other criminals in their Rogue's Gallery.   

Considering Edward Oxford's behaviour while he was held in Newgate Prison, including his numerous sobbing fits, his lawyers decided to go for an insanity plea.   Really, they had no other options at that point considering he was on trial for his life.

T0 be continued

 

 

Listening to Voices

Should you take medical advice from voices apparently coming out of thin air?

Cases of people “hearing voices”, whether spiritual or not, lies at the root of most religions with a litany of saints and prophets describing the apparently supernatural guidance they received. Still, modern neuroscience has indicated that many of these experiences can be due to different forms of brain pathology. Along with psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, auditory hallucinations have also been linked to complex forms of epilepsy, injuries, or strokes involving auditory regions of the brain’s cortex.

Or possibly even a tumour.

A bizarre care reported in a 1997 issue of the British Medical Journal takes an intriguing look at the neurological roots of auditory hallucinations which actually helped medical doctors diagnosis illness. Written by Ikechukwu Obialo Azuonye, then a consulting psychiatrist at the Lambeth Healthcare NHS trust, the paper is titled, “A difficult case: Diagnosis made by hallucinatory voices.”    

In the case history, an otherwise healthy woman referred to as “A.B” had been living in Britain since the 1960s and was a full-time homemaker when the events described in the article began in 1984.   A.B. was reportedly sitting at home, reading, when she heard a voice in her head. The voice reportedly told her: “Please don't be afraid. I know it must be shocking for you to hear me speaking to you like this, but this is the easiest way I could think of. My friend and I used to work at the Children's Hospital, Great Ormond Street, and we would like to help you.”

To read more, check out my new post on the James Randi Educational Foundation blog.

Do Peer Networks Influence Male Sexual Aggression?

A study published in Psychology of Violence examined predictors of sexually aggressive behaviors with an existing model of sexual aggression to include attitudinal and structural variables of participants' peer groups.  A battery of questionnaires was administered to 341 college-aged men via web-based survey. Participants were asked to report their previous sexual behavior, attitudes toward women and sexual aggression, the strength of relationships within their peer network, and their peers' attitudes toward women and sexual aggression. Findings suggest perceived peer rape-supportive attitudes significantly influence individual members' hostile attitudes toward women. Peer network density negatively predicted hostile attitudes—individuals with tightly knit peer groups tend to have less hostile attitudes toward women; there was a significant interaction between peer group density and perceived peer rape-supportive attitudes in predicting individuals' hostile attitudes toward women—individuals in high-density, low-hostility peer groups had the lowest average levels of hostility toward women. The findings suggest perceived peer attitudes and structure of peer networks influence individuals' attitudes concerning violence and hostility toward women, factors long known to predict both physical and sexual violence against women. These findings may be implemented through peer-focused bystander intervention programs aimed at reducing sexual aggression.

For the abstract

Anti-Gay Violence Surging in Russia

Ever since the passage of the controversial new law banning homosexual "propaganda", the upsurge in anti-LGBT violence, apparently with cooperation from the Russian government, is endangering the safety of those few protestors courageous enough to speak out.   The law, which passed unanimously in the Russian Duma on June 11, is based on  legislation already in place in cities such as St. Petersburg and extends it to the entire country.   While not banning homosexuality outright (it was decriminalized in 1993), the law imposes fines on anyone providing "propaganda on non-traditional sexual relations" to minors.  Not only is it now illegal to speak openly about gays and lesbians to young people, but any public demonstrations, including Gay Pride marches, are now banned as well.   News kiosks are also refusing to carry magazines with gay content and even gay-positive posts on Twitter and Facebook have come under attack as well.

While Gay Pride events in Russia have typically been marked by violence ever since the first Moscow Pride event in 2006,  the rise in anti-gay attacks has received little mention in the Russian news media.   Just this month alone, the deputy director of an airport in Russia's Kamchatka region was killed and his body set on fire,  reportedly because he was gay.   According to Vladimir Voloshin, the editor of Russian gay magazine Queer,   the new legislation is likely to be used as a justification to avoid prosecuting such attacks.  "It is one of the perverse consequences of the new law that criminals claim to have acted out of aversion to gays, because their lawyers assume that it will be considered as a mitigating factor during sentencing," he said.   "The worst part is, it works."

Though attacks on gay protesters typically involve ultra-Orthodox counterprotesters, there is little by way of assistance from police who are more likely to arrest pro-LGBT activists for trumped-up charges than provide protection.   There is also fear about how the new legislation will be enforced or whether something as basic as hanging a rainbow flag might be successfully prosecuted.   The fines under the new legislation are much more than the average Russian can afford, ranging from 100 to 11,700 euros (approximately $133-15000) depending on the infraction.  One recent conviction involved St. Petersburg resident, Nikolai Alexeyev who was prosecuted in May for holding up a sign saying, "Homosexuality is not a perversion."    It also means that web sites can be blocked without a court order and even reporting on anti-gay violence may be deemed criminal. 

Young activists are still fighting back though their activism is largely limited to Internet campaigns.   In one recent initiative called "The Children-404", a picture series of young LGBT Russians is shown with posters to hide their faces.  One of these posters read, "I refuse to be invisible! Love is stronger than hate."     But the hate remains deeply rooted in Russia, with the full blessing of Vladimir Putin's government.   What impact this will have on the already high suicide rate among LGBT youths is likely to be severe.   Especially since reporting on new deaths will probably be considered illegal.

For more information

Robots and the Elderly

 

Did you ever see Robot and Frank?   The charming 2012 film features Frank Langella as an elderly ex-cat burglar in the early stages of dementia whose son buys him a domestic robot to act as a caretaker.     While the concept of robot caretakers for the elderly seems like the stuff of science fiction movies, the critical need for care workers to deal with dementia patients worldwide has provided robotics developers with a strong incentive for making that dream a reality.   

With over 5.2 million Alzheimer’s patients in the United States alone and millions more worldwide, the cost of caring for Alzheimer's Disease and other dementias is already $203 billion and is expected to climb over $1.2 trillion by 2050 if no treatment advances are made.    With the lack of trained care workers, family members are forced to provide care on their own.   In 2012 alone, more than 15 million Americans acted as caregivers for Alzheimer's patients and the estimated 17 billion hours of unpaid care they provide was valued at $216 billlion. 

But can robots make a difference?    The latest issue of Geropsych: the Journal of Gerontopsychology and Geriatric Psychiatry is dedicated to exploring some of the complex issues associated with the development and deployment of caretaker robots, both in terms of what has already been developed and some of the prospects for the future.
To read more, check out my new Psychology Today blog post.

The Oddfather

He could often be seen leaving his mother's Greenwich Village apartment, dressed either in a bathrobe and pajamas, or in a windbreaker and shabby trousers, but the sight of the two bodyguards accompanying Vincent Gigante at all times, ensured that nobody could dismiss him as just another New York City eccentric.   Dubbed "the Oddfather" for his bizarre mannerisms and longstanding history of bizarre behaviour, Gigante was either genuinely mentally ill or the perpetrator of the longest legal charade in New York's history (it all depended on who you asked).

Born Vincent Louis Gigante in 1928, Gigante was a professional boxer who fought nearly thirty bouts between 1944 and 1947 before abandoning the ring for what would be his real career.   Starting out as a mob enforcer for the Luciano crime family, Gigante (who quickly acquired the nickname of "the Chin") and three of his brothers established themselves as mobsters who became prime enforcers in the Genovese family. 

Despite various arrests, including a conviction for heroin trafficking which earned him a seven-year sentence in the 1950s, Vincent Gigante rose to become a caporegime for the local branch of the Genovese family operating out of Greenwich village, not far from his mother's apartment.   Remaining loyal to his family throughout his lifetime, they also rallied around him (including his brother, Louis, who had stayed out of the Mafia to become a priest).    Vincent eventually rose to the very top of the Genovese family after  his mentor, Philip Lombardo (a.k.a. "Benny Squints") stepped down due to ill-health in 1981.  He beat out his main rival for the position, Anthony Salerno, when Salerno received a life sentence for racketeering charges.  From 1981 until his death in 2005, Vincent Gigante controlled some of New York's most notorious rackets including bookmaking, loansharking,  construction companies, and various other enterprises.  At the peak of his career, he was believed to have handled as much as $100 million dollars in legal and illegal revenue.

Though state and federal agencies were well aware that "the Chin" was one of the most powerful crime bosses in the United States, proving it in court was another matter.    Even though mob deserters testified about Gigante's criminal activities and his involvement in cartels that rigged contract bids across New York City and Westchester county,  his unorthodox management style established him as a very different kind of Mafia don.   In 1986, FBI agents maintaining constant surveillance during one of their investigations observed Gigante leaving his mother's apartment in seedy clothing until he as driven to the townhouse owned by his common-law wife where he changed into more expensive clothing and do business with associates.   The next morning, he would often be seen back in his seedy clothing and returning to his mother's apartment or another family home.   He remained acutely paranoid of FBI wiretaps and electronic listening devices and rarely left his home unoccupied for long for fear that FBI agents would plant bugs.

"It was hard to understand what enjoyment he got out of being a mob boss," said Ronald Goldstock, the former director of the New York State Organized Crime Task Force of Gigante. "His only pleasure appeared to be the pure power he exercised."   His reclusive lifestyle ensured that he would remain in power longer than any other mob boss during that same era.     Despite his unorthodox management style, he certainly had no problem resorting to violence as needed.   He went on trial in 1958 for the attempted murder of Genovese family boss Frank Costello but was acquitted when Costello refused to testify against him (the code of silence known as omerta prevailed at all times, even with assassination attempts).   Though he was widely suspected of ordering other murders, prosecutors were never able to prove anything in court.

Probably his most well-known trick for avoiding prosecution was to feign insanity successfully for years.   Beginning in 1969, Vincent Gigante maintained an elaborate pretense which often involved him being seen around Greenwich Village wearing only his pajama, robe and slippers while mumbling to himself and generally appearing to be just another New York street person.  In a masterful performance,  Gigante ensured that all public appearances reinforced the image he maintained for himself.   Whenever he went on trial, his defense attorneys produced medical experts who testified that he suffered from various  diagnoses ranging from schizophrenia to dementia pugilistica dating back to his boxing days.    Various family members including his wife and mother testified on his behalf verifying that he was mentally ill and incapable of standing trial.   His brother Louis even went so far as to accuse prosecutors of engaging in a vendetta due to prejudice against Italian-Americans.

His Mafia colleagues certainly had no doubts about the sanity of "the Oddfather."   Even his arch-nemesis, John Gotti, grudgingly said of Gigante that he was "crazy, like a fox" while an FBI supervisor said of Gigante in his obituary that "He was probably the most clever organized-crime figure I have ever seen."   This, despite his lawyers frequently insisting in court that their client had a below-normal IQ (in the 69-72 range) which meant he was too mentally disabled to be involved in the Mafia.

Not only did Vincent Gigante produce his own experts, but he also successfully fooled prosecution experts as well.   Forensic authorities such as Thomas Gutheil of Harvard Medical School, Donald Franklin Klein of Columbia Medical School, and Abraham Halpern of New York Medical College, among others, assessed Gigante over the years and  subsequently testified that he was unfit to stand trial.   His habit of appearing in court in pajamas, a robe and his familiar cap were all part of the elaborate scam he maintained to stay out of jail and it worked for decades.  Even during sanity hearings in 1996 when several high-level Mafia defectors testified that Gigante appeared perfectly sane during various meetings, his lawyers provided testimony from psychiatrists and psychologists attesting to his mental illness.  They  presented evidence that Gigante had been institutionalized 28 times between 1969 and 1985 for hallucinations and "dementia rooted in organic brain damage."    

According to Dr. Eugene D'Amamo, who acted as his primary treating psychiatrist from 1973 to 1989, Gigante had been "diagnosed since 1969 as suffering from schizophrenia, paranoid type with acute exacerbations which result in hospitalization."  Along with daily doses of diazepam and chlorpromazine, he also had several operations on his heart which complicated the medical picture considerably.   That many of his repeated hospitalizations for mental illness were conveniently timed to avoid criminal charges hardly escaped notice.   When he was charged with racketeering in 1990, he still successfully delayed the trial for years while the question of his sanity was studied

The judge in the  case, Eugene Nickerson, finally ruled that Gigante was fit to stand trial and he was later sentenced to 12 years in prison (he managed to beat the charges relating to the attempted killing of fellow Mafia don, John Gotti).    Gigante sat quietly in his wheelchair as the verdict was read out.  Even in prison however, he continued to run the Genovese family with his orders relayed through visiting relatives.   The insanity pretense only ended after he was charged with obstruction of justice and racketeering in 2002.  His son Andrew, who had acted as his lieutenant while he was in prison, was charged along with him.    At long last, Vincent Gigante admitted to successfully fooling the doctors for 30 years as part of his guilty plea which earned him and his son reduced sentences.    The plea meant three extra years added to his current sentence and was regarded by many as an unprecedented deal for a Mafia don.   In talking about the guilty plea afterward, his lawyer Benjamin Brafman said that "I think you get to a point in life - I think everyone does - where you become too old and too sick and too tired to fight."

Vincent Gigante died in federal prison on December 19, 2005.  Not long before his death, Gigante had been transferred to an acute care hospital to stabilize his condition before he was returned to prison where he died ten days later.    Father Louis Gigante later blamed his brother's death on the medical care he had received in prison.   In Vincent Gigante's obituary, Louis was quoted as saying that he had visited his brother nineteen times and "there wasn't a day he didn't suffer."   Prison officials defended the care Vincent received though the stress of incarceration likely shortened his life. 

Whatever the circumstances of his death, Gigante's funeral was definitely low-key, much as he lived his life.   As the last of the old-time Godfathers, Vincent "the Chin" Gigante's death marked the end of an era.  The Oddfather would be missed.