Aurora, Illinois – In the lead-up to a high-profile 1925 murder trial, Dr. H.S. Hulbert raised concerns about receiving threats as he braced himself to challenge the prosecution’s argument that Warren Lincoln was not mentally impaired when he brutally killed his wife and her brother. Lincoln, a lawyer and florist in Aurora, had confessed to the crime but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. The trial was anticipated to be a showdown between forensic psychiatrists, known in that era as alienists, as they tried to unravel the mystery surrounding a complex defendant.
Prosecutors brought in analysts from the Elgin State Hospital for the Insane to evaluate Lincoln at the Aurora jail where he was held. The case stirred up strong emotions, even among the experts tasked with examining the enigmatic defendant. Despite efforts by Dr. Hulbert and other supporters to bolster Lincoln’s insanity plea, the state ultimately deemed him sane, attributing the viciousness of the crime to a calculated attempt to evade responsibility.
During the trial preparations, three experts spent hours interviewing Lincoln in an attempt to ascertain his mental state. However, the prosecution contended that Lincoln’s actions, including dismembering his victims, were driven by his desire to eliminate evidence rather than by a mental disorder. They highlighted Lincoln’s financial motivations, citing his debts to his brother-in-law and his efforts to gain control of his wife’s and brother-in-law’s property through divorce.
As the trial progressed, Lincoln, visibly agitated by allegations of insanity, took matters into his own hands and abandoned the insanity defense. Instead, he invoked the unwritten law of defending a family’s honor, a defense that lacked legal standing. Despite conflicted testimonies and elaborate narratives presented by Lincoln, the prosecution’s evidence, including a confession detailing the gruesome events, painted a stark and chilling picture of the murders.
The trial commenced on January 15, 1925, drawing immense public interest and filling the courtroom to capacity. Spectators eagerly awaited the outcome as Lincoln’s defense team sought to refute the prosecution’s case through various arguments and testimonies. In a surprising turn of events, Lincoln’s son testified in his father’s defense, asserting that his father could not have committed the murders.
Following intense deliberations, the jury delivered a verdict sentencing Lincoln to life in prison rather than imposing the death penalty, eliciting a mix of emotions among the spectators. Lincoln’s eventual demise in Stateville prison’s hospital in 1941 marked the end of a dark chapter in Illinois’ judicial history.