Barrett v. United States

Appellant was convicted by a jury of murder in the second degree and arson 1 upon testimony that he had set fire to the house of Mrs. Katurah Moore, causing the death of one of her children and the severe burning of another. Out of the jury’s presence appellant proffered to the court the testimony of five witnesses bearing on the issue of appellant’s alleged insanity at the time of the offense. 2

Dr. Smith, an expert in medical toxicology, would have testified to the jury that in his opinion appellant was on the critical date, “suffering from a stimulant toxic psychosis which is a major break…