Insanity Defense: Blumberg, His Trial, and Sentence
How has bibliomania been claimed as an insanity defense in court?
Bibliomania has been difficult to define legally throughout its use in history, making it difficult to use as an insanity defense. As a result, Stephen Blumberg was the first defendant to claim insanity as a cause of criminal bibliomania in an American court (Basbanes, 1995).
How did Blumberg use bibliomania as an insanity defense?
Blumberg’s defense lawyers did not deny the fact that he had stolen the books in his first criminal trial. Instead, they had “the burden of proving, by clear and convincing evidence” that Blumberg was legally insane as he stole and transported these books (Basbanes, 1995).
To do this, Blumberg’s defense team called their first witness, Emily Augustine Frederickson. She was an antiques dealer from Saint Paul, Minnesota, who knew Blumberg in his childhood. She described his erratic behaviors and his fascination in obtaining antique items, even at age twelve. The two often visited old houses that were getting demolished together in order to find collectable items. She testified, “Steve had no fear that I could see. If he saw something that he wanted to preserve or have, it didn’t matter if he was going to break his neck or back, he would go after it" (Basbanes, 1995). Frederickson also outlined Blumberg’s childhood and family problems, which may have impacted his mental health. She described his father, Dr. Blumberg, and his pattern of destroying Stephen’s many collected items. This resulted in Stephen Blumberg’s turning to an obsession with the past, through collecting antiques and other old things (e.g. doorknobs, stained glass). She testified, “He didn’t need anything. He didn’t need food. Food wasn’t important. Dress, clothing, entertainment was not of any interest to him. His only interest was in the past.” (Basbanes, 1995).
Blumberg’s defense team also called on Dr. Glen S. Lipson, a psychologist from the Menninger Clinic who evaluated Blumberg in 1990 at his father’s request. The Menninger Clinic also saw him in 1965, and Dr. Lipson testified that he “noticed many of the same things” in both evaluations. He described Blumberg as “a man of complete absorption”, with an “encapsulated delusional system pertaining to how he sees the world” (Basbanes, 1995).
Finally, Blumberg’s defense lawyers called Dr. William S. Logan, an expert on forensic psychiatry, to testify. He claimed that these stolen books “became an extension of his [Blumberg’s} own delusional ideas, his feelings of what his worth, his value was”. Dr. Logan’s final diagnosis for Blumberg was cited as “Delusional (Paranoid) Disorder”, due to his “exaggerated sense of importance and power… in his identity as a Victorian man, his importance in preserving Victorian artifacts and books” (Basbanes, 1995).
What were Blumberg’s Opinions on His Legal Defense?
Blumberg did not agree with his defense team’s plan to declare him legally insane, since he knew that a verdict of “not guilty” would place him in psychiatric care. In an interview, he said “If I lose, I wind up in prison. If I win, I wind up in the grin brin, and they can keep you there for the rest of your life. If I win, then that also means I’m crazy and that I’m a danger to society. So to tell you the truth, I’d rather be locked up, do my time, and get out” (Basbanes, 1995).
What were Blumberg’s parole conditions?
After Blumberg was released in December 1995 on the condition that he would follow the mandatory provisions of his parole. If Blumberg failed to follow these requirements, which he did, his parole and release would be revoked. His conditions of parole were as follows:
- He must observe a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. for up to 36 months post release
- He must participate in mental health evaluations and treatments
- He will be subjected to random urinalysis testing
- His employment must be approved by the parole board
- He will be subjected to reasonable searches of his premises
- He must report to a law enforcement agency, which in his case was a parole officer
- He could no travel outside of the county
- He was to have no contact with or enter a library
How were libraries protected from Blumberg?
In addition to these parole conditions, Blumberg was to present a notice whenever he was intending to enter a space where books would be present. He was to carry copies of this notice on his person and this notice was to have statements regarding who he was, what his crimes were, that he had been arrested, and that he had intentions of entering the premises. This notice is shown here.
In spite of these parole conditions, Blumberg went on to re-offend. Almost immediately after his release on probation from prison, Blumberg attempted to steal books and antiques in Iowa. His subsequent arrests are a testament to how the justice system handled Blumberg’s re-offenses. Blumberg was arrested for re-offending not once, not twice, but three times following his initial release from prison.