There is ample evidence, I have found, that conine or a
substance possessing most, if not all, of its properties is at
times actually produced in animal tissues by decomposition. And
the fact is, I believe, that a number of cases have arisen, in
which the poisonous alkaloid was at first supposed to have been
discovered which were really mistakes."
The idea was startling in the extreme. Here was Kennedy, as it
were, overturning what had been considered the last word in
science as it had been laid down by the experts for the
prosecution, opinions so impregnable that courts and juries had
not hesitated to condemn a man to death.
"There have been cases," Craig went on solemnly, "and I believe
this to be one, where death has been pronounced to have been
caused by wilful administration of a vegetable alkaloid, which
toxicologists would now put down as ptomaine-poisoning cases.
Innocent people have possibly already suffered and may in the
future. But medical experts--" he laid especial stress on the
word--"are much more alive to the danger of mistake than formerly.
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