Carlyle Harris (September 1868 – May 8, 1893) was a medical student who was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of his wife. A student at

New York College of Physicians and Surgeons The Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (officially known as Columbia University Roy and Diana Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons) is the medical school of Columbia University, located at the Columbia University Irving ...

, Harris murdered his wife, Mary Helen Potts, whom he had married on February 8, 1890, with an overdose of

morphine Morphine, formerly also called morphia, is an opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin produced by drying the latex of opium poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as an analgesic (pain medication). There are ...

in the form of sleeping pills. Although Potts' death was first attributed to a stroke, the murder was discovered by physicians only because she displayed severely contracted pupils, a characteristic symptom of morphine poisoning. Prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Charles E. Simms Jr., the witnesses against Harris included Dr. Rudolph Witthaus. Harris was represented by prominent defense attorney William F. Howe. He was found guilty of first degree murder, on February 8, 1892, the second anniversary of his marriage to Helen Potts and was executed in the

electric chair The electric chair is a specialized device used for capital punishment through electrocution. The condemned is strapped to a custom wooden chair and electrocuted via electrodes attached to the head and leg. Alfred P. Southwick, a Buffalo, New Yo ...

Sing Sing Prison Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum-security prison for men operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining, New York, United States. It is about north of Midtown Manhattan ...

on May 8, 1893.

Legacy

The story "Max Hensig, Bacteriologist" was written by

Algernon Blackwood Algernon Henry Blackwood, CBE (14 March 1869 – 10 December 1951) was an English broadcasting narrator, journalist, novelist and short story writer, and among the most prolific ghost story writers in the history of the genre. The literary cr ...

who had been a police reporter for the ''New York Times'' during the murder trial. Journalist and author Bernard Barshay wrote the story "The Case of the Six Capsules" based on the events of the trial. This story was later recorded on the record ''Four American Murder Mysteries''.''Four American Murder Mysteries''
Folkways Records FW09781

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Carlyle 1868 births 1893 deaths 19th-century executions by New York (state) American people executed for murder 19th-century executions by the United States Executed people from New York (state) Inmates of Sing Sing People from Glens Falls, New York 19th-century executions of American people Medical students New York College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni Poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances Poisoners People convicted of murder by New York (state) People executed by New York (state) by electric chair Violence against women in New York (state)

Legacy

See also

References