Twain, Mark (pen name of Samuel Clemens) (1835-1910) - American humorist
whose pseudonym was adopted from his days as a Mississippi steamboat pilot,
"mark twain" meaning "two fathoms deep." He introduced colloquial speech
into American writing and was the most popular writer of his time.
A New Crime Legislation Needed (1903)
In this serious nonfiction piece, Twain rails against the Baldwin
Case decision which freed a man from a wealthy family who, during
momentary fits of insanity, heartlessly killed people against whom
he held grudges. Twain also condemns several other murder case
decisions where affluent perpetrators escaped hanging by reason of
the insanity defense.
