Error of Nature/Scourge of God: The Trial of Hélène Jégado as a Scientific Witch Hunt for the Modern Age

The 1851 trial of accused serial killer Hélène Jégado rested on the authority of scientific experts, with the prosecution bringing in chemists to testify on the presence of arsenic and the defense bringing in phrenologists and doctors to establish that her abnormal physiology predisposed her to violent crime. Both sides self-consciously  distanced themselves from the rumors of “sorcery” that had followed her for years, dismissing it as peasant superstition. Yet the proceeding maintained the characteristics of a witch trial, convicting a woman of unspeakable crimes without an adequate defense. This paper highlights a core act of resistance: Hélène Jégado herself maintained her innocence, even as her defense lawyer labelled her a “monster” and a “scourge of God” who undoubtably murdered many more people than the prosecution gave her credit for. Hélène was forced to run a shadow defense of her own, interjecting and countering the witnesses when she could.