15

F R I D A Y

A century before would-be presidential assassin and Martin Scorsese buff John Hinckley Jr. successfully pled not guilty by reason of insanity, there was Charles Julius Guiteau. A disgruntled office-seeker, Guiteau shot and killed President James A. Garfield in 1881 at a District railroad station, and then claimed “moral insanity” as a defense. Guiteau didn’t have Hinckley’s luck: He was hanged in Washington in 1882. Insanity on Trial chronicles Guiteau’s trial and explores 19th-century conceptions of mental health and justice. At noon at the National Archives Theater, 7th & Pennsylvania Ave. NW. FREE. (202) 501-5402. (David Plotz)