tried only in a civilian, not a military, court. Over a hundred spectators attended the court martial held June 6/7 at the Richmond Barracks, Dublin. Once the prosecution and defence counsel had established the uncontested facts of the case, a succession of army officers testified to Bowen-Colthurst's kindness and decency but also to his occasional eccentricity, excitability and impulsiveness. Major General Bird, Bowen-Colthurst's commander in the British Expeditionary Force, described his nervous breakdown during the Retreat from Mons. Four expert medical witnesses agreed on Bowen-Colthurst's past (August,1914–April,1915) and current mental fragility. Dr Leeper, one of the medical witnesses, testified that he could not give an opinion on Bowen-Colthurst's April 26 mental state because he had not been there at the time. The authors of the medical report, Captain Lawless and Major Purser, said that while it was impossible to say positively what Bowen-Colthurst's mental condition was on April 26, they had no doubt that at the present time he was mentally unsound. Captain Lawless said that it was highly probable that Bowen-Colthurst's mental state on April 26 had been the same as his present condition, and he did not think that Bowen-Colthurst was responsible for his actions on that date. Major Purser concurred with this opinion. Defence counsel argued that since the character witnesses had said that he was by nature kind and honourable, Bowen-Colthurst must have been insane when he executed the three prisoners, particularly in light of his past mental disturbances. Except to enter his 'Not guilty' pleas and to decline to comment at the end of the proceedings, Bowen-Colthurst did not speak, as was his right. There were doubts about the impartiality of the court martial. There was no discussion of Bowen-Colthurst's April 26th report and no mention of Coade. Similarly off limits were Bowen-Colthurst's activities in the hours and days following the executions—the murder of Richard O'Carroll in particular. Important witnesses (Colonel McCammond, Lieutenants Tooley and Gibbon, Sergeant Claxton and others), who might have provided different views of Bowen-Colthurst's character and mental state, were not summoned to give evidence. Most importantly, the medical evidence did not clearly establish Bowen-Colthurst's insanity at the time of the shootings, the standard of proof for insanity required by the Manual of Military Law. At the culmination of his closing address, defence counsel made statements about Bowen-Colthurst's behaviour which turned out to be false. Hostage taking was not, in fact, unknown