I came across this report from the New York Times of an appeal against conviction for murder in 1888, just a couple of years after Jekyll and Hyde was first published. It's interesting to see the judge's views on dual personality - being under the influence, like Mr Hyde, is no excuse for one's actions. Otherwise, the judge argued, one would have to acquit Dr Jekyll of the murder of Sir Danvers Carew because he did it when transformed into Mr Hyde. Sadly, one assumes the defendant paid with his life for his moment of drunken violence.
