The Kerosene Cure

The Defendant, who held himself out as a physician, was called to treat a gravely ill woman confined to bed. He directed that flannel cloths be soaked in kerosene and kept against her body, replaced with freshly saturated flannels every few hours. The patient suffered intense pain, and when she had the cloths removed, the Defendant persuaded her to resume, assuring her it would help. The kerosene blistered and burned away the skin over most of her body, and she died several days later. Charged with manslaughter, the Defendant argued that he had acted in good faith to cure her, that she consented, and that he did not know kerosene would prove so dangerous.