Amazing how one moves through the plethora of information that must be digested and processed to write a book. As Samuel Johnson said: “A man will turn over half a library to make one book.” I've been reading the work of SFU Criminologist Robert Menzies, and today found that the province of British Columbia deported hundreds of mentally insane people between Confederation and 1939. This information remains important to the book due to the fact that David Murdoch attempted to get himself deported during the first years of his incarceration. He tried other tactics as well. He also petitioned BC's Lieutenant Governor to be released on the grounds that he wasn't insane. Of course, if he was released, he would have stood trial for the murder of Archie MacDonald - his ex-constable whom he murdered. Courts had found Murdoch not guilty by reason of insanity for the murder of Jean Nolan.
Today I worked further on the first chapter that outlines Murdoch's life in New Cumnock, Scotland. A trip to the dentist yesterday and subsequent freezing made me drowsy. Consequently, I didn't stay awake after getting up at 4am to write. After a 1/2 hour me and the dogs laid down on the couch for a wee nap.
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