Death by Lightning doctor kill President Garfield or did Guiteau?

Is Netflix’s ‘Death by Lightning’ true? Guiteau’s last words: how was his brain preserved?

Was the doctor’s operation really dangerous?

President James Garfield was shot by Charles J. Guiteau, but the real killer was the doctors! According to Britannica, doctors made a 20-inch-long incision to remove the bullet.

This wound remained infected for a long time and eventually developed sepsis. Garfield died on September 19, 1881, 79 days after being shot.

This is why Guiteau claimed in court, “I didn’t kill the President. The doctors did. I just shot him.” Thought-provoking, isn’t it?

Did Garfield’s wife meet Guiteau?

The Netflix series ‘Death by Lightning’ depicts Lucretia “Crete” Garfield (Betty Gilpin) meeting Guiteau in jail.

But this is absolutely not true. Series creator Mike Makowsky fabricated this scene for dramatic effect.

In the series, Lucretia tells Guiteau that no memory of him will remain, which was the worst thing for her. No such incident happened in real life.

Guiteau even wrote a book called “The Truth and The Removal” in which he attempted to justify his crimes.

Lucretia did not stop this book, but she did preserve her husband’s documents, which later became the Presidential Memorial Library.

What did Guiteau say before his execution?

In “Death by Lightning,” Guiteau is shown reciting a poem before his execution.

This is absolutely true! According to History.com, before his execution on June 30, 1882, Guiteau wrote and recited a poem called “I Am Going to the Lordy.”

Immediately after he recited the poem, the executioner placed a hood over his head.

This poem became so famous that Stephen Sondheim later included it in his musical ‘Assassins’.

Where is Guiteau’s brain?

Guiteau’s story didn’t end after his execution. After his execution, doctors at the U.S. Army Medical Museum removed his brain from his body!

They aimed to investigate whether Guiteau had some physical defect in his brain that was causing him to go insane.

Pieces of his brain were sent to psychiatrists across the country. Finally, his brain was sent to the National Museum of Health and Medicine, and later displayed in a jar at the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia. Isn’t it amazing that people can still see the brain of a killer?