People v. Galway

BARNARD, P. J.

The defendant and a Mrs. Osburn were charged with conspiracy to commit a crime by advertising that a drug would have an effect in the treatment of cancer, in violation of sections 26286.5 and 26295 of the Health and Safety Code. In the second count they were charged with conspiring to commit a crime by conspiring to do an act injurious to the public health, in violation of section 182.5 of the Penal Code, by delivering to Sena Cassidy and George Reinke a drug for the cure of cancer and inducing said persons to apply such drugs externally, such acts being injurious to the public health, to wit, the health of those persons and others. A jury found both defendants guilty on both counts, and the defendant Galway has appealed from an order denying his motion for a new trial.

Mr. Reinke was a roomer at the home of Mrs. Cassidy. They first saw Mrs. Osburn at the funeral of Mr. Reinke’s son. The next day, Mrs. Osburn called at their home ostensibly to console Mr. Reinke on the death of his son. In a conversation, mostly about cancer, she told them that she had nursed cancer, told a number of stories concerning cancer, and told them about a man who was curing cancer with a salve. Mrs. Cassidy told her about a bump on her arm that was beginning to bother her. Mrs. Osburn told Mrs. Cassidy she knew she had cancer the moment she looked at her. Mrs. Osburn looked at the bump and told Mrs. Cassidy that this man could cure a cancer, and induced Mrs. Cassidy to embark on the treatment. A day or two later, Mrs. Osburn brought the appellant, whom neither Mrs. Cassidy nor Mr. Reinke had previously seen, to their home and the treatment was begun shortly thereafter. Both the appellant and Mrs. Osburn told Mrs. Cassidy that she must have cancer because all lumps were cancer, and that the salve was the treatment for it. The appellant applied the salve to Mrs. Cassidy’s arm “to draw out the cancer.” The appellant noticed a brown spot on Mr. Reinke’s right ear, which Mr. Reinke had not mentioned, and told him that it was a skin cancer and that he could take it off in 10 days’ time. Mr. Reinke told him that a doctor had looked at it and said it amounted to nothing. Since the salve treatment did not involve cutting,

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Mr. Reinke agreed to it, and Mrs. Osburn assisted the appellant in applying the salve to Mr. Reinke’s ear.