New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-04-04
m HIS OWN DEFENCE.
ETHAN rEsru1Es FOR HIMSELF.
.us nix CANNOT REMEMBER srAssrSd MS
bh r.raurrH-ufs POOR MEMORY.

u Hx CANNOT REMEMBER srAhhiNe MIS-
n.uaHrrR-Hfs POOR MEMORY.
~,s w. Pstman, who is on trial for his lie, told
-, to Recorder smyth and the jury In the
-. a General Sessions the story OF the Killing Oh
oo s.,soter Rachel He had . clear, iuteiiigent
h'.sod az talking He gave his answers 10 qnesNons
srr ara he used exceptionally good language ior
man whc ala not pretend to DO wen ooucS'ee oh
s.x.mination he had convenient lapses OF mem
S'o q. would frequently answer, II do not know
es' an n blanks II II had not been for such bits
:. ,.stimony no one would have imagined rom hs
1910. =. and manner that his sanity could DC sell
susy qucsuohoo ,.u,1 ,.s.srssv Nv ,r.
....tor Ecclesne on behalf OF Pitman was A. C. H&r-
- who had known the defendant for many years
q. testified that Pitman acted strangely at times and
a., about the time OF the killing Of Rachel her father
- been especially violent in some Of bis words
- actions When charged with the murder Oh his
s.nsbter. he said: SNo. That woman (pointing 10
MIS- Fream) has killed my daughter
Some verses which were tn Rachel Ptmsn's hand
rs,ng and wero scrlbbled q piece OF paper 1ounu
4, hook belonging to her put IN evidence sono
of them were:
oh, had we never, never met
Or could my heart now forget,
How best how happy, had we been;
Had fate not found dark between
Had we never loved 30 kinoiys
Had we never loved 30 blndiy5
Never met or parted.
would not be broken hearted.
The defendant was anxious to be allowed TO eestily
and he was called TO the witness chair lie said that
his father and uncle had died insane. BE spoke
An a faering voice of his daughter Rachel, Who no
.sid had always been o loving and dutiful daughter
until she met Frank Lewis. One evening ia May
5be returned from church and said to her sister, Us
4 cold day when get left I've caught another ie!-
low Her father said be thought she had enough rel
L. ardg he
81 them. He continued: |" From the day Lewis en-
sersd NV house until Rachel died scarcely saw her
thirty minutes out of the twenty four hours ene
Mas almost always out IN the evening, sometimes VA
: late hour. Once she did not come home until
O'clock in the morning and when asked her wnere
she had been she told me place In Brooklyn, out the
s4r~ets she mentioned did not cross each other"
The prisoners account Of bis dOings at Miss creams
Nome had an important hiatus He could not remen-
6er going 10 the house with pistol or having PTS
So In his possession that day. In fact he coud only
remember one OF the visits which Miss tfean says
that he paid to her home. He could not remember
sabbing his daughter. He remembered almost nothing
OF the dOings OF the evening on which his daughter
Tss Killed except some scraps Of cOnversa alton The
crosse animation was sldlfuly conducted by Assist
All District Attorney Fitzgerald but Ptmans lapses
Of memory prevented any CONTRADICTIONS u! hHsen
a. % the main events. 8,
Dr. James W. Ranney was called as an expert oy
the defence to testify 20 the mental condition 81 the
Sefendant He defined emotional insanity and said
hat he thought the person described IN the hypotheu-
al Question which Mr.. Eccesine put would DO Insane
rs testimony was not finished