The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1891-01-28
THE WOOD-BIOUNT CASE.
TESTIMONY FOR THE STATE CLOSED.
witnesses for the D-fense-Importnnt Ex-
animation OF DIR. Edward Wells, the
Medical Superintendent OF the Hos.
pitaI - Status of the Case.

was rIImor afiOat today 10 the effect that
the attorneys for the defense in the Wood
case had made overtures to those for the
state; that the defendant was willing to
plead guilty to manslaughter, but would
not to murder in the second degree. which
would admit of life sentence. But THE
SENTINEL correspondent is informed from
a source that viii admit of no cOntradic-
ton that no proposition OF the kind has
been made.
The state rested this morning and the
evidence for the defense began with the
reading OF the original statement of James
Hannah, in his affidavit made at Muncie,
for the purpose OF getting it in evidence
and weakening his present testimony by
it as much as possible, in showing that he
was not then so specific as TO details.
The first witness was DIR. Edward F.
Wells, medical superintendent of the
hospital, who testified as follows: Have
been a practicing physician seventeen
years; have been in charge of the Eastern
Indiana insane hospital for eight months !;
have known the defendant, Wood, since
August last; he came from Loginsport :;
| remember the night the assault oc-
Cured. / went to B.Ounts room between
$50 and o'clock with DR.. Druley and Mr..
TOmpllins. Blount was lying in bed on
his back, about the center of the bed.
He was a large man. Wood and Peterson
were in the room, and probably Marsh.
Wood was standing bv the bed, holding
Blount by the wrists. | made no eXami-
nation OF Blount as TO whether he was in
10 40 frr-a 20
minutes and returned again; was in the
room from one-half to three-quarters of an
hour. Saw Blount when DIR. Patterson
made an examination of him Sunday
morning. ] felt his pulse, his respiration
was rapid, appearance haggard, coughing at
intervals, lips dry, etc. On barring the upper
portions OF his chest there were discolora-
tons apparent. On all my recollection is
not distinct. On raising the undershirt
discoioration was apparent in a patch, the
size of two hands, not solid but irregular.
dark blush. tighter on the outer edges. /
percussed the chest and passed nv hand
over the discoored portion. Noticed no
abration of the skin. DR.. Patterson
thought he detected crepitus. Blount said
that the man hal treated him ungentle-
manly, hurt him, choked him and kept
him OH the bed; that he wanted to go
home. had better beds than this, etc. He
talked incoherently and loud.
RICHMOND, Jan. 20. - Special The
testimony of DR.. Wells on direct examina-
ton in the Woods case was resumed this
morning. The doctor first desired to cor
rect some of his evidenced as interpreted
yesterday. He meant by the result OF the
trial indicating or censunng, that, the
testimony of facts develODed, not the YER
dict, would vindicate or censure him. BY
answering "ves' Yesterday he meant that
he did tell Mrs. Blount that her husband
was injured, not that he did not tell her;
that he meant to say that he had no i'm
preston that the letter TO Mrs. BlOunt,
informing her that her husband was
worse, was anti-dated, and he had every
reason to believe that it was properly
dated that he did not mean that conceal
ing evidence and not bringing it forth
meant the same thing; that the word con-
ceal carried with it the thought Of trying
to deceive.
On cross examination the same hypo-
the,ical question put to all the other doc
tors was asked of him-as TO a man being
beaten and kicked as Blount treated as he
was by the doctors after his wounds being
neglected from Thursday to Sunday and
said, assuming all those things TO be facts.
and excluding all other facts, he would
say ne died from said injuries.
Following DR.. ThurStOn, DR.. j. +. Weist
and Dr. Charles s. Bond were called and
to the hypothetical question answered as
did DIR Thurston. Then shortly before
O'Clock the defendant, James A. Wood,
was called. He testified at length to many
minor matters, age, occupation, residence,
length of service at the Richmond hos
pital duties there, etc. Witness saw
Blount first on the Thursday night the
assault is alleged to have occurred when
he went on duty at ) 80 o'clock. b oun:
was usua ly laxative; was standing at the
door of his room which was locked. He
wanted to go home. Witness and
attendants administered medicine and
persuaded Blount TO lie down, but he did
not remain quiet. Tompkins went for
medicine, and witness tried to persuade
Blount to lie down without success. Con-
tinuing witness said: II unlocked the
door to 90 in to see if | could not do
something with him, He Immediately
began to strike at me, | lodged until he
hit me in the stomache, doubling me over.
He then grabbed me over the head and
shoulders, held me down under his chest
and made an attempt to get out OF the
door got up TO prevent it and he fell
over back wards. me on top. He struggled
to get up and l tried to hold him when he
was on my back, got on my kness on his
chest and grabbed him by the shoulder.
After he got up he started toward
the door | caught him from behind
and in trying to hold TO him and pull
him back from the door, he swung around
over the foot OF the bed. Both then fell
on the floor, and Peterson returned. He
took Blount by the shoulders and we put
him on the bed. He continued TO strike
me and tried to hold him with my hand
on his neck, but did not grip him by the
throat. Final y he struck me in the face
and it angered me momentarily and L
struck him two or three times somewhere
on the breast. Marsh had come
meantime. The struggle continued, and
ct the suggestion of Marsh l let go OF
BIount. He tried to raise w, and | got
hold of him on the neck again with my
LETT hand and his left arm with my right
hand and my knee on his right arm aud
hand in the bed. The doctors then came
in. Witness said that If during the strug-
gle with Blount he inflicted any injuries
on him he did not know it. Witness
knew nothing of the causes of the bruises
on the body, save he had been told that
Blount had fallen out of bed several times.
He had never tried to escape the authori-
ties.
RICHMOND, Jan. 2l.-[Special. 1.-The fact