Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-11-12
he PLEADS GUILTY.
Continued from page ~

he first saw Kelley at the hotel in that
town. Kelley asked him to let him have
ride, and after going short distance.
he was told that the team was going to
Fryeburg. Me-, and he said he would go
there to. He said he had been in the hotel
business at Harpswell, and the devil went
against him while he was there and made
a failure of it. He afterward saw him in
North Conway, and had heard people
speak of his pecularities.
Lafayette f. Moulton. deputy sheriff a t
MOultOnvlle. was sworn and said he saw
Kelley at the hotel in North Conway. At
times Kelley was talkative and then he
would not speak. He would look several
minutes at space. At one time Kelley
had an empty bottle and looked at it for
20 minutes. He had spoken to Plummer
about his peculiarities. On cross-exam-
inaton. he said he had never seen Kelley
do any work about the hotel.
David G. Lee was the next witness. and
testified that ne had seen Kelley at North
Conway, and thought he was peculiar
He would talk about his hotel failures
and said the devil was against him. while
he had usually been in his favor. He had
talked with Mr.. Piummer about the young
mans peculiarities
Walter F. Pftman of Bartlett, said he
had seen Kelley in Rochester at the fair
where pools were being sold and said he
could tell the winning horse by looking
them over. He bought pool on what he
was distanced.
John Kelley. aged 80 years, the prison.
er's oldest brother was next called. He
had seen Joe have fits quite frequently.
At one time Joe walked into the witness
room while asleep, and he was always re-
garded peculiar at home.
Thomas Melia of Amesbury. was called
and said he had known of Kelley being
called Absent minded joe There was
something peculiar about him.
Joseph Ingalls, said he once engaged
Kelley in his hotel at Somersworth and
noticed he was peculiar. He at one time
found Joe coming down stairs asleep
after midnight and in a few days he was
taken sick. He was general errand boy
about the house. Mrs. Joseph Ingalls,
testified that a doctor attended him when
he was sick.
Edmund Grant of Somersworth. said
Kelley had worked for him in a hotel at
Somersworth Sometimes when Kelley
was asked a question it took him long
while to answer. He was dull.
Olive Stone of Somersworth, was called
ard said she had kept company with Kel-
ley. and at times she thought he was pc
culiar. She said he was going to invent
something to save coal and wood. He had
mentioned walking about in his sleep, at
one time finding himself on Market street
He had told her about having dizzy spells
Charles Coleman of Rochester. said he
had known Kelley three or four years
ana ne acteQ pecullarly.
The defence rested its case at 33o, with
the exception of expert testimony. and
the state commenced putting in rebuttdl
testimony.
The first witness called was Frank Mar
tin of SOmersworth, and he testified that
he had never noticed anything peculiar
about Joe, and he was favorite win
the guests.
Harry Niles of Berwick. Me-, was lext
called and said he knew Kelley, but had
never noticed anything strange in his
conduct. On cross-examination by Mr..
Edgerly. he said that he thought likely
he had said Kelley was queer boy.
DR.. L. e. Grant of Somersworth, said
he knew Kelley but never noticed any
thing queer about his conduct or speech.
DR.. Chas. P. Bancroft of the New
Hampshire asylum for the insane. was
next called and said: I'm the first place.
/ should say that his mental condition
was one of arrested mental development.
and that it was due to the injury received
in his childhood. as has appeared in the
trial here. 1t has seemed to me that at
that time he received such an injury to
the brain as led to an improper subse-
quent development of the brain cells such
as usually takes place in a brain of or1i-
nary health; and that there has been a
consequent and corresponding failure of
the mind to develop in the ordinary way.
In other words, he is as a child in intel
lect and in moral qualifications. 1t seems
to me that we could place him about as
a CHILD of or 9 or 10 years in regard 20
his mental and moral capacity. He has
some of the impulses and instincts TO pc
sure, of an adult, but he has the judg-
ment for carrying out those desires and
| impulses Of a child of s or years, md
| hardly. the moral capacity Of a child Of
| that age.
| Il have come to the conclusion that
| this young man is not feigning. That
he is acting out his own natural self
and that they will demonstrate that
more fully. 1 think time will show
that the state of mind that he is in
now will go in this same direction, de-
veloping more and more as he grows
| older. l should say he was a case of
arrested development or an imbecile of
high grade. think his capacity to re-
sist his impulses is very much dimin-
ished.
i would not attach muchimportance
to the fact that he had the capacity to
plan murder of the sort he commit
| ted on the 18th of April last; as bear
ing upon the question of his sanity or
insanity. The capacity to form a plan,
an intelligent plan, is not an evidence
of his sanity. Kelley belongs, believe,
and l think my associates in this case
agree with me, to the type of insane
criminals. If we had proper institu-
tons in this state as New York state
has there is no question but that he
should go to such an institution an in
stitution for insane criminals, because
we recognize that the criminal type of
insanity is somewhat different from
the ordinary type"
DR.. Waterman, one of the examin-
ing physicians of Boston, for the in
sane. was next called, and testified as
follows: Il cannot say that Kelley Is
absolutely irresponsible but that his
responsibility is very much diminis he'd.
Whether 1t is absolutely and entirely