The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-05-19
CASE READY FOR THE JURY
The Trial Has Broken the Records Of Both Silver Bow and
Lewis and Clarke Counties-Thres Days for One of the
Most Important Murder Cases Of Recent Times
Special Dispatch to the Standard.

Helena, May 1.-THE trial Of Thomas
j. Riley was concluded to-day and the
case IL ready to be submitted to the
Smith tomorrow morning. A few wit
nesses In rebuttal this morning finished
the testimony and the arguments were
at once begun and were concluded at
4:3o in the afternoon. at which time
| court adjourned for the day.
Riley's trial was in several respects
somewhat remarkable. 1t not only
broke the record Of Butte court expert
| ences in the expedition and harmony
| of it's proceedings, but it also broke the
| record of murder trials in Lewis and
Clarke county in the same particulars.
Notwithstanding the fact that IL was
one of the most important murder trials
| that ever came before the courts of this
was impaneled in less than a n hour n
q half, and about IS witnesses were ex-
amined In a little more than q day n
a half, the hole trial being practically
concluded within three days. During the
whole time less than half a dozen OBJ
| j~ections were made, and none were ar
gued. The defendant made two objec-
oA ~ A"S wv
from Butte reading from their printed
interviews with Riley when they were
testifying. The first objection wa ad-
mitted to be good by the states attor-
neys, m no ruling was made on the
| second objection and was not insisted
on. Mr.. Clements made one other OBJ
| lection to a question asked a witness on
ne ground that Il had been asked n
answered before. The objection was
overruled. Judge Stapleton made sew
eral objections to leading questions
| asked by Judge Clements Of his own
witnesses and the objections were sus-
tanned by Judge Smith. That consti-
tuted the entire list and character OF OBJ
jections. Not q single exception was
taken and none will appear in the rec
ords of the trial.
There seemed to be little interest
manifested in the trial by the people OF
| Helena and there were very few spec
tators in the court room. Riley him.
| self appeared to have as little interest
in II as any one. He paid slight at
| tention to the proceedings; seldom
| spoke to his counsel and they never
consulted him. His appearance
throughout the entire trial seemed to
indicate that he had not changed his
mind from the time he made this state
ment in the county Jail at Butte, di-
rectly after his arrest:
III tney NdIl u HdHS HC thSy Sop
do so; 1 don't care what becomes Of
me-"
DR.. George H. Wells was recalled to
| testify in rebuttal this morning. and in
| answer to questions by Judge Stapleton
he testified that during the month that
Riley was at the hospital he saw him
daily, n frequently for a considerable
time after hat up to the time of the
| killing of Mr.. Largely.
sEya~, vnssr onnI1ainfa nra- with Mr..
Riley, physically and mentally, Ia
would you say as to his sanity, whether
he was sane or insane?'
well, not having known Mr.. Riley
before the accident, perhaps my opinion
| ought not to be an absolute one, as I
| could not compare his actions n de-
meanor with his actions prior to that
time. i would say that never at any
time while he was under my observa-
| ton was his conduct. behavior, man.
ner and speech such as would indicate
that HI was not OF a sound mind"
On cross-examination, Judge Glenn
ents questioned the doctor about his
knowledge and experience in insanity
cases, and then p~ropounded the follow
ing hypothetical question:
Doctor, with YOU knowledge OF the
science OF medicine, physiology and
physics, what would you say as to the
normal condition of a man Of Mr..
Riley's apparent age, who in his boy
hood and youth and early manhood had
beer an honest, upright and peaceable
citizen, and that about two or three
years ago, or a little over three years
ago, had his leg torn in an explosion
of a large quantity of gunpowder, and
after lying some five months In a hos
pital, in the meantime. while there,
having his leg amputated twice, with a
surgical operation performed upon it
twice, and after he had sufficiently re-
covered to go out upon the streets on
crutches II became necessary after the
first operation to perform another on
account Of the faulty operation in the
first instance. or on account OF It's fail-
ure to heal. and that in the meantime,
while in the hospital and out of the hos
pital, had been a continuous SUFFERER in
that limb, suffering pain and talking
in his sleep at nights, continually COM
planning Of suffering pain 70 ms asso.
ciates, and then. that after the limb
had been torn. he was a changed man
in his name and conduct. that he
became irritable, that he would
often use offensive language to
those ,, %hH had that formerly her w sssa
accuse them of doing things that he
had not formerly accused them Of. and
would accuse them OF being dishonest
with him; a he wou go out at
night and lay out all night, and to one
of his former a~cquaintances apparent
ly without ~provocation turned loose
and swore at him and cursed him and
accused him of undertaking to wrong
him. and that at about the 18th day
of last January he was seen walking
down the streets Of Butte in an excited
manner. carrying a cane and punch
ing it down upon the sidewalk very
hard. refusing to speak to an a%cquain-
lance who accosted him upo the
street. merely glancing at him as he
went by: that on that day. between
the hours of IL and I o'clock. he went
into a bank. had a conversation with
a man who had befriended him ever
since he was injured. n that without
apparent p~rovocation or cause pulls a
pistol from his pocket and shoots h a
man, walks out into h street. makes
no effort to run. walks some 80 or 40