Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-10-03
STRONG EVIDENCE
Showing That Murderer Brain
erd Is Not Sane.
A Long Series Of Acts Which Would
Indicate a Diseased Mind.
Condition Had BEEN Long Noticed and S,eadi,,
Grew Worse.

than on The Opening day. many ladi,.
being present. By&inerd maintains lis
outward composure. He sits by the
, side of his counsel calmly, and seldom
volunteers suggestion.
| The first witness. this morning, wa.
I Excl Due. who was met at the ton oi
| The stairs and ordered down by Brain
| erd. In cross-eXamination. Mr.. Du-
said he cautioned the officers that they
would have to deal with desperate
| man. Why did you consider Brain
erd desperate man." Judge Foster
| asked. Because / knew he had shot
Buxton. and because he had pointed
the revolver at me" Questioned fur
thor, the witness said his idea that
Braineid was desperate was not based
on any act Of Brainerd previous to the
shooting.
Albert L. Wood. who was working in
the terminal room at the time of the
shooting. next testified. Brainerd came
in that room with Il revolver in his
hand. Witness said: Steady. George. .
and Brainerd replied. It's all over
Joseph ID. Stamford OF Lewiston. dis
| triot superintendent of the New Eng
land Telephone and Telegraph Co.,
was on the witness stand a consider
able length OF time. His direct exam
ination. however. was brief.
He was in the office on the third floor
when Brainerd came down stairs. after
| the shooting. He had a revolver in his
hand. and waving it toward Supt.
Stanford. said. Keep back and call
your police" Keep quiet and | Will
Mr.. Stanford replied. The superin-
tendent had already summoned the
police.
Cross-eXamined Ly Judge Foster,
Superintendent Stanford said he had
known Brainerd ave or six years; had
met him at number Of exchange;
in the district where work had been
in progress.
Had YOU heard Of any difficulty be
tW cen Brainerd and the men employed
with him prior to the shooting" Judge
Foster asked.
Il had not.
What was the first you knew about
the trouble upstairs?'
II heard confusion Of the men COM
ing down stairs. One of them said:
Rrainerd is crazy and is shooting. -
Which one of the men made that
remark"
Il don't remember VINO said it"
Did Brainerd show any sign of eX-
citement when he ordered You to keep
back"
He did not appear excited, simply
determined"
Deputy Marshal W. F. Firth. who
| had such a close call in his encounter
with Branerd. related the circum-
stances of the arrest.
A telephone message was received at
! the police station announcing trouble
| in the telephone office. He asked the
| operator what the trouble was. and she
| re piled that she didn't know
Accompanied by Officers Massure
and Frank. Deputy Firth rode in the
patrol wagon to the telephone build
| ing. on the landing they met an en-
ployee who told them to look out
as the man had revolver.
AT the foot of the stairs. said Dep
utv Firth. II met Brainerd and he held
out his right hand and said How are
you?' / didn't see anything to indicate
| that he was the man who caused the
| trouble. he S4iu Sollitlullio opoue 81
| no, ,,pstairs. turned and started to go
Up. As he did so | caught sight of a
revolver in his LEFT hand ana became
aware that he was the man who had
made the trouble. sprang toward
him. seized the revolver by the barrel
and said. I'll take that. NO, you
won't: keep away from me, he replied.
We had a struggle and he pulled the
| revolver away from me. / threw him
down on the stairs, and before 1 could
get him into position so as 10 get
hold of the revolver again he reached
around, pointed at me and fired. Ihen
| T went at work rather ugly and got the
revolver before he could fire a second
shot"
Deputy Firth said the bullet fired at
| him went through the clothing ana
broke the skin on the abdomen.
patrolman Frank cOrroborated Dep
utv Frith's statements. w. ID. n. ray
lor told of the empty shells found III.
r. ID. Small described the autopsy.
Levi Greenleaf. one of the counsel
for Brainerd. in his opening argument
said in part: 1T is agreed by all
iurists. and is established by the law
of this and every other country, that
81 is the reason of man Whlch iiiahe9
him accountable for his actions ana
the derivation of reason acquits hin
of crime. 1t is not every man OF ran
tic appearance and behavior VINO is u
h. considered as a lunatlc, eltner as
ds obligations or crimes Du' 'ha'
he must appear to the jury to be non
compos mentis.' in the legal acceptance
Of the term. and that not at any preVi-
Gus period only but at the moment
when the act was performed or the
crime committed.
..The State. as I understand it, CLAIMS
tnat to excuse a man from criminal
responsibility there must be to'a'
derivation of memory ana uiiuci
standing and inability to distinguish
between right and wrong at the ufhe
of the act.
There have doubtless been cases uh-
der judicial investigation where insane
nersons who have been the subject o.
delucions; have not only had memory
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