The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-04-04
BY A DIVIDED JURY
JAMES HARDNESS, PROPHET AND
HEALER, PRONOUNCED INSANE.
CONDUCTED HIS DEFENSE.
PROPHET SAID HE DIDN'T BELIEVE
HIS OWN PREDICTIONS.

He Tells of the Coming of the
Kingdom of Israel, and Describes
the Great Battle Between the
Forces of Right and Might to
Make Money-Physicians Undecid-
ed Extraordinarily and Too Much
Mother-in-Law as the Explanation
of Harkness' Condition, at Last
Declared for the FOrmer-The
MOther-in-Law on the Stand.
James Hardness was adjudged in
sane by jury from the Court of Or
binary yesterday afternoon and, by
virtue of the verdict and in accordance
with the order of the court will be
committed to the state sanitarium at
Milledgeville.
The verdict was not UNANIMOUS. Four
of the jurymen voted to find the d.
vinely inspired prophet sane and re-
store him his liberty, but these were
informed that in lunacy trials the opin-
ion fthe majority prevails and gave
in. They were with difficulty, however,
restrained from rendering dissenting
opinion. The verdict of the jury fol-
lowed an investigation that was lu-
dricous despite it's pathos and possibly
unique in the fact that the alleged lu-
matte conducted his defense with all
of the acuteness, if possibly without all
of the legal learning and ingenuity, of
the trained advocate.
The trial was held at the Court
House and was presided over by Capt.
McAlpin. Hardness, though he seems
to be nervous and excitable person,
and while the investigation was in
progress gave evidence of eccentricity
enough, certainly is far from looking
or seeming the dangerous man he is
pictured.
He was pronounced insane, however,
by several persons, including DR.. st.
j. B. Graham, DIR. M. x. Corbin and
DR.. A. A. Morrison. DR.. Graham and
DIR. Corbin had reached this conclusion
only after patient examination and
had decided at first, as they told the
jury, that Hardness was not suffering
from insanity, but from an acute case
of ito much mother-in-law." Very ev-
identity his mother-in-law was a sore
subject with Hardness.
No Faith in His PrOphesies.
The book he had written, in which
he claimed to have been divinely in
spired to predict the coming of the
Kingdom of Israel on earth and made
"a number of other wild predictions,
was made the subject of queries from
the experts and the jury. A rather full
review of this remarkable literary pro-
duction was printed in the Morning
News at the time of the mans arrest
and commlittal to Jail on the charge
of lunacy. Hardness disposed of the
whole thing in a breath.
why" he said, Il just wrote that
book in odd moments, and had it
printed in order to make some money.
I don't particularly believe anything 1t
says myself"
A number of witnesses testified they
believed Hardness to be sane. Among
these were w. T. Belford, by whom
the man was employed, John Juchter
and j. c.. Cope, who had known him
long and well, Victor Schreck and
Dennis Dixon, who formerly had work
ed side by side with Hardness. Their
evidence did not serve, however. to
| counterbalance in the minds of the
jury the direct opinions of others, eth
er of more professional knowledge or
of greater opportunities of observa-
ton.
Mrs. Hardness, the wife of the al
legged lunatic, was one of the most
damaging witnesses against him. She
is a meek and dove-like woman and
gave her evidence in a scared tremulo
that showed how firm were her con-
victions on the subject and how real
her fears that her husband would do
her bodily harm. She told of the
threats Hardness had made, of the
weapons he had fiourished in her face,
of his wild and eccentric actions on
many occasions.
MOther-iu-Law on Stand.
The mother law, Mrs. F. S. Nor
gan, was among the most interesting
OF the witnesses. She described the
wild profanity ip}whIich Hardness was
wont to indulge when in one of his
fits of insanity and, with fine appre-
citation of the dramatic, of his threats
to kill his wife and her two brothers.
Woman Mrs. Morgan said Hank
ness had exclaimed to his wife, at the
same time fiourishing pistol in her
face, you are going to be the cause
of my killing you and your brothers.
Before 1 get through, I'm going to
annihilate the whole Morgan family
81 tried to do the best L could for
my daughter and her husband" said
the witness. 81 could not bear to hear
such language as he used in the
house."
ITS pity you didn't leave" said
Hardness.
"On one occasion he offered his wife
some medicine, refused to tell her what
it was and told her he would kill her
unless she took it."
We'll, she's not dead, is she" queried
the accused.
Made His own Arguments.
All through the proceedings Hardness
watched the witnesses, with a gloomy
smile and sarcastic air. Occasionally
he interrupted to ask questions and
was at one stage of the investigation,
restrained with difficulty from making
legal argument upon the manner of
his arrest and the refusal of his re-
quests for counsel and the right to
summon witnesses in his defense. These
rights, of course, he had not been re-
fused.
Hardness claimed it was all plot to
get him out of the way, originated by
his mother-in-law and encouraged and
aided by his wife and his brothers. He
said he had been i'll for the week pre-
ceding his arrest and naturally queru-
lous and ill-tempered. There had been
a rising on his foot, which had caused
his entire leg to swell, induced intense
suffering and produced fever The
Eighty mental condition thus caused
had been aggravated by laudanum and
whisky he had taken to still the pains
and he did not deny some of the
things charged against him by his
mother-in-law and his wife.
He had not been happy in his family
life, said Hardness. His mother-in-
law had always been a disturbing ele-