The Paducah sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1898-1906, 1905-04-13
Motion Made by Her Attorneys
for a Continuance.
II Was Stated They Wanted Her
Mental Condition Established
II -Mursiress Was Calm.
AFFIDAVIT ORDERED ny COURT

Mrs. Mary BrOckwe1, charged
with the murder of her three young
est children. Ola, Lilly and Lucy. did
not plead guilty today.
She was not given life sentence.
No agreement had been made be-
tween her attorneys and anyone else,
II developed. relative TO her punish
ment. and the attorneys for the com
monwealth had no understanding or
agreement with anyone, and did not
know what the prisoner intended to
do when arraigned.
The rumors that any agreement
was made. and that she would plead
guilty through her attorneys and
that a sentence for life had been
agreed on. were all untrue and with
out any foundation whatever. as the
Sun said when they were first made.
On the other hand. Mrs. Brock
wells attorneys will make fight for
her. They will plead insanity. She
may not be insane. she may not think
she is insane herself, and her attor-
neys may not think she is insane, but
they are going to make a fight for
her with that defense. and 1t may be
sometime before It is known whether
she will'go to the asylum or the pen
itentiary.
Mrs. Rockwell appeared indiffer-
ent and composed when brought over
from the Jail about 10 o'clock this
morning.
When the case was called Attorney
Hal Corbett moved for a continuance.
He stated that he wanted an oppor-
tunity to have his client examined as
to her sanity.
Commonwealth Attorney John G..
Lovett objected. and said that he did
not believe that the court should
consider a proposition like that-to
allow the defense five months I'm
which to trump up evidence of in
sanity.
The court ordered that the defense
prepare an affidavit for a continuance
and the case was passed.
Mrs. Brockwen sat beside her at
torney in the circuit clerks Office
while he was drawing up the aff'davit
and had little to say. She was neat
ly dressed and did not appear as
cheerful as when she was brought out
OF jail last Saturday after being in
dicted.
The plan OF the defense is doubt
less to get the woman In the asylum,
II possible. on the plea Of insanity.
II will probably require some little
time to secure the inquiry into her
mental condition. making II unlikely
that she will be tried at this term of
court. even IL II should be determined
before the present term of court ends,
that she Is sane.
II she is declared insane and must
be tried, there is still chance for
the inevitable continuances, and after
that OF hung juries, new trials and
appeals. II is not likely that a jury
would give her more than life SEN
tence. hence with every assurance
that Mrs. Brockwell will never get
more than a life sentence for her
crime. she may still be far away from
the beginning of that sentence.
Ii was stated this afternoon that
the motion for a continuance in the
Brockwell case would be argued
sometime this afternoon before court
adjourns and possibly passed on by
Judge Reed,
Attorney Hal Corbett stated this
afternoon that the affidavit on which
the argument for a continuance will
be made this afternoon late will sim
ply allege that County Physician j,
w. Pendley said he believed the
woman OF unsound mind and that II
the court will continue the case un
Ill the next term she believes that she
can be better prepared to defend her
self
She will claim that Il will be nee
essary to introduce as Witnesses men
skilled In mental diseases and their
treatment, and who are experts In
the line, which testimony she does
not believe she can produce at this