Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-07
BOASTS OF DOCTOR BUTLER
Claim is Made That They Drove Her
Mad.
Long Argument Of Counsel as to
What Can Be Admitted in
Testimony.

HAZLEHURST. Miss. December lit
| is announced that the attorneys defend
| ing Mrs. Angie Birdsong, charged with the
murder of DR.. Thos. Butler, will attempt
| to introduce into the trial the free accept
ance Of evidence concerning the physicians
alleged statements about the woman who
deliberately shot him. Exception was taken
! to the ruling of the court at the close
| of yesterdays session that only such parts
of this evidence could be admitted as came
| to Mrs. Birdsong's ears
| 1t is claimed that the actions of women
friends of Mrs. Birdsong had quite as much
effect in driving her to the verge of emo
tional insanity as did gossip which she
heard. Some Of these former friends are
alleged to have refused to speak to her
| when they met her on the street.
The evidence adduced in the circuit court
| yesterday at the trial of Mrs. Algie Bird
song on the charge of numbering DR.. Thos.
| Butler prominent physician of Month
cello related chiefly to the main facts Of
| the killing.
| Four witnesses told terse and uncontra-
dicted stories of the tragedy They saw
Mrs. BirdsOng leave her residence on the
| morning of November %, walk to the office
| of DR.. Butler and enter. She did not ap-
pear nervous or agitated and was walking
| at an ordinary gait In five minutes two
pistol shots were fired in quick succession.
They next saw DR.. Butler stagger from
| the office, his hands clasped to his breast,
tried to fire a third shot. The revolver
| hung fire, but she adjusted it. The third
| bullet went wide, and in the meantime Dr.
Butler had fallen to the pavement. Mrs.
| BirdSong walked up and fired two shots
into the PROSTATE body, emptyng her
| weapon.
| Close cross-questioning brought out the
statement from the witness that DR.. Bird
n n 10
| hurrying across the street just after the
| Shots were fired.
Her Children in Court With Her.
Throughout the vivid recital of the trag-
edy Mrs. Birdsong sat unmoved beside her
| husband with her two little children play
| ing about her knees. She paid little at
tention to the testimony, much of her time
| being devoted to hushing the children s
prattle. The eldest child is beautiful
golden-haired girl of about five years.
| fierce legal battle took place between
! the attorneys at the afternoon sitting when
| the defense attempted to prove by Mr..
| Wilborn, one of the states witnesses, that
DR.. Butler made boasts of undue intimacy
| with Mrs Birdsong. The witness was ap-
| parently willing to testify to this effect,
but the prosecution objected and Judge
Miller sustained the objection.
| One of the witnesses for the defense,
| w. A. Russell, president of the Lawrence
county board of supervisors, was taken
| seriously sick yesterday, and, fearing he
would grow worse. the court took his dep
| OSitfon He testified that Butler had
made frequent boasts regarding Mrs. Bird
| song, and that on one occasion witness
| reproved him.
| At the present rate of progress the state
| will not finish its evidence until Saturday.
Defense Emotional Insanity.
1t will be the purpose of the defense,
| according to authorized statements, to
| cbn hot Nv I,,fl so11y \
| of relations with Mrs. Birdsong which de-
veloped in her, a virtuous woman, frency
closely bordering insanity, If it didn't
| actually cause mental arrangement and
| She determined to kill the slanderer. The
defense does not admit the charges said
to have been made by DIR. Butler were
| true.
Counsel for the defense yesterday went
straight to the question whether the So
called 'unwritten law justified Mrs. Bird
| song IS act and they secured a strong po-
| sition in their clients favor through the
| courts ruling The prosecution argued
that the physicians statements could be
no justification for his murder. Judge Mil
| Ter ruled first that it would be admissible
| to show the condition of Mrs Birdsong' s
mind when she killed the physician and,
second, that such of DR.. Buffers state
| ments about her character as reached her
ears will be admitted as evidence bearing
upon her mental condition. Judge Miller
declared that he would require of the de-
| IenSe evidence 10 prove tnat eacn OF the
statements admitted was revealed to the
| defendant
The remarks about Mrs Birdsong were
based on notes alleged to have been writ
ten by her to Dr. Butler.
| One expert witness present is DR.. O. M,
| Turner, for many years a member of the
physicians staff at the Mississippi Insane
| Hospital. DR.. Turner has been summoned
by the defense to testify concerning the
probable mental state of Mrs. Birdsong,
just prior to and Immediately following
| the tragedy.
He will not attempt to pass judgment on
her present sanity or instantly, but will
give his opinion concerning the effect Dr.
Buffers alleged boasts would have on a
| woman's nervous system. The testimony
of DR.. Turner is expected to carry much
weight with the jury.
DR.. Turner has not made professional
observation of Mrs. Birdsong. He has
avoided meeting her, desiring to base his
| deductions and conclusions on past expe-
| rience with persons laboring under great
mental strains.
Accused Woman Not in Custody.
The defendant Is not officially in Gus
today. Although legally supposed to be in
charge of the sheriff, she is occupying a
neat little cottage just across the street
from the court house.
When asked why Mrs. Birdsong was not
kept in jail, as required by statute in all
capital offenses, Judge Miller explained
that the crying of her children during
the night might disturb the jurors in the
court room adjacent and have a potent
effect on their verdict. At yesterday
hearing many of the pointed queries by
| the defense were suggested by United
| States Senator L. c. McLaurin, uncle Of the
accused woman.
Mrs Birdsong's husband has been in
dicted as an accessory, but is not on trial.