The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1907-02-06
THAW'S TRIAL FRAuGHT
WITH SURPRISES
INSANITY, NOT UNwR1ATEN Law,
THE PLEA OF DEFENSE.

New York, Feb. 5.-Follcwing AS
sistant Attorney General Garvin, who
presented to the jury Monday the
States case against Harry Kendall
Thaw for the murder Of Stanford
White, Thaw's counsel outlined his
case to the jury Monday afternoon,
after the prosecution had occupied
less than two hours Of the morning
sitting Of the court, in relating by
eye-witnesses the narrative Of the
tragedy.
BY the defense it was asserted that
Thaw in Staying Stanford White be-
Heved he was acting as an agent Of
Providence, that real or fancied
wrongs committed against him by the
architect ar former friend Of his
wife had boiled and bubbled in his
brain until at last there came the
explosive impulse to kill. When the
deed was done Thaw made no move
to escape its consequences, but hold
ing the fatal revolver aloft stood as
if mute, proclai1ning to the world,
'"The deed is done; it was right: it
was not wrong
"You will hear the story of tt;1is
mans insanity Attorney John B.
Gleason for the defense, promised
the jury, from his mother, from his
wife, from his relatives, and from his
physicians. You will judge him by
his acts, by the heredity and stress
which entered into his madness, and
when you come to judge him you will
say to yourself that his act may
have been one of insanity, but it was
not one of crime
That Thaw's wife was to be one Of
the most important witnesses has
long been known; that his mother,
Mrs William Thaw Of Pittsb1rg, was
to take the stand only became known
positively today when the court en-
forced the rule excluding from the
court room all witnesses save experts.
Thaw's mother, at the command, left
the room after a moments hesitation.
She seemed unwilling to be parted
from her son in the hour Of his need.
His wife, too, reluctantly left the
room, bestowing a last radiant emile
of courage and hope upon her pris-
oner husband. May Mackenzie was
third of the women who have been
daily included in the Thaw party to
leave the court room. Thaw seemed
detected. Many times last week dur
ing the dull days Of jury selection he
turned to his wife for comfort and
found her ever ready with "a quick
responsive smile. Now that the Sc
irous work Of the trial was tegun he
was to be denied her presence.
Thaw's counsel told the story Of
the prisoners love for the girl he
was to make his wife. He met Eve
lyn Nesbit in 1901 and there then be-
gan in him an honorable love and
regard for the girl. He told her
mother of his love. The girl was in
a precarious condition following Sc
rious operation in sanitarium and
Thaw suggested to the mother that
she take Evelyn abroad to recupcrate.
It was arranged that Thaw should ac-
company the two as the open and
ayowed suitor of the daughter. In
1908 he asked her to marry him and
she refused.
..1'he reason for this refusal you
will hear from her own lips" an
nounced Mr.. Gleason. Suffice it to
say the reason had to do with an in
cident in her life with reference to
Stanford White
Thus layin the ground work for
the plea of insanity, the defendants
lawyer declared that brain disease
laid hold of Thaw some three or four
years ago. 1t was claimed there have
been many cases where q person had
been pronounced insane upon one
subject and that alone. Mr.. Gleason
cited instances Of temporary insanity,
based upon G single act.
1--WE will not base our plea, how
ever, upon single act" he added.
"It will be shown that there was in
sanity on both sides of this defend
ants family. Hereditary has made
us what we are, hereditary has made
the living world. Our case is far re-
moved from the much discussed de-
fense of emotional insanity. You
must disabuse your minds of all you