The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1907-04-18
THE THAw TRIAL.

| At the time the jury in the Thaw case
was empaneled 1t struck US as a par
sicularly good one. being made up of
substantial American citizens. who ap-
\ peared to be strongly endowed with
hard common sense and a feeling of
their responsibility. This is not shaken
! by the outcome of the trial, tho 1t in
volved disagreement. which is ex-
ceedingly costly to the State of New
| York in having to have another trial
| On polling the jury 1t was found that
seven stood absolutely. unqualifiedly
and unfiinchingiy for murder in the first
| degree and capital punishment. The
other five were as unalterably for ad-
judging Thaw dangerous lunatic. who
should be imprisoned where he could
do no further HARM Each of these
views has wholly taken possession of
| the great mass of thinking Americans
who have paid any attention to the trial.
Apparently all the sophistry and special
pleading of the counsel ON both Sides
especially that for the defense. passed
| over the jurors like water upon glass
and produced no impression. They
brushed aside brain storm" and de
mentia Americana and "unwritten
law as trifies unworthy of their con-
sideration. and devoted themselves
strictly to the consideration of the act
ual law points involved and the evidence
bearing upon these. The instructions
from the Judge were lucid and incon-
trovertible. and the jury seems to have
thoroly absorbed them. They chung to
the main point at issue as determinedly
as any jury in the country would over
"a far less conspicuous defendant. They
saw that the only question before them
was whether Thaw was mentally re-
sponsible in the eyes of the law, at the
time when he committed his cold blood
ed murder. Seven of them thought that
he was and that he should be electro
cuted. The other five thought that he
was insane. and therefore not RESPONSE
BILE, but should be put where he could
not sacrifice another life. This is prob
ably division 81 opinion which would
take about the same lines in the first
IL men that could be assembled any
where. and therefore there is little dis
position to blame the jury for not agree
ing.
1t is altogether unlikely that theI
courts will admit Thaw to bail, in spite
of all the stuff that is written 10 the
contrary. New York justice is pretty |
true to itself, no matter what vagaries
may be at times committed In the |
eyes of the law Thaw is guilty of pre-
meditated murder. His wealth and /
family and the offenses of his victim |
are not pertinent to the question, and
he should, and in all probability will /
be, held to answer a second trial pre-
cisely as any other ordinary murderer
would be.
The next trial will come off some
time in the Fall or Winter. In the
the sensational features will
have disappeared; New York will have
some new sensation to distract its at
tention, and Thaw will be tried pre-
cisely as any other of the prisoners for
like crimes who are in prison awaiting
their day in court. We should say that
The outlook for him, instead of improv-
Ing, has changed very much for the
worse by the disagreement of the jury.
Before this happened very many people
thought that the brain Storm de
mentia Americana and the "unwritten
law would carry the jury off its feet
and secure an acquittal. That these did
not shake in the least the IL good men
and true in the box seems to US to make
/ very lowering outlook for the vicious
young defendant.