The Washington herald., 1907-02-05

New York, Feb. 4-Within the limits of
three hours and a half of actual work to-
day, the peoples case against Harry X.
Thaw, for the murder of Stanford White,
was presented. and counsel for the pris-
oner outlined the defense that viii be
conducted. It was contended that Thaw
was insane when he shot the architect on
the night of June %, 1895, in Madison
Square Roof Garden: that he had been
mentally unbalanced for two years before
that time, and that the shooting Of stan
ford White was the result Of Thaw's in
sanity. coupled with the stress of mind
resulting from the pressure Of cireum-
stances under which he had lived since
he married Evelyn Nesbit
Lawyer Gleason. who made the opening
address for the defense, told the jury
that it would be proved that there had
been insanity in Thaws family on both
the DaternaI and the maternal sides, and
that the insanity from which the defend
ant suffered was. therefore, hereditary.
He declared that the condition Of Thaw's
brain had always been such that given
certain conditions Of stress, insanity was
the natural result These conditions, he
asserted, came with his marriage 10 Eve
lyn Nesbit, and the events that fol-
lowed it,
We VIII show YOU. said Mr.. Gleason
that the defendant on the night of the
shooting first saw White glowering at
him, and then became convinced that it
would be an act of providence for him 20
kill the architect Acting on that prompt
ing. he walked over as C00lly as he might
90 to speak 20 "a friend and shot that man.
He did not regard the act as wrong. He
considered that il was Gods providence
and was not wrong. We say that upon
the evidence it viii be impossible for you
10 say that at the time Thaw shot White
he was sane beyond a reasonable doubt" d"
Feared for His Life. q
There was also more than suggestion
that an effort viii be made 20 prove that
Thaw had. for a long time, believed his
life and that of his wife to be in danger
from White Evidence win be offered.
Mr.. Gleason said. TO SHOW that the de-
a
time before the shooting And in this
connection the defense win doubtless
, make use OF a statement made by one Of
the witnesses for the prosecution. This
was one OF the men who caught and held
Thaw just after ne had done the shooting
He testified to-day that Thaw had said to
his wife: "Au right, dearie but I have
probably saved YOUR life
Mr.. Gleason also appealed to the jury
10 consider the evidence that would be
offered, and then ask themselves whether
they would not have done the same thing.
Counsel announced 5hat Evelyn Nesbit
Thaw would be put on the stand 10 tell OF
some of the occurrences that pTeyed upon
her husbands mind until they drove him
insane. He did not go into particulars
regarding these occurrences, but he said
that when, in 1893. Harry Thaw asked
the chorus girl 10 marry him, she declined.
She had recently been subjected to a sur
gical operation. said Mr.. Gleason. and
the reason that she gave for refu9ing
Thaw when he first asked her hand had
something to do with Stanford White.
Il do not regard it as part of my duty
M this time" said Mr.. Gleason. Ito go
into details. Evelyn Nesbit Thaw viii
tell you her own stOry''
No Unwritten Law Plea.
Mr. Gleason discIaimed any intention 70
invoke the operation of a higher or un-
written law IN the case. saying: We do
not claim any higher or other law than
the law of the State of New York" At
no time did he ever evince the least notion
of lodging the fact that Thaw slew
White. Both he and Mr. Delmas. who
cross-examined witnesses on the part Of
the defense, repeatedly used the word
homicide and referred 10 the killing OF
White by the defendant" They merely
cOnteuded. in Mr. GleasOn's words. that
he acted without malice and premedita-
tion, and In the belief OF seIf-defense."
'When the defendant killed Stanford
White. Mr.. Gleason said again. "he did
nOJ know that the act was wrong be-
cause NE was suffering from a condition
OF the brain that prevented him from
knowing IL. We win prove to YOU the
conditions of grief and sorrow under
which the brain Of this defendant gave
way and drove him to this act. We viii
prove to YOU the existence Of such coDdi-
tiOns as would make a man as crazv as
any man ever was BY his mother. his
wife. and by personal letters. and letters
that he wrote to the Society for the Pre-
ventiOn OF Crime. we viii make II impos-
sible for you 10 believe that this mans
mind was sane
Gleason Talks an Hour.
Mr.. Gleason talked about an hour and y
quarter. lie was expected to talk much
longer. and would have done so had not
the district attorney interrupted with an
objection that he was talking along lines
that belonged TO a summing up. rather
than TO an opening. speech. Justice Fitz-
gerald evidently took that view Of il.
though he made no positive ruling in the
matter, and Mr. Gleason. evidently much
disturbed, concluded shortly afterward.
The prosecution had its case in within
two hours. Il was al very simply done.
Mr.. Garvan made a ten-minute talk. de-
scribing the murder, and declared that il
would be proved that il was deliberate.
malicious, premeditated taking Of Iife
we shall ask for verdict Of gdiItv of
murder in the first degree" he concluded.
Lawrence G. White. the son Of the slain
man, was the first witness. He told OF
what Mr.. White did the evening before
the killing. other witnesses were men
who saw the shooting and seized Thaw
the policeman who arrested him. and the
physician who made the autopsy. The
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