Los Angeles herald., 1907-02-06
INSANE IMPULSE
LED THAW TO KILL
DOCTOR SAYS MADNESS WAS
BEHIND DEED
Jerome Fights Desperate Halliday
Battle to Shake Witness Testi-
mony-knowIedge Of Surg
cry Surprises All
6Continued from Page oneI

speak; that this man then held the
pistol above his head and walked
quietly toward the elevator; that he
gave up the pistol without resistance
and did not make any attempt to es-
cape. and that he said:
He ruined my wife, and that he
Immediately afterwarf said to his wife:
L have probably saved your life;' 1
ask you. sir, upon your Judgment as
an expert. whether you are able to
give an opinion touching upon the san
ity of the man who made that answer?'
II can" said DR.. Wiley.
"Wil you express that opinion?''
"I believe that that man"
you must not state a belief" in
terrupted Mr.. Jerome. you must give
an opinion"
MY opinion" said Or. Wiley, sis that
the man who committed the act de-
scribed was suffering from insanity"
Defines Hereditary Insanity
The witness was asked to define
hereditary insanity, which he did. but
when a question by Mr. Gleason as to
the influence of hereditary insanity was
asked it was objected to by Mr. Jerome.
DR.. Wiley said that in hereditary in
sanity the common blood would flow
through brothers and therefore
cousin the son of an uncle of the de-
dendant, might follow the same hered-
itary influence.
Are you acquainted, as you sit there,
with the form of insanity which the
law of this state defines and excuses
for crime?" asked Mr.. Jerome.
Not entirely"
"Then your opinion upon the ques-
ton you have answered was given as
a. scientific man. You had in mind the
various forms of mental alteration
which scientific men meet together and
discuss?"
Yes, and from my own application
of the medical knowledge on the sub
ject."
Mr.. Jerome asked the witness If he
really considered himself an expert.
II feel that l have had experience" p"
began the doctor.
"That is not the point. Are you an
expert? We don't know whether you
are or not
II Think 1 am competent"
Are you an expert?" shouted Je-
rome.
Il am an authority" DIR. Wiley re-
Piled.
Doctor Is Positive
After DR.. Wiley said he was an
authority he was asked by Mr.. Je-
rome if he was willing to go on rec
ord before the world in this case as a
scientific man after merely witnessing
Thaws action on the street car in
Pittsburg, and from description of his
killing of Stanford White as saying
that Thaw was insane
DIR. Wiley replied with decision
"Yes."
Asked by Mr. Gleason if in his
opinion the defendant at the time of
the deed knew that it was wrong, the
witness replied yes" and started an
explanation which was stopped by
Mr.. Jerome and Mr.. Gleason, the
former objecting to the explanation
and the latter endeavoring to stop his
witness. When the question was again
put to him he answered mo" DR..
Wiley explained that person might
know what he was doing and yet be
entirely in the control of an irresist-
ible impulse.
I'm other words" commented Mr.
Jerome" we have a sort of volitionaI
insanity"
That is possible, coupled with q
morbid impulse
IAN act is morbid if it is insane?"
Yes"
"And a man may know the nature
and quality of his act, know that it i:
wrong and against the law, and yet b'
swept away by an emotional impulse?'
Yes by an impulse over which HI
has no control"
what evidence of delusion wa
there in the hypothetical question pu
to you by counsel for the defense 2
asked Mr.. Jerome.
The witness started to answer.
jerome Scores Point
"Wait moment" commanded th
district attorney. Lets go over thi
thing again. Give us the substance o
the hypothetical question on which yol
| based so important an opinion in thi
case"
In repeating the question the witnes
| inadvertently admitted that he hat
taken into consideration his knowledg
of the case outside of the question.
"Then you did not base your opinion
entirely upon the question:"
mot entirely. l based it on what
saw in Pittsburg and what 1 knew o
the case"
II move that the entire question anC
answer be stricken out of the testi
Judge Fitzgerald. Counsel for the de
Tense objected, but Judge Fitzgerald
said he thought best to strike the mat
ter out and go all over it again, so al
to make the record clear.
Attorney Gleason reformed th
question, this time basing 1t upon th'
law of insanity as laid down by th
statutes OF the state of New York.
DR.. Wiley again declared that he wa
competent to answer the question.
What is your opinion based upon
the form of insanity as laid down b!
the law of this state?" asked Mr.. Glea
son.
The act of an insane man."
Tries to Shake Witness
Mr.. Jerome led the witness through
a long series of questions dealing witt
all manner of subjects and asking hin
his opinion, as an expert, on most o
them.
"Are you a mythologist?" asked MI
Jerome.
mo"
"Have you studded the subject?"
mot extensively"
"As a matter Of fact, do you know
what mythology is?"
yes"
us mythology an act or a direc