The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1907-03-12
Perjury and BraInstorms.


ty and anyone who wishes to attack
1t but a 'brainstorm' we had better
go back to the days of the frontier
and let every man take out pistol
permit said Prosecutor jerome the
other day.
The Thaw case offers an excellent,
lif somewhat discouraging, illustra-
ltion of the abuse OF expert testi-
mony" We are asked to believe
the Jury is asked to believe-that a
man who was sane up to and after a
given date had a brainstorm upon
that day and committed murder for
which he was not responsible, but
THAT he is now in such a mental con-
ldition that he should be turned loose
This Is absurd. The world would
have more respect for Mr.. Thaw and
his adroit lawyers If they had de
pended upon the so-called "unwritten
law and contented themselves with
showing cause sufficient to provoke
a sane man to commit murder, and
Sufficient to constitute an excuse.
The "unwritten law" in reality
nothing more than public opinion,
covers none but acts of revenge com
mitted upon persons guilty of the
gravest and most unprovoked crimes.
The list of such crimes is short. Bar
barrie as it is, and arguing public con-
tempt of the restraints of written law
under certain circumstances, the ''un-
written law constitutes no such
menace to the public peace, no such
license to criminals and no such
mockery of the judicial branch of
government as the 'insanity dodge "
Even the spectacle of a Virginia
Judge who, but few days ago, said
that there was no ''unwritten law in
his state. thanking a jury for acquit-
ting two defendants in accordance
with its provisions, is more welcome
than that of a jury "bamboozled' by
lalienists, corrupt or contented to
trife with the enforcement of the law
by making wild guesses as to what
went on inside of a mans head upon
the seventh of April last, while ad-
hitting him to be sane today-ren-
dering verdict of acquittal that is
virtually letter of marque to that
particular defendant and. all other
persons with money and homicidal
Tendencies to prey upon society. And
the latter spectacle is, unfortunately
Frequently beheid
What shall we say OF the orna.
ments to the medical profession who
stand ready to. assist in bringinl
about a miscarriage of justice by
Iprating of 'adolescent insanity,
''brainstorms" emotional insanity, ;
''the exaggerated ego and the like
These gentlemen know, If they know
anything about the matters they sc
freely discuss, that they testify, as 8
rule, in response. to suggestions from
counsel for the defense, with the pur
pose of making a bad temper appear
to jury of laymen as brain
storm" and with the purpose o
freeing criminal as responsible FOL
his acts of violence as any other mar
who strikes another down In sudder
heat and passion, or after thinking
the matter over until he loses hiI
sense of proportion and is actuatet
by revenge rather than a sense %
right and wrong.
There are cases. OF course, In
which there is actual ground for be
lleving a criminal insane. but I
Czolgoz is more truly a maniac thar
a Thaw; and who that has the inter
est of society at heart would have tn,
effrontery to suggest immunity TO
such as he?
In the Kentucky mountains whe1
six citizens who saw murder don.
testify TO the guilt of defendant tn.
custom is to hale sixteen men int,
court who, for a fee, or through
Friendship for the accused, will sweai
that the defendant was in their pres
ence in another place when the kill
ling took place. 1t is an axiom of tn,
courts that strong alibi is TIL
strongest defense. Building an alb
on perjured testimony is often sue
eessful, but the perjured alibi witness
at least has the hardihood to take I
risk of prosecution. Is the allienis
who tries to make an alibi for th'
wits of a murderer at. a given time
knowing that his hair-splitting dis
functions between anger and manis
are essentially fabrications to con
fuse the jury, less perjurer morally
than the common type OF abbi wit
ness? And he is certainly persol
of much lower order of "col'
nerve"