Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-02-07
GIVES Law in THAW CASE
Interesting Statement Of the Law as II viii Govern The
IhaW Murder Trial In New York
How The Jury viii Be Charged as to The Defense Of In
sanity And Its Bearing on The Matter Of Guilt

Tn view of the Importance of the trial
of Harry K Thaw for the killing of
Stanford White and the great interest
it excites, not only locally but through
out the country, and even abroad, a
statement of the law by which the guilt
or innocence Of the accused must be de-
termined will be of interest not only to
lawyers who make no special study of
the criminal law but to laymen as well
A statement of the law on the subject
has been procured from Mr.. William
L. Clark, reviewing editor of the Cyclic
pedia of Law and Procedure, known and
cited as eye and the author Of well
known works on the criminal law. For
the benefit of ot,r readers who may be
interested in the case and wish to follow
the testimony as it is published from
day to day we here reproduce his state
fnert He says: s.5& Il \. B.
sit would be both improper and unfair
to the defendant to express any opinion
as to his guilt at this time Whether
he is guilty or innocent must be deter
mined, not on the facts which have been
published in the newspapers, but on the
facts as they appear from the evidence
which may be given at the trial, and the
question will be decided by the Jury on
this evidence under the courts instruc-
lions as to the law. They cannot convict
unles sthey are convinced Of the de-
PENDANTS guilt beyond reasonable
doubt, and reasonable doubt as to his
sanity at the time Of the killing will
require an acquittal III
With respect to the law there can be
little question. In the first place it is
perfectly clear that the so-called sunwrit-
ten or higher law, in the sense in which
the terms have been used nconnectior
with this case has no place in the Law
OF. New York. The innocence or gull
of one who kills another depends en-
/. tirely upon the application to the fact.
of the law established by the statute anc
I Judicial decisions Of the state. OF course
lit is possible for a jury to disregard tn.
law as laid down for their guidance ii
the charge of the court, and this is al
there. is to the idea involved in this us
Of the term sunwritten law but in thi
state jurors are not the judges Of til
law, but of the facts only, and unde
their oatis they are required to decid
according to the law as given by tn
& court N. y Code Grim Proc. 419.
If the law is harsh as applied to the fact
OF any particular case then the remed
is by application for executive elem
ency. (People v. Silverman, 181 N. y
2s6.
Independently of statutory provis
ions, if a sane man Intentionally kill
/ another, he is guilty of murder, un1es
the circumstances are proven to hay
been such as to justify or excuse hi
act, or to reduce it, by reason of provo
cation, to n1arlslaugilter; and II perso.
Intentionally fires a pistol at another a
intention to kill is presumed AS it i
eoncisely said in the Cyclopedia of La,
and Procedure, malice is implied i
every intentional and pre1neditated homi
eide, if there are no circumstances serv
ing to mitigate, excuse Or justify tn
act. (2l Cyc 1888 Under the Ne1
York statute, assuming that Thaw wa
sane, his killing of White was murder i
~ the first degree, unless it was justi6ab1
3 or excusable, if it was committed eithe
ID from a deliberate and premeditate
design to kill OF (2) by an act inni
snently dangerous to others, and evincin