The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-01-30
No Longer Asks for Verdict Of
Murder in ThaW Case.
That He Will Be Sat-
isfied With Lesser Finding.
POINTS OUT TO JURY
That White Had Threatened
the Defendants Life.
No Longer Defends Memory Of
the Dead Architect.

No Longer Defends Memory of
the Dead Architect.
New York, Jan. 3o.-Conceding that
Harry K. Thaw may have had irration-
al outbreaks now and then during the
80 years of his life. District Attorney
William Travers Jerome in his plea
for the conviction Of Stanford Whites
slayer declared there was absolutely
nothing in the case presented to the
jury to show that Thaw was so in
sane the night of the tragedy, that he
olo not know the nature or quality of
MS act or that the act was wrong. The
prosecutor followed this, however, by
slgniIying very plainly that he believ-
ed Justice would be served if the de-
fendant should be found guilty of a
lesser degree Of criminal responsibility
tnan murder in the first degree. He
explained carefully all the elements
than entered into a verdict of first de-
gree murder and then pointed the wav
10 two other possible findings-murder
IN the second degree or manslaughter
In the first degree.
Mr. Jerome surprised his hearers to-
day by the striking contrast of his ar
gument with that of wear ago The
v1nd1ctiveness was gone the passionate
defense of White was gone. the denun-
citation of Evelyn Nesbit had no place
IN MS remarks. Instead there was a
calm, analytical presentation of the
evidence, concession of possible weak
ness, both mental and physical, in the
defendant, but always a recurrence to
the hard and fast rule of the law that
man to be excused must be SO in
sane as not to know what he was
about
Mr.. Jerome declared dramatically
that there was no doubt Stanford White
had done Evelyn Nesbit a great wrong
ana ana that Harry Thaw had every mo-
tive of revengeful murder on the man
he killed. This motive he asserted for
ever swept away the claim of insanity
which knows not what it does.
There was another great crush at the
criminal court building. When the
doors were opened the court chamber
was found to be already filed with
specially privileged spectators. Justice
Dowling was late in getting down town.
and it was sometime after the hour
set for convening when he took his
place on the bench. ..
Evelyn Nesbit Thaw and Josiah Thaw
We're the only members of the defend
ants family present when Mr.. Jerome
began his argument at IL o'clock He
declared the case had been handled by
him with some difficulty, as he had
had many other matters of Importance
to attend to at the same time
dignity that attaches to my Office
continued the prosecutor; "if at any
time 1 have shown any asperity or
lack of consideration, L can only say
now that l regret it. Any personal i'm
preston I have made or have not made.
should have no part whatever in your
verdict. You are not trying the district
attorney. Any sneers he may have
made is not evidence for the people and
neither are they any evidence that
II -
killed Stanford White. AS to the wo-
man. if my manner was one of disap-
probation that is not evidence. Neither
I nor the woman is being tried here.
Harry Thaw is on trial for the murder
of Stanford White and the defense is
that he was insane the night of
June 25, 1906 that he was not generally
insane or is insane now. All you have
to deal with is, all I have to deal with
is whether or not at a particular time
and place this defendant was insane
whether when he shot and killed STAN
ford White he knew that the act was
wrong and against the law of the
land.
coldly, "to dissect the evidence in this
case, to trace it step by step and to
show you that the burden the law
places upon the defense of proving the
insanity of this defendant has not been
met"
Mr.. Jerome explained to the jury the
different degrees Of murder, defined by
the law and declared that in this case
the only verdicts possible under the cir
cumstances were murder in the first de-
gree, murder in the second degree,
manslaughter in the first degree or not
guilty on the ground of insanity.
The district attorney declared Thaw
plainly had motive for killing
White. Every act of his for two or
three years before the Tragedy point
hate
of the man he killed. Thaw believed
that White had drugged and mis-
treated his wife; he knew that White
had kept him out of a New York
club; he knew that White had threat
ened his life, If the stage door man
is to be believed and he knew that just
a month before the tragedy White
had told May Mackenzie that he
heard Thaw and Evelyn were not liv-
ing happily together and he would
get the girl back.
cit matters not wether you bel1eve
the girls story of the drugging or
not" declared Mr.. Jerome. The re-
lations of this middle aged married
man with the girl of Is cry out to
heaven and no decent man can say
word in defense. 1 certainly have no
intention of doing so. But with all
the things I have pointed out to you
if there was no motive in the heart of
this defendant I can imagine nothing
that can create a motive.
In his speech last year, Mr.. Jerome
passionately defended Stanford
White, declaring that his spirit how
cred ever near the court room crying
out to be heard in defense, crying for
someone to tell the truth and protect
a character Evelyn Nesbit had sought
to b1acken.
Justice Bowling announced as
luncheon recess was taken today that
he would not charge the jury until
| tomorrow District Attorney Jerome