Los Angeles herald., 1908-01-29
EVIDENCE nv
THAW CASE
COMPLETED
FATE MAY BE IN JURY'S HANDS
FRIDAY
JEROME pIsPENsEs WITH INsAN.
lTY EXPERTS
Prosecutor Calls Witnesses, Who Tes-
tify That Whites Slayer Ap-
peared Rational After
Murder
BY Associstee Press-

BY Associstee Press.
| NEW YORK, Jan. 2S.--With no at
tempt on the part Of the state to COM
bat with scientific testimony the claim
of insanity urged in behalf of Harry K
Thaw, the taking of evidence in the
second hearing of the Madison Square
garden murder trial ended today.
Tomorrow Martin w. Littleton will
begin his plea for the defendant, and is
expected to occupy both morning and
afternoon sessions with his summing
up argument. District Attorney Je-
rome will speak on Thursday. He has
promised to be brief and IL his address
should not extena beyond the morning
session, Justice Dowling will hand the
case over to the jury on Thursday af-
ternoon.
The court announced, however. that
he would probably not deliver his
charge until Friday morning.
Calls No Experts
Contrary to his policy of last year,
when he called nine experts in insanity
to the witness chair, Mr.. jerome this
year utterly ignored the scientific
phase of the rebuttal case. He pro-
duced several eyewitnesses to the trag-
edy and several police officers who
handled Thaw the night of the homi-
eide, and placed on record that the de-
lendant's acts we're rational.
In the morning, on motion of counsel,
the testimony given by Abraham Hum
| oil NJ log ri n tha
jury and the Thaw will was admitted
in evidence without further proof as to
its custody during the six months fol-
lowing the shooting of Stanford White.
The affidavit alleged to have been
made by Evelyn NesDit in Hummels
office charging Thaw with cruelty and
attempting falsely to place the blame
for the Nesbit girls downfall upon
Stanford White, also was admitted by
Justice Bowling, and then the case,
so far as testimony was concerned, was
at an end.
Mr.. Jeromes elimination Of expert
testimony in the rebuttal case occa-
stoned much talk. Based upon his as
sertions of last year that Thaw was an
incurable paranoiac, rumor had it that
the prosecutor might not be displeased
with verdict of not guilty on the
ground of insanity, with an ensuing
commitment of Thaw to the asylum for
the criminal insane at Matteawan.
Tries to Prove Him Sane
Throughout the trial, however. Mr..
| Jerome has attempted to belittle and
discredit all testimony having to do
with Thaw's irrationality. He has at
tempted to show that the youthful out
bursts of the defendant were fits of
temper which deserved a spanking
as he expressed It, rather than scientific
discussion. He has attempted to dis
credit the outbreaks in later life with
the suggestion that they were the result
CT too much drink and nothing more.
Mr.. Littleton, in his argument, which
is expected to be an eloquent but
straightforward presentation of the
facts, will contend that the prosecution
has failed to shake the case of insanity
built up by the defense.
/ Mr.. Littleton has made no claim of
present sanity for Thaw. In fact, the
experts for the defense have testified
that in manic-depressive insanity, the
diagnosis now applied to Thaw's con-
dition of mind, the patient is very apt
to have attacks of increased violence.
Say He Was Sane
The state began today by calling
several eyewitnesses to the tragedy,
who declared Thaw's conduct impressed
them as rational. One of the wit
nesses was Warner Paxson, engineer
of Madison Square Garden.
He said that just before the killing
of Stanford White one of the perform
ers on the stage made a remark about
challenging somebody to a duel.
WAS the performer who passed the
remark Harry Hudson?" asked Assis-
tant District. Attorney Garvan.
II don't know. Harry Thaw's shots
/ ~, ,.Is lob 7
thought at first they were part Of
the play"
DR.. Francis Mcclure, the Tombs
prison physician, was called by Mr.
Jerome to testify as to Thaw's conduct
in iail, but his testimony was barred
when Mr. Littleton raised the objection
as to professional privileges between
physician and patient
Abraham Snydecker, a former en-
ploye of Howe & Hummel, who testi-
| fed last year that he witnessed Evelyn
Nesbit's signature to the affidavit
| which charged Harry Thaw with cruel
ties. next was called to the stand.
The affidavit was signed by Evelyn
Nesbit in the Madison Square tower
when she was in company with Stan
ford White. When shown the photo
graphic copy of the signature, how
| ever the witness said he could not
positively identify it, although he rec
ognized his own signature underneath
that of the Nesbit girl.
Says Evelyn Read Document
Snydecker swore that the girl glanced
through the document and declared it's
contents true. After the paper was
signed it was turned over to Mr.. ia
cobson, another Hummel clerk, who
went to the tower with the Witness
,snydecker was confronted with his
testimony of last year and explained
several discrepancies by saying ne re-
membered the events more clearly this
time.
4 Mr. Jerome here sprung surprise
by calling Roger O'Meara, former chief
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