The sun., 1908-05-17


counsel should have applied for writ OF
habeas corpus TO prevent him going TO the
asylum Immediately upon his commitment
by Justice Dowling, that he had urged that
course st the time e., and had b been &c ,1 greatly
DR.. Evans next slipped In statement which
was construed by those following the course
OF the present hearing 40 hint from Thaw's
counsel 70 Justice Morschauser; told
1haw," eaid the doctor. that he should
ing on a habees corpus writ. I said that Il
he could convince jury by bis own testi-
mony that he was sane his freedom was
assured d-nnore certainly than by she testi-
mony OF others
Thaw's answer as reported by DR.. Evans
was this: Il do not gee why cannot submit
myself personally to examination by the
Judge without being subjected TO the
ordeal Of examination by District
Attorney Jerome.
DR.. Evans assured Thaw, 90 he testified,
that Jerome would probably treat him fairly
and that cross s-examination at the hands
OF the District Attorney would not be SO
severe an ordeal In this Thaw agreed
with DR.. Evans. The alienist closed his
direct testimony by saying categorically
that In his mind Thaw was now sane ana
that he was not now and never had been
paranoiao.
SEARCHING CRosS-ExAMINATIoN.
District Attorney Jerome, possibly re-
membering the strenuous character OF pre-
vious olashes between himself and the
alienist on oross-examination in tho murder
trials, opened up on Evans with some
searching questions designed TO recall the
Doctors testimony at those trials, which
was that Thaw was insane at the time ne
shot White. Jerome asked Evans first why
In preparation for his testimony in the
present hearing he had not considered
anything in Thaw's life or mental mani
D. ~ AL k.-~1w AlA rFant inn ~
Thaw by the lunaoy commission, the date
set by Evans In his direct examination
as being that on which his first observa-
tion of Thaw was made.
DR.. Evans said that Thaw's present con-
dition was the best proof.
present mental state OF Harry Thaw you
have excluded from consideration your
answer to the hypothetical question in
the hrst trial, the question .brainstorm
and the question rudderless ship OF your
invention, the testimony Of Or. Russell
Wells that this man was insane in London
and the established record Of hereditary
insanity in Thaw's familyf"
Il took no note Of these things, replied
Dr. Evans. "A piece Of linen is still linen
after it has been washed clean. i think a
man once restored to mental health Is in
full mental health, no matter what his
past condition may have BEEN
Does that apply even at this hour OF the
morning?' suddenly inquired Jerome. in
remipiscence Of DR.. Evanss sudden dis
appearance from court last night and his
subsequent mysterious absence while
Graham was hunting for witnesses. Be-
fore the general laugh had subsidized Evans
was hitting back
@My capacity for mental arrangement is
no greater than yours, Mr.. Jerome said he.
Jerome then had Evans admit that in the
murder trials he had testified that-in his
belief Thaw was suffering from the same
mental deranRement when he wrote his will
In 1905. when he shot White In June, 1905,
and when he submitted himself to Evans's
examination in September and October Of
1909.
PUTS EVANS g FORMER TESTIMONY ON RECORD
Then the District Attorney began putting
into the court record transcripts OF Evans 8
testimony al the murder trials dealing with
the symptoms he had then put forward as
evidences OF the explosive dementia' he
thought Thaw then had. All OF this testi-
mony had to deal with evidences OF delu-
sions. of conspiracy and oppression, two
chief characteristics of paiaDoa. DR..
Evans said that Thaw 9 former mental de-
rangement might have been Of q paranoic
character, but he was certain that 1t was
not paranoia.
from Evans testimony at the first murder
trial his statement that 1T would be a gross
omission for specialist to ignore the record
Of heredity in informing himself on a
mental state"
Several lay witnesses for Thaw followed
Evans with brief testimony on the demeanor
Of Thaw at various times during his incar-
ceration In the T6mbs. They we're William
Smith, Tombs warden. Nicholas Jones and
John Flynn, deputy Wardens.
The Rey Robert ,Soet Chrsty profess9pfs ps Of
logical Seminary. Allegheny, Pa. took the
stand to tell Of having visited Thaw while
he was patient in the Devonshire Nursing
Home. London. He said he found Thaw
sick, though not from mental trouble, and
that the patients demeanor was perfectly
rational and normal.
Prof. John A. Brasher OF Allegheny. Pa,
who ID member OF numerous scientific and
philosophical societies in America and
Europe, next took the stand for Thaw. He
said that he had visited the Tombs prison
10 November. 1908. at the request OF Mrs.
William Thaw and had talked with him on
many subjects. jerome pressed the learned
witness to give him what Thaw had said in
reference to the prosecution OF his trials.
Prof. Brasher coughed apologetically and
Hartridge and that he procured o new
lawyer, whom he would call Mr.. A., who
would be able to cope with poor. beguiled.
Ill advised Jerome
ANOTHER ALIENIsr FOR rHAw.
DR.. Smith Ely JellitYe. another Of the
alienists procured by Thaws counsel, who
had also testified in Thaw's behalf In both
trials on the murder indictment. then testi-
fed. He gave much the same line Of testi-
mony that DR.. Evans had. being careful, as
was DIR. Evans, to say that he based his
belief on Thaw's present sanity entirely on
personal observation and not upon the
examination OF documents in evidence in
the murder trials. A new comment Of
Thaw on the incident OF the shooting was
brought out by DR.. Jelliffe. He said:
"Thaw told me that when he walked down
the side aisle to where White was sitting
he could see Whites eyes hxed on him and
they were burning white. The minute he
fred the first shot at White, Thaw said,
he lost the power OF recollection and he
did not know how many shots he fired.
He regeined his faculty OF reoollecting only
when White was dead.' The witness said
that Thaw denied to him on another ooca-
sion that he had ever thought himself to be
In the hands Of God or O divine instrument
Of justice. That was only good rhetorical
metaphor, Thaw said, for use of q lawyer
In an address to jury. He might have
used the, m etaphor once. but only In its
rhetorical sense. 81.
In oross-eramining DR.. Jelitfe Mr. jerome
pursued the same line Of questions he had
directed against DR.. Evans, setting into the
court record tho testimony the witness had
given at the murder trials TO tho affect that
he then believed Thaw was insane, The
IL t..A- AL.a A.. - L.l