The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1908-12-29
IN HAMS
CASE OUTLINED
TO THE JURY

Continued from page Three)
The health of Mrs. Hams, it is said
will hardly permit her to come tt
court.
,, When court opened District Attor
ney Darrin called on Policeman
George Bolton to tell of the efforts h,
made to serve a subpoena upon Johl
Tonning, the missing witness. He wa.
excused and Louis Haraway who wa:
with Annis in the boat, was recalled
He gave the dimensions Of Annis
boat.
Following Mr.. Haraway's brief ties
timony, the prosecution rested.
Mr.. Young moved that the indict
ment against T. J.. Hams be dismissed
but the motion was denied.
MI. Young then proceeded with his
argument, taking the position that
person charged with being an acces
scry to the commission OF d crime
could not be tried until it was proven
that the principal was guilty.
Right there l disagree with you,'
said Judge Crane. Il hold that this
man may be guilty of murder in the
first degree as a proposition of law,
although the man who held the re.
volver and fired the shot was not gull.
ty Of murder and was insane.
Il am going to hold that a man may
be guilty of murder committed by a
lunatic if he aided and encouraged it
knowingly and Intentionally, knowing
the act and its consequences.
In my opinion a man who is pres
.ent at the commission of a crime and
aids and abets it is not even an ac-
.cessory under the common law, but a
principal
Joseph Shay, associate counsel for
Thornton Hams, in opening the case
for the defense, charged that the evil
dence Of the state bore the semblance
of falsehood, invention and manufac-
ture. He said that the defense will
prove that Thornton Hams had moth
ing to do with the death of Annis, that
Hains had nc thought Of Annis in his
mind, when he went to Bayside, that
had no idea that Annis was there,
That Thornton Hains did not know his
brother had a revolver and that Thorn
ton would have prevented the meeting
between his brother and Annis if he
could.
I'VE propose to show that the broth
er, Captain Peter c. nains, was, men.
tally unbalanced and to show you the
which created that condition of
said MIR. Shay. He declared
Thornton Hams had conferred
last spring with Messrs. J~essperson
and Bugg;, who had property for sale
Bayside, near the yacht club, and
that MIR. Bugg told Hams to meet him
any Saturday night at the yacht club.
Mr.. Shay said that on the day of
the killing of Annis, the two brothers
left Brooklyn intending to go by mo-
torboat to Fort Hancock. Thornton
Hams carried his revolver to be fired
as a signal of distress in case the
ran short of gasoline or for
self-protection in case of attack by.
thieves OF river marauders when land
afterwards.
That the captain had a revolver
With him on these occasions and on
his day was beyond Thornton's wild
est imagination" said Mr.. Shay, ssfor
account of the condition of the
captain, Gs we will show you, the TIT
care was exercised to keep from
lin any weapon that might be danger
to his own life
The trip to Fort Hancock was aban-
Toned, MI. Shay said, because of the
line taken up with a talk with build.
n, who insisted the brothers decided
go to Bayside to lock at the lots
which Thornton thought Of buying.
Counsel declared that proof would be
ldduced to show that on the day OF
he shooting, Captain Hams was a
mailman" the result of his marital
roubles, whihc counsel related in de.
all to the jury.