Coeur d'Alene evening press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1907-1929, 1908-04-23
GILLETTE BRAIN WAS NORMAL
Expert Who Examined IL After Ex-
ecntiOn Pound no Defects.


ecutiOn Found no Defects.
PHILADELPHIA. April 23.-Phy-
sicians, scientists and savants from
nearly all the important universities
and large cities of the country Will
take part in a discussion of import
ant topics during the general meet
Ing of the American Philosophical
association. which was opened here
today and will extend through to-
morrow and Saturday.
One of the most important adj
dresses OF the meeting, II is ex-
pected, will be that OF DR.. Il. A.
Spitzka, who has chosen for his
subject Observations Regarding the
Infliction OF the Death Penalty by
Electricity"
DIR. Spltzka is a member of the
faculty OF the Jefferson Medical col
loge, an authority on anthropometry
and In mental processes and diseases.
and the man who. within fifteen
minutes after Chester Gillette went
to his death in the electric chair at
Auburn. N. ", had removed and
made scientific examination OF the
brain of the young man executed for
the drowning OF his sweetheart,
Grace. or billy" Brown. In Big
Moose lake. July IL. 1906.
1T was thoroughly successful
execution" said Or, Spitzka. Only
one contact was necessary. and | was
enabled 10 remove and examine the
brain between ten minutes and
quarter of an hour after the con
demned man had been pronounced
dead.
80 far as the resulting examlna-
ton went. can safely say that Gill
lette's brain was thoroughly normal
! used the prison scales In weighing
II, and its weight was 57I ounces
ayoirdupois, which is rather heavy
and may be said TO place the brain
among the larger sort. 1t was at
any rate, that OF typical healthy
American lad of his age,
DR., Spitzka has made charts and
drawings of Glllette's brain and
skull, which viii be exhibited at the
present meeting.
From this outline OF the skull, :"
he continued. you viii see that 1t
was fairly good-slzed head The
circumference OF the head was SOL
oentimeters. From ear TO ear, meas
uring over the crown of the head,
the distance was SO centimeters, and
the space between the pupils of the
eyes ca.
Neither OF these measurements
or OF the others which made, point
toward abnormality. Therefore, as
death by electricity does not affect
the brain tissues or structure for Inn
mediate examination. my personal
belief Is that Chester Gillette vas a
quite sane and healthy young man. 4"
Among the other papers and
speakers on the program of the meet
Ing are Art and Ethnology." by
Edwin Swift nalch of Philadelphia;
photographs of Daniels Come" by
Prof +. e, barnard of Yerkes ohser-
vatory, Williams Bay Wis, "Medi-
aeyal German Sculpture In the Ger
man Museum OF Harvary Uuivers-
ity," by Prof. Kuno Grancke OF Cam
bridge; "Goethe's Private Library
as an Index of His Literary Inter
ests. by Pro, Waterman T. Hewett
of Ithaca. N. Y; Recent Discoveries
In the Pathology of Rabies. by MAJ
yek =, Rayenel NJ, D., of Madison,
Wis: Progress of Demarcatlon of
the Boundary between Alaska and
Canada by Prof, c. II, Tittmann of
Washington,
The Friday evening lecture Will
be ON Results of the American
Museum Exploration In the Fayum
Desert of Northern Egypt" by Prof.
Henry +, Osborn. president of the
American Museum of Natural Ills
tory,