The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-01-29
District Attorney Relies Upon Lay Witnesses to Show
 ThaW Is Sane
CASE WILL 60 ID JURY
 EARLY FRIDAY MORNING
Attorney Martin w. LittIeton Will Take One Day For His Speech and Same Time Will Be Given
 the District Attorney.

New York, January 2S-With no attempt on the part of the state to combat 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 morning Martin w. Littleton will begin his plea for the defendant and is expected to oc- cupy both morning and afternoon ses- sion with his summing up argument. Dis trict Attorney Jerome will speak on Thursday. He has promised to be brief and if his address should not extend be- yond the morning, Justice Bowling will hand the case over to the jury on Thurs day afternoon. The court announced, however, that he probably would not de- liver his charge until Friday morning.
 Contrary to his policy of last year. when he called nine experts in insanity to the witness chair, this year MT. Jerome utterly ignored the scientific phase of the rebuttal case. He produced several eye witnesses to the tragedy and several po- lice officers who handled Thaw the night of the homicide, and placed on record their opinion that the defendants acts and manner were rational. Under agree ment of counsel the testimony given by Abraham Hummel at the last .rial was read to the jury, and the Thaw will was admitted in evidence without further proof as to it's custody during the six months following the shooting of Stand ford White.
 Hummei Affidavit.
 The affidavit alleged to have been made by Evelyn Nesbit in HummePs office, charging Thaw with cruelty and attempt ing 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 read.
 MT. Jeromes elimination of expert testi- mony from the rebuttal case occasioned much talk. Based upon his assertions of last year that Thaw was an incurable pa- ranoac rumor had 1t that the prosecutor might not be displeased with a verdict of not guilty on the ground of insanity with an ensuing committal of Harry Thaw to the asylum for the criminal insane at Matteawan. Throughout the trial, how ever, MT. Jerome has attempted to belit- tie 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 tenn per, which desirved s'spanking," as he expressed it, rather than scientific dis cussion. He has attempted to discredit the outbreaks in later life with the sug- gestion that they were the result of too much drink and nothing more.
 That the prosecutor will ridcule the ex- pert testimony is generally agreed. Hav- ing no experts of his own, he has free hand in that direction this year MT. Je- rome's move today also frustrated plan of the defense to call in sur-rcbuttal sev- eral of the experts who testified against Thaw at his last trial, but MT. Jerome switched to the appointment of a lunacy commission, made affidavits setting forth the opinion that Thaw was so insane as to be incapable of understanding the na- ture of the proceedings against him or of intelligently advising with counsel.
 LittIeton's Reliance.
 MT. Littleton in his argument, which is expected to be an eloquent but straight forward presentation of the facts, will contend that the prosecution has failed to shake the case of insanity built up bv the defense. He will again call attention to the law, and the burden of proof 1t place upon the state, in case where in- sanit is pleaded as bar to responsibIl- ity fir a criminal act. He will contend. and will ask Justice Bowling to carefully instruct the jury on the point, that once the defense has produced evidence of in- sanity, 1t becomes the duty of the prose- n Ia of sanity. In other words, Mr. Littleton will ask for an acquittal unless the jurors are convinced that every reasonable doubt as to Thaw being Insane at the time of committing the homicide has been re- moved by the states case. MT. Littleton has made no claim of present sanity for Thaw. In fact, the experts for the de- fense have testified that in 'maniac-de- pressive" insanity, the diagnosis now ap- piled to Thaws- condition of mind, the patient is very apt to have attacks of in- frequency and violence.
 Conference of Counsel.
 Before the Spening of the states case in rebuttal in the Thaw case today there was a conference of counsel, having as its object the arrangement of a. compromise as to admitting cer- tain evidence-principall the copy of Evelyn Nesbit's affidavit supposed to have been made in A. H. Hummell's office. District Attorney Jerome of fered to let in Harry Thaw's will by consent if MT. Littleton would admit the affidavit. This arrangement would do away with the necessity of taking Hummalls testimony on Blackwell Island, and would also hasten the con- clusion of the case. No agreement had | been announced, however, when the morning proceedings were taken up.
 The state began by calling several eye-witnesses to the tragedy, who de- >~.~-~~~~~~r~~-~-~s~-~~
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