Evening journal., 1908-12-26
SHAY PRESENTS
HAMS DEFENSE
Court Refuses Motion to Dis
miss Indictment Against
Prisoner
CASE MAY GO TO
JURY NEXT WEEK

BY United Press Leased Special Wire.
FLUSHING. l.. l.. Dec. 26-Thornton J.
Hams. on trial for the murder Of William
Il. Annis, was in cheerful mood when
he was brought here to-day for the re-
sumption Of his trial before Justice Crane
and jury.
1t was decided to make the first real
fight as soon as the state finished with
the two witnesses Crane had given them
permission to call to-day. So Attorney
Young prepared an elaborate argument TO
present to the court, asking for dis
missal Of the Indictment
George Bolton. an attache of the dis
trict attorneys office, testified to numer-
Gus attempts to serve john Tonning, the
missing boatman with subpoenas in the
case. lie said so far as he could learn,
Tonning had gone to Sweden.
This completed the peoples case and the
court took up the motions to dismiss the
indictment, District Attorney Darrin OBJ
jecting. A technical legal argument fol-
lowed. Justice Crane interrupting and
declaring there was no need of wasting
the time of the court
After the argument was completed, JUS
tice Crane denied the motion, the defense
excepting Mcintyre again pleaded for fur
ther delay until Monday before opening
for the defense.
In his ruling Justice Crane made what
the prosecution considered an important
point in his favor. He said:
II ruled against you as a proposition Of
law I rule that the defendant may be
found guilty Of murder in the first degree
although the man who actually fired the
shot may be found not-guilty or even in
sane. a man may be guilty Of a crime
committed by lunatic. In other words
man cannot commit a crime hidden be-
hind another persons insanity"
Shay Opens For Defense.
Following the denial of the motion,
Joseph a. Shay presented the opening
! address
After paying tribute to his belief in the
integrity Of the jury, shay especially
criticised Special Attorneys White and
Dayton and declared there was no war
rant of law for their appearance in the
case. lie declared they had been engaged
by fries-ls Of Annis for motives purely
of revenge and they had carefully pre-
pared the evidence because OF motive,
OF personal revenge and ambition"
eve propose to show that when Thorn
ton Hams left his homo on the 18th day
of August 1905 he had no thought OF
going to Bayside and this defendant had
no more idea that the deceased would be
found at that place than that he would
find there his own deceased wife four
years before We will show he had nc
knowledge his brother had revolver
and cartridges and that he never saw
that revolver until the instant of the
shooting. He tried to prevent the killing
and was as much horror-stricken and
astonishcd at what took place as were
any of the people upon the float on the
day in question. The brother Captain
Peter c. Hains. who accompanied this
, defendant on that eventful day. was
mentally unbalanced and we propose tc
show you the causes which led to and
created that condition of mind"
} Shay took up Cap.ain Hams mental
/. condition: referring to his marriage. his
love for his wife and his being ordered
70 the Philippines, and then told Of the
circumstances which had prompted the
shooting,
Justice Crane interrupted Shay tc
make a stringent ruling against bringing
into the case the relations said to have
existed between Mrs Hams and William
T. Anns. declaring the truth or falsity OF
their relations had no bearing on the
case.
The case may go to the jury next
week.