Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1908-01-28
THAN TRIAL WILL Be
CONCLUDED THURSDAY
Defense Placed lis Last Expert
Witness on Insanity on The
Stand Yesterday.
ENGLISH DOCTOR SPRINGS NEW one
Thaw Suffers From Manic Depres-
sivc Insanity" and After Justice
Downing Has Asked Many Questions
He Finds Out Something About It.
Hypothetical Question Long One,
my Associated Press.

NEW YORK. Jan. 27.-Thc Thaw
defense closed It's case 20 day villa
manic Oppressive insanity" rs the en-.
planation of The death of Stanford
White at the hands OF the young
Pittshurg man.
Tomorrow tho prosecution will he
gin it's evidence in robuttal and the
case should 20 20 the jury by We'd
ncsday night or Thursday noon.
District Attorney .eromc rcfrained
from his tactics of last year in bait
ing the expert witnesses for the de.
tense. three of whom-Drs. Wagner
Evans and Jelliffc-- declared that
rhaw at tho time of the killing of
White. was suffering such defect OF
reason as not to know the nature or
quality OF his act or that the act was
wrong.
The prosecutor contcnted himself
fact that last year they sworc it was
during brain storm that Thaw COM
mitted the homicide. He also read
from the affidavit by DR.. Wagner be-
tore the lunacy commission last year
giving conventions he had with
Thaw in court which tended to show
that the defendant had distinct recol-
lection of occurances on the root gar.
den Immediately proceeding the ira
gedy.
Justice Bowling Wants to Know.
1t was left to Justice Bowling to
make most important inquiry of the
al!enists. He desired TO know tho ex.
act nature OF nic-depresslva" in.
sanity, and il the attacks were likely
to recur. He also asked il person
suffering from this form of insanity
would be likely 10 commit assaults
He learned that II was reccurrent
form of mental disorder. the tatacks
coming suddenly and without warning
Il period OF insanity being followed by
n maniacal outlnrst. then being pc
Rod of complete depression and then
another lucid interval. 1t seemeu
that the presiding Judge was securing
information upon which to predicate
judicial action III the event of YER
dict OF not guilty on the ground OF
insanity or n straight acquittal
An English physician, one of three
foreign men Of medicine who testified
today. first gave the name of manic
Oppressive" or "sub-acrte manic" TO
Thaw's mental condition.
DIR. Russell Wells of London made
the diagnosis during an outbreak by
Thaw in London in 1899 when with n
normal temperature Thaw demanded
that the walls of mis- room in nurs.
ing home he torn down so that he
might have air and that twenty tons
of ice be kept in the apartment TO cool
it.
Long Hypothetical Question.
Mr.. Littleton's Hypothetical question
which was put to the three experts
was Il resume of the evidence with the
exception. as District Attorney Jerome
pointed out. Of the testimony of James
Clinch Smith, brothcr.in-law of Stan
! ford White. who talked with 4. Jaw for
fifteen minutes just before the shoot
Ing on the roof OF Madison Square
| Garden.
The question contained some 10000
words.
DR. John Bingham was called as
the first witness today.
Il have known Harry Thaw since
lchildhOod.' said the witness. lie
was about three years old wlcr first
attended him He was ver.. ner-
vous. The first time saw him ne
Was recovering from commissions"
! Dr. Bingham described the symp-
toms of Harry Thaw ut this period
and later in his life. He said he also
knew Mrs. lIirsch one of Harry's ma
tcrnal aunts: said she was an epi.
lcpic and died in an insane asylum.
District Attorney Jerome. on cross
examination. developed the fact that
Harry Thaw at one time suffered
from 81. Vitus' dance, the attack last
ing several weeks.
DIR. Russell Wells. the first Of The
foreign physicians. was thei. called.
In voice scarcely audible to the jury
the physician said he had been lrac-
ticing In Londan for fifteen years. He
first saw rhaw in January. 1899. when
Thaw called on him at his home
tnext saw him ut Clardgc's Hetel.,
said Or. Wells. ION July IL, 1899. |
examined him and found that liz was
lexcitcd; that his Gonvcrsaticn was not
consistent; that his pulse WAS beating