Los Angeles herald., 1908-01-14
PROMISES TO
PROVE HARRY
THA w MAD
ATTORNEYS SPEECH FULL OF
SURPRISES
WHITES RELATIONS TO EVELYN
ARE BARRED
Jcrome's Objection to Chorus Girls
Name Being Linked with That Of
Dead Architect Sustained
by Court
By Associated Press.

By Associated Press.
NEW YORK. Jan. 13-The Thaw trial
moved with a rush today.
After the state had presented it's direct
case and Assistant District Attorney Gar
van had characterized the killing of Stan
ford White as "a premedltated, delib-
crate and cowardiy murder" Martin w.
Littleton for the defense made the open
ing plea for the prisoner His promise
of new evidence was sensational and held
the supreme attention of all in the court
room.
Mr.. Littleton promised to forge g. chain
of circumstances and to produce a line
of testimony which will prove Harry K.
Thaw I'll deniably insane at the time OF
the homicide
Evidence of hereditary insanity and of
strange unusual acts of Thaw not even
limited at during the first trial was told
of by Mr.. Littleton, who said that phys
icians and nurses who hao attended Thaw
were hurrying mere from Europe; that
teachers of the defendant in childhood
would be on hand 10 give their i'm
pressions of the "wide-eyed,'' distant
boy"
Challenges Jerome
In conclusion Mr.. Littleton challenged
the district attorney to produce single
reputable physician who would say that
Thaw was not insane at the time he
killed the architect.
Mr.. Litt.eton's speech fairly bristled
with surprises Mr.. Jerome had his sur
prise to offer, too, and when Mr.. Littleton
started to launch into the relations OF
Stanford White with the girl whom Thaw
married the district attorney was on his
feet with an objection.
Justice Dowling sustained him and the
name of the architect was not linked
again with that of the defendants wife
Mr. Littleton touched but lightly upon the
girls story, as she told IL to Thaw but
| careful as he was on this point. he agar
drew an objection from the prosecuting
officer, who said:
| Mr.. Littleton Is now straying into {
| field of stun which, in my opinion, Will
be excluded"
Again Justice owling sustained the OBJ
| lection.
| 1t was reported at the beginning OF th'
trial that Mr.. Jerome would fight this fl
order to exclude the testimony ~ young
Mrs. Thaw. During Littleton's speech
Thaw sat wide-eyed and pallld, lookire g
fixedly at his counsel. Toward the close
he seemed rather displeased with some
thing that was said, and, leaning for
ward. scrubbed off note.
Mad, He Declares
Describing the killing of White. Mr..
Littleton said: "Thaws madness, born
and bred in him, had been set on by the
stories he had heard. He had gone to
the district attorney with them and to
Mr.. Comstock.
"They ran In ms head until, staggering
among the stairs of Madison Square
garden-yet not drunk-hs eyes burning
like two great Goals of fire, uT able in
telligently to answer questions put to
him, maniacal il the last degree-lost
as he was in Rome. in Monte Carlo and
In Iondon-the blind confusion of in
sanity overcame him and he fired.
THE result was not a murder, but the
act of a mad man, who afterward, wild
eyed and irrational, cried out in his cell
that he heard the voices of little children
calling, and proclaimed that he had but
acted as an agent Of Providence"
After his speech Mr Littleton was asked
in what maner he would attempt to prove
Thaw sane at the present time. If he Of.
fered such an accumulation of evidence
as to progressive insanity up to the time
of the killing.
'I can only say that I will cross my
bridges as I come to them. A man CAM
ride two horses going in opposite direc.
tions at the same time" he replied.
The first evidence for the defense, prob.
ably of a medical character, will be taker
tomorrow morning.
Mother vii Testify
Before the opening of court today A
Russell Peabody, attorney for Thaw
stated that no application for a com
mission to go to Pittsburg and take the
testimony of Mrs. William Thaw would
be made, as the defendants mother haC
ltelegraphed she would come to New Yorl
when needed. Mrs. Thaw is still very
sick, but the value of testimony as 6
personal recital rather than in the form
of a deposition has led the attorneys tC
abandon the latter proposition.
Thaw was called to the bar promptly
at 10 a. m. Within the next few minutes
| Assistant District Attorney Garvan ha6
begun the outlining of the case.
1.-THE defense in this case" said Mr.
Garvan, sis insanity. The material facts
are admitted. Insanity, let me assure
YOU, is not to be defined what you or
might think. 1t is not what physicians
or Neutrality-suspicious. may tell us or wha'
scientists or pseudo-scientists may de-
scribe. Insanity as we have to deal WITT
IL has been defined by the legislature Of
New York The law is wiser than we are
We must obey 1t and live under the law
That law says that the only persons
excused from criminal responsibility Is
he who is so deficient of reason that ne
does not know the nature or quality OF
his act, that the act is wrong. With this
dehni-.on and this definition alone If the
law 1 ask you to Judge all the acts o.
this defendant the night of June 20, l9Oo
which is the night on which he killee
Stanford White"
Mrs. Evelyn Thaw listened to the as
sistant prosecutors discussion OF the ac'
tual details of the tragedy with tense
drawn features. Josiah Thaw, brother
and Mrs. George Carnegie, the sister
completed the usual family group.
Thaw sat with eyes fixed upon the
prosecutor, his head rested upon his righi
hand.
After describing the killing Of White
Mr. Garvan declared in conclusion that
Judged by any court, the prosecution
CONTINUED on page two)