Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-01-06
THAW'S SECOND TRIAL
Slayer of Stanford White Begins
 Another Fight For Life.
CARAVAN HAS NEW EVIDENCE.
Jerome May Try to Prevent Prisonsr's Wife Repeating Story. She Told on First Trial of Murdered Architects Alleged III Treatment of Her.


 Wife Repeating Story, She Told on First Trial of Murdered Architects Alleged III Treatment of Her. New York, Jan. 6.--Straight for verdict of murder in tbe first degree, District Attorney Jerome, it is said on authority, will head the prosecution in the case of Harry K. Thaw, which was called today before Justice Dowl- ing in the criminal branch of the su- preme court. There will be no efforts on the part of the district attorney to show that Thaw is paranoiac and that he ought to be committed to an asylum for the criminal insane.
 Jerome wasted many days of the first trial in trying to show Thaw was insane. Finally Jerome succeeded in having lunacy commission appointed, but the commission decided that TEaw was sane. When Justice Fitzgerald accepted the opinion of the commis- sion Jerome threatened to take the question to higher court. He was advised by other lawyers that the ap. peal would be fruitless, and then hs appealed to the jury for a conviction. When Thaw came into court today 1t was reported that Jerome will attempt this time to bar the testimony of Mrs. Evelyn Nesbit Thaw, wife of the ac. cused man. At the first trial this tes. timony was allowed to go before tho jury with the consent of the district attorney, who said the precedent set in the case of the state against Wood seemed to cover the matter.
 Several criminal lawyers of promb hence in their profession have argued the point with Mir. Jerome recently and have urged him to oppose this line of testimony at the trial about to be- gin. These attorneys declare a vital principle of law is involved and that 1t should go to the highest courts for determination.
 Mir. Jerome has given no definite an- swer to these men, and he may feel impelled to consent to another recital of Mrs. Thaw's story to prevent an ap. pearance of inconsistency with his course a year ago. But the represents tions made to him as to the importance to the community at large of testing the legality of such testimony have been unusually strong. Many of the prosecuting officers closest friends would not be surprised if he should rise in his place when Mrs. Thaw is called as a witness and contend against the admissibility of her testimony. Young Mrs. Thaw was allowed to testify at the first trial upon the theory that it was her story, told to Thaw in Paris in 1903, two years before their marriage, that planted the seed of tenn porary insanity in his brain. The pros- | ecution was not allowed to test the truth or falsity of the story, the court rule being that. regardless of its truth. the issue had to do solely with the effect upon the defendants mind. Mir. Jerome offered witnesses who, he declared. would contradict certain of the girl-wife's statements, but they were not allowed to be heard. The prosecution had it's only recourse in a severe cross examination. but even this was allowed only as means of testing the credibility of the witness in a gen. eral way.
 Already the rule laid down in the Thaw case has served as precedent fin another. A former judge in Virginia recently shot and killed a young man | against whom his daughter had made charges. The young woman admitted that she had not told her father the truth, but he was acquitted on the ground that her story. true or false. had had the effect of infiaming the parents mind to a degree of insanity. The presiding judge followed the rule set down in the Thaw case.
 The lawyers who have approscn- NIT. Jerome on the subject are inclined to the opinion that there are vital dlf- ferences between the Thaw case and that of Wood, which served as a pre- cedent at the trial before Judge Fits gerald. The difference pointed out Is 1 that, in the Thaw case, the killing did not occur until three years after the recital which is alleged to have melted the deed. Some lawyers say the differ- ence is just as vital as that which ths law makes in various degrees of mur. der-a homicide committed in the heat of passion being widely distinguished from a cooIly planned and deliberats one.
 Assistant District Attorney Garvan spent several months abroad last sum- mer and covered much of the ground included in the travels of Harry Thaw and Evelyn Nesbit during the two trips abroad which preceded their marriage. ! The district attorney seemed last year . to have every detail of the young wo- mans life at command. but it is said that this year he will be able 10 con front her with incidents of the Euro pean trips not hinted at in the first hearing.
 
 Hartje Again Beaten ln Suit