Evening star., 1908-01-12
CHILDREN IN A PANIC TO BARE THAWS LIFE
Fatal Stampede in English Insanity Defense May Harrow
Playhouse. Up the Defendant.
SIXTEEN PEOPLE KILLED PLAN OF Mr.. LITTLETON
Forty Others Were Injured Some Will Expose the Hidden in
of Them Fatally the Family Blood.
NO REASON DISASTER MORE EUROPEAN ESCAPADEs
HallW Has Some
Move Some of Other Spicy
the Spectators n
Insanity Defense May Harrow
Up the Defendant.
PLAN OF Mr.. LITTLETON
Will Expose the Hidden Taint in
the Family Blood.
MORE EUROPEAN EsCAPADEs
Said That the Defense Has Some
Other Spicy Surprises Held
In Reserve.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, January 11-When Mar.
tin W. Littleton makes his opening speech
to the jury. outlining the evidence the
defense will produce to show that Harry
Thaw was insane when he shot Stanford
White. 1t is expected that Thaw will hear
a history of himself and his family that
the tendency in his family to insanity
Mr.. Littleton will probably make his
opening address on Tuesday, the general
belief being that 1T will take about a day
At the first trial there was an evident
desire, said to be the wish of Mrs. Viii
liam Thaw and Thaws sister. the Coun-
tess of Yarmouth, to keep Ear away
from the hereditary taint in the Thaw
family. But this time Thaw apd his
family are not to be spared. Mr.. Little
ton intends. it Is understood to bring out
everything in the Thaw family history
and the incidents in Thaws boisterous
career in this country and Europe. for
the purpose of showing that he was not
of sound mind. and that the life he led
could not but unbalance q mind al
ready weak. There will be no reference
to the higher law, emotional insanity or
"dementia Americana" but just plain
insanity defense. with no attempt on the
part OF Mr.. Littleton to go into any
thing that happened after Thaw shot
White on the Madison roof garden.
Follies While Abroad.
No emphasis will be laid on brainstorms
or any unusual forms of insanity. 1t
will be plain case of progressive insan-
ity reaching a climax when Thaw shot
White. Thaw's life from the time of his
birth will be sketched by Mr.. Littleton
in manner which the jury will have no
trouble In understanding. Mr.. Littleton
will tell the jury that few months be-
fore the birth of Thaw his mother smoth-
cred another child in bed, and that Ii had
such an effect on her that she was nerv-
Gus and irrational, and that for some time
after Thaw's birth he had commissions
Mr.. Littleton will point out acts Of eccen-
trio behavior on Thaw's part, both in
Pittsburg and this city and in Europe.
even before he met Evelyn Nesbit. 1t is
understood that Mr.. LittIeton has wit
nesses who will tell of these acts, the
idea being that every one of them will go
10 SHOW lHdI no person VINO was rational
would do the things that Thaw did.
More Of Evelyn's Story.
The meeting of Thaw with Evelyn Mes
bit and the story of their trip abroad
before they were married will not be left
out Mr.. Littleton may even bring in
some things that the prosecution made no
reference to at the last trial. OF course,
the story that Evelyn Nesbit told Thaw in
Paris about her relations with White will
not be left out, and Mr.. L.ttleton will con-
tent that the condition Of Thaw's mind
was such then that this story could easily
have developed in him tendency to
homicidal mania. Nothing that happened
after the marriage that has any bear
ing on the insanity defense will be left
out by Mr. Littleton. He will say as
Thaw's mind became more enfebled he
employed detectives to shadow White and
then White got detectives to follow Thav.
and the detectives bled both men. In the
wind-up both men were in fear of each
other
Defense Has Plans, Too.
1t is promised that the defense will pro-
duce evidence at this trial that will be
more sensational than any that came
out at the last. Just what this evidence
is the lawyers refuse to disclose al.
though 1t is limited that it will be spicy.