The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1908-01-31
NO EXPERTS CALLED
Jerome Ignores Scientific Tes.
timony In Thaw Case.
ALL EVIDENCE is SUBMITTED

] -
Attorney Littleton Mill Next Begin
His Plea for the Aequlttal Of the De.
fsndant--Dlstrict Attorneys Action
Causes Much Speculation.
New York, Jan. 29.-With no at
tempt on the part of the state to COM
bat with scientific testimony the claim
Of insanity urged in behalf of Harry
X. Thaw, the taking of evidence IN
the second hearing Of the Madison
Square Garden murder trial ended.
Martin w. Littleton next will begin
his plea for the defendant, and is ex-
pected to occupy an entire day with
his summing up argument. District
Attorney Jerome will next speak. he
has promised to be brief and Justice
Bowling may hand the case over to
the Jury on Thursday afternoon. The
court announced, however, that he
probably would not deliver his charge
until Friday morning.
Contrary to his policy OF last year,
when he called nine experts on In
sanity to the witness chair, Mr.. Je-
rome this year utterly ignored the
sciSntific phase of the rebuttal case.
He produced several eyewitnesses to
the tragedy and several police officers
hn nf4ht of the
homicide and placed on record their
opinion that the defendants acts and
manner were rational. Under agree
ment of counsel the testimony given
by Abraham Hummel at the last trial
was read to the jury. and the Thaw
will was admitted in evidence with
out further proof as to its custody
during the six months following the
shooting Of Stanford White. The af-
fidayit alleged to have been made by
Evelyn Nesbit in Hummel's office,
charging Thaw with cruelty and at
tempting falsely to place the Nesbit
girl's downfall upon Stanford White.
also was admitted by Justice Bowling
and then the case, SO far as testimony
was concerned, was at an end.
Mr.. Jerome's elimination of expert
testimony from the rebuttal case occa-
stoned much talk. Based upon his
assertions of last year that Thaw was
an incurable .paranoiac, rumor had IT
that the prosecutor might not be dis
pleased with verdict of not guilty on
the ground of insanity with an ensuing
commital OF Harry Thaw to the
asylum for the criminal insane at
Matteawan Throughout the trial,
however, Mr.. Jerome has attempted
to belittle and discredit all testimony
having to do with Thaw's irrationality.
Merely Fits Of Temper.
He has attempted to show that the
youthful outbursts of the defendant
were fits of temper which deserved a
spanking" as he expressed 1t, rather
than scientific discussion. He has at
tempted to discredit the outbreaks In
later life with the suggestion that they
were the result of too much drink and
nothing more. That the prosecutor
will ridicule the expert testimony Is
generally agreed. Having no experts
Of his own, he has free hand in that
direction this year.
Mr.. Jerome's latest move also frus-
trated a plan of the defense to call In
surrebuttal several of the experts who
testified against Thaw at his last trial,
but who, when Mr.. Jerome switched
to the appointment of lunacy COM
mission, made aff1dayits setting forth
the opinion that Thaw was so insane
a. to be incapable of understanding
the nature of the proceedings against
him or of intelligently advising with
counsel "a III # +
Mr.. Littleton, In his argument,
which Is expected to be an eloquent
but straightforward presentation Of
the facts, will contend that the prose-
cution has failed to shake the case of
insanity built up by the defense. He
will again call attention to the law
and the burden Of proof 1t places up
on the state in q case where insanity
Il pleaded as a bar to responsibility
for criminal act. He will contend
and will ask Justice Bowling to care
fully instruct the jury on the point,
that once the defense has produced
evidence of insanity 1t becomes the
duty of the prosecution to remove
every reasonable doubt of insanity. In
other words, Mr.. Littleton will ask for
an acQuittsl unless the Jurors are con.
WINGED that every reasonable doubt as
to Thaw being insane at the time OF
committing the homicide has been re
moved by the states case. Mr.. Lit.
tleton has made no claim of present
sanity for Thaw. In fact, the ex
ports for the defense have testified
that In "rnanic.depressive" insanity
the diagnosis now applied to Thaw's
condition OF mind, the patient is very
apt to have attacks of increasing fire.
Quency and violence.
Laundry Building Burned.
nAfroit Ton oQ-Tho Do ricion loun