The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1908-01-16
EVIDENCE IN THE
MAHAN CASE
COMPLETED
Arguments in Murder Trial Now
in Progress
EXPERT TESTIMONY ENDED
Or. w. y. Upton Testifles That Ma.
han ls Sane and Was Sane
April 20.
EXPERT TESTIMONY ENDED

The evidence in the Alfred Mahan
murder case which began in county
court three weeks ago today and In
which the respondent is charged with
cutting the throat of his four-year-old
niece at North Bennington last April.
was concluded when court adjourned
this noon and the arguments have be-
gun.
DR.. w. j. Upton of st Adams, who
was on the stand when court ad-
iourned Wednesday afternoon continu.
ed his testimony this morning in re-
lation to the physical examination of
the respondent made by him May 2.
Alfred would not respond to questions
during the examination, had been cry.
Ing and did cry to a considerable ex-
tent. The physical examination dis
closed no organic trouble or deformity.
AT the time of Alfreds admission he
was In nervous condition and little
information could be obtained from
him. Gradually this condition wore
away and during the latter half of his
stay at the institution he would speak
Quite freely on ordinary topics for him.
His vocabulary was limited and usual
ly II he opened a conversation 1t was
generally in relation to something he
wanted. He was much depressed at
irst but gradually became more cheer
! tul and took more interest in his sur
roundings. AT all times he was quiet
and observed the regulations of the
hospital. Alfred had been seen look
ing at paper but the witness did
not think he was reading. He could
write single letters of the alphabet but
did not get all of them right. AS a
general thing 1t was difficult to get him
TO say much. In speaking of his home
he was unable to state in what county
he lived. He said that he had been
in the habit Of using five plugs Of to-
bacco a week and that he was In the
habit of drinking hard, particularly
Saturday and Sunday, for about two
years. He complained of Indigestion
and an inability to sleep. The reflex
action of the muscles of the foot and
knee found at the examination may
have seen the effect Of alcohol, hys.
terra or nervous condition. No in
dications of epilepsy were found In the
patient and in the opinion of the wit
ness the respondent is sane and that
he was sane on the day that he COM
mitted the crime.
Yesterday afternoon Dr. Shirres un.
der REORGANIZATION said that ner.
vous and historical or degenerate
parents often impaired the tendency
to their offspring, but that in more
cases the tendency of the offspring Is
toward Improvement He character.
lied Alfred Mahan as low type OF
degenerate and not able to carry out
any very complex line of thought.
Some of the physical characteristics
of the prisoner indicated degeneracy
For instance the two sides of his face
are dissimilar. the arch of his palate is
too high, his tendency to STOPPING with
out cause, and his feet not being
mates. He thought that his habit OF
talking to himself was not an indica.
ton of insanity. A habit of suddenly
stopping and looking around without
cause might be SYMPTOM of diseased
mind.
In reaching his conclusion that
Mahan was sane DR.. Shirres assumed
that the respondent was under the in
fiuence of alcohol on the day the
crime was committed. He had stated
in a previous conversation with coun
sci for the defence that should Mahan
be placed in an asylum he would de-
generate. If he were convinced that
the respondent had experienced q
well defined epileltic seizure within a
year II would modify his opinion.
Re-cross-examined by the attorney
general the specialist stated that had
he known the respondent had made q
confession he would never have writ
ten Mr.. Barber that the crime might
have been committed while the per
| petrator was irresponsible.
DR.. w. j. Upton of st Adams, until
recently first assistant at the asylum
/ for the insane at Waterbury where he
had observed for ten years an average
of 80 criminally insane patients each
day. He had observed Alfred Mahan
at the institution, talked to him al
some length on several occasions. He
summarized the charts in the respon
dents case for several months. When
he was first brought into the office he
was crying and no information could
be obtained from him. The physical
examination was made at Bennington
in May at the county Jail when nc
scars were found. At this point court
adjourned.
Cross-examined by Mr.. Barber the
witness testified that the respondent
was an inferior degenerate, that de
generacy is mental disease and that
Alfred was therefore afflicted with a
mental disease, but the witness diff
ferenciated between insanity and de
generacy. He did not consider Alfred
an imbecile but he possessed low de
gree of intelligence At the examina
ton in the jail' the difficulty observed
in the ankle indicated degeneracy Of
the cord that might be indicative Of
insanity, hysteria or extreme nervous
ness. When he came away from the
asylum he was In much better physi
cal condition than when entering the II
stitution, the charts showing that HI
gained IA pounds in weight. He hat
headaches during the first six week.
or two months that he was at the asy
lum and the chart summary shove,
that he cried daily from the time o
his admission to September 3. His re
plies to questions were very brief. Tn
excessive use of tobacco by man 9
his makeup would be expected to hal
ten degeneracy.
! A person in sub-conscious state hs