The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-02-06
INSANITY PLEA
 IN SMITH CASE Surprise Sprung In Trial of Smith At Columbus MEDICAL EXPERTS ON HAND Testimony Is Introduced By the De- fense to Show That Brother of the
 Defendant Was Sent to
 Insane Asylum.
MEDICAL EXPERTS ON HAND

l Charles R. Smith, the wealthy Iowndes | county planter, who is being tried on 1 the charge of murdering Eugene A. Laurent at Artesia, Miss, at 9:45 this morning and after a thirty minutes recess the defense began endeavoring to establish a clear-cut case of insan- ity throughout many members of generations of the Smith family. While the insanity plea was not at all unexpected. especially was it gen. orally believed to be the defense that | Smith would offer since the introduc- ton of experts on insanity who were sworn in yesterday morning and placed | under the rule; yet the straightout plea of insanity being thrust upon the public right at the very beginning of their side of the case was surprise Following the somewhat sensational statements of the witnesses yesterday, many of whom testified that Laurent called to the defendant several times in the baggage room just after he was shot the first time in the leg and said "Oh, MT Smith, please don't kill me" and the seeming desire of the defense to clear the memory of Laurent by asking many of the state witnesses on cross examination. Was not the con duct of Laurent especially deferential toward ladies, that was his reputation was it not?' there was no doubt but that the state had made an unusually strong case against the defendant.
 Big Crowd on Hand. Court convened this morning at g o'clock. Over a score of women rela- tives of the, defendant sat within the railing His daughter, Miss Estelle Smith. the woman in the case?" sat by his side and on his left sat his brother, R. E. Smith of sherman, Tex. known as The Alfalfa King" His several other broth CTS were in different parts of the court house. Every avail able seat was filled. The crowd was even larger than it was Thursday.
 Mrs. Edward Laurent. mother, and Mrs R. J. Draughon, sister, of Nash vile were present in court again this morning. Many times during the testi- mony of the conductor on the Mobile and Ohio who witnessed the entire shooting affray she would sob con
 
 and sorrow were keen. The younger brother Joseph Laurent, was with his mother and sister.
 Pruitt's Testimony. S. B. Pruitt, freight conductor on the Mobile and Ohio railroad, was the first | witness this morning. He was at Ar tesla the afternoon of the shooting. Was standing in front of the depot and a man ran into him. This man he aft erwards learned was Laurent. The man was trying to escape from another man. whom he afterwards learned was Smith, Said Laurent lodged behind MT. Rogers with Smith close behind him and then ran to the left inside the baggage room. He said as he got in the baggage room Laurent tried to 1 close the door. Smith came into the room before he could shut it and fired ] the first shot This was the shot that hit Laurent in the left leg. Witness said that Laurent then cried. "Oh Lord, please don't shoot me-" After Laurent l fell upon the floor Smith went close to l him. put the pistol close to his head and then fired twice.
 Character Witness.
 A. w Reynolds of Starkville. Miss. cotton buyer, was introduced as character witness. He stated he had known Laurent for several years and knew him to be an exemplary young i gentleman. On cross-eXamination the defense brought Laurent's splendid character into still further relief by asking witness, "Laurent's conduct was | especially good in the presence of ladies and was all that a southern gentleman could be- was he not?" The answer was, Tt was"
 The Rev. T. H. Dorsey of West Point Miss, testified that Laurent had attended his church for the past IA months He spoke splendidly of the dead man.
 T. J. Kennedy of West Point was an other character witness and substantiated the testimony already introduced rela- tive to the habits and conduct of the l dead man.
 The defense opened with l.. ". Smith | over 80 years old, from Noxubee county, | Miss who is an uncle to the defendant His brother was John smith, the father of the defendant, Ed, Charles, Elbridge and Penn Smith. Ed Smith, witness | stated, was examined and found to be | insane Sent to asylum at Meridian Miss, In 1ss0 He died in 1894 Once | witness went to see Ed Smith while he i was at Meridian. Said he would evade b'-e ---reeraver possible and did not seem to want to talk to any members of his
 said he was especially violent i towards his own father.
 MT. Witherspoon conducted the exam ination for the defense.
 Afternoon Session.
 The defendant was sworn and took the ] witness chair when court convened at 2 o'clock immediately after the noon re- cess. The defense requested that the slienists Dr. Buchanan and Dr. w. w. Hamilton of Meridian and Dr. E. D.. Bondurant of Mobile. who were placed un- der the rule yesterday, be brought into court so they might hear the testimony of Smith After an hours wait the ex- perts arrived and narrowly escaped, the court said, being fined a hundred dollars. Only the fact that they had not been subpoenaed saved them. They were given seats directly in front of the wit ness.
 During the walt for the experts, the defendant sat in the chair looking straight out into the audience, his heavy level eyebrows somewhat contracted and the
 ordinarily stern expression of countenance made sterner still by the nervous tension , under which he evidently labored He
 stroked his mustache rapidly but his hearing on the whole showed the same . determination which has always charac- z terized the man. MT. Smith said he lived three miles southeast of Artesia. and , stated his age as 53 years Replying to . questions by Witherspoon, ''Yes. I killed
 E. A. Laurent because he debauched and
 ruined my daughter, I know it because
 she told me SO He destroyed my life.'