The San Francisco call., 1909-05-05
MOTHER OF HAMS
W[[PS ON STAND
Witness Sobs Throughout Tes-
timony Intended TO Save Life
of Her Son
Court Reprimands Expressions
OF Opinions and Hysterical
Outburst Ends Session

FLUSHING. n. Y. May Mrs. vir-
ginia Jenkins Hams. mother OF the de-
fendant, concluded her testimony this
afternoon, after trying and pathetic
ordeal in an effort to save her son.
Peter C. Hains Jr., on trial for the
murder of William E. Annis.
Now that the father. mother and two
brothers OF Captain Hains have testi-
fed, the trial will soon reach the
"alienist stage" The hypothetical
question in regard to Captain Hams
sanity. which Will be submitted to the
alienists, contains 10 900 words.
The testimony of Mrs Hains, who is
50 years old, made the most dramatic
incident of the trial so far. She sobbed
throughout her direct examination by
John F. Mcintyre, chief counsel for
the defense. and when District Attor-
ney Dewitt started his cross examina>'
tion the strain proved too much for
her.
MOTHER NOT RECOGNIZED
Mrs. Hams. appearing quite feeble.
glanced at Captain Hams as she was
assisted to the witness stand, but there
d = II
fendant's face Mrs. Hams hair is
almost white She spoke distinctly but
appeared little nervous when she
began her testimony.
Mrs Hains said she had been sub
ject to dizzy spells for several years
previous to her sons birth. She told
how Captain Hams suffered from night
mare when he was and years Old,
and of the accident when her son, at
~ af oil fhp hatch
way of the lighthouse tender Pharos
She said her son suffered from severe
headaches for long time afterward
The mothers voice trembled and
tears came into her eyes as she told
of this accident. and she turned and
looked at Justice Garretson-
You are doing very we'll" he said,
reassuringly.
SHOCK AFFECTS MEMORY
Coming down to June. 1908, Mcintyre
asked the witness to tell the jury how
her son looked and acted when he Wis
tied her home in Washington.
II can not. You must know / have
had an awful shock. and L can not re-
member anything, as in other days, re-
piled Mrs. Hams.
The court encouraged her to do her
best and sobbing quietly she said:
He looked so worn and tired and
haggard when he first came into the
house. and dazed, as if he did not know
where he was. He did not pay any at
tention to me until ] threw my arms
around his neck. Then he said. Isn't II
awful? Wife and home and my little
children are all ruined.
COURT WARNS WITNESS
Mrs. Hams persisted in injecting ir-
relevant Impressions into her testimony.
and Judge Garretson cautioned her not
to do so.
Under cross examination by Dewitt
Mrs. Hams broke down completely and
had to be excused from the stand She
was led sobbing from the courtroom as
Justice Garretson ordered a short re-
cess.
After recess, in the midst of her
story of how Peter would walk about
the house reciting the first verse of
Kipling's Vampire. and then suddenly
break out singing and crying alter
nately, Justice Garretson again eau
toned the witness not to state merely
her own Impressions and ordered some
of her testimony stricken out.
This was too much for Mrs. Hams,
and she broke down and sobbed for sew
eral minutes. Some of the jurors
seemed much affected.
Mrs. Hains later said she was posi-
tive Peter was insane when he was in
Washington and again at Fort HamiI-
ton. where she had many conversations
with him.
| The witness broke down again and
court was adjourned until tomorrow.