River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1909-08-19
.THAW WILL APPEAL
MOTHERS WEALTH WILL BACK
SLAYER IN NEW FIGHT
FOR LIBERTY.
GOES BACK TO MATTEAWAN
Justice Mills Declares Stanford
Whites Murderer Is Still Insane
Declares Wife's Story FaIse-Be-
lieves Prisoner Whipped Girls.

White Plains, n. Y.-Backed by his
mothers great wealth, Harry X. Thaw,
who was taken back to the Matteawan
insane asylum under the decision rem
dered Thursday by Justice Mills, will
soon begin another fight for his liber-
ty, this time in the court of appeals.
Justice Mills in dismissing the
habeas corpus declared 'the release
of the petitioner would be dangerous
to the public peace and safety"
There is no crumb of comfort for
Thaw in the 7,000-word opinion hand
ed down by Justice Mills. All the
contentious of his old adversary, Dis
trict Attorney Jerome are supported,
and it is declared that Thaw is still
insane, still suffering from persistent
delusions, and still as much para
noiac as on the day he shot Stanford
White.
Thaw, waiting in the White Plains
Jail, at the rear of the courthouse,
where the decision was fled received
the news with an outward calmness
which appeared, however, more forced
than real.
The members of his family and his
attorney seemed stunned by the thor
oughness of their defeat. Thaw de-
clined to give out any extended state
ment, contenting himself with the as
sertion that he was not disheartened
and would at once continue his fight
for liberty.
my next effort" he said, twill be
centered upon the court of appeals
through which I expect to secure a
hearing before jury in my effort to
have my commitment to Matteawan
set aside"
Justice Mills in his opinion reaches
these three formal conclusions:
That Thaw was insane when he
killed White.
That he has not yet recovered.
That public peace and safety would
be endangered by setting him at
large.
He upholds District Attorney Je-
rome's contentious that Thaw still
cherishes delusions regarding the
practices of Stanford White and his
associates.
Justice Mills characterizes Evelyn
Thaw's tale of the Madison Square
tower room, and similar stories about
White told at the sanity hearing, as
wild and grossly improbable, evident
ly to any normal mind grossly exag-
gerated."
a he h in
mony of Susan Merrill regarding
Thaw's alleged whipping of girls, and
points out the contrast between
Thaw's chivalrous attitude as pro-
tector of young American womanhood,
and his private life.
Justice Mills expressed deep sym
pathy for Mrs. Mary Copley Thaw,
the prisoners mother, and her exposi-
ton of the horrors of Matteawan"
on the stand evidently prompted his
recommendation that Thaw be al
lowed greater privileges at that insti-
tuition. At the same time he gently
chided Mrs. Thaw for her censure of
District Attorney Jerome, of whom
he said: II find no evidence of any
HSdI ClSSSuSSS VI uuuu0 zeal Oh MS
part"
Not the least significant sentence in
Justice Mills decision, in the opinion
of lawyers here, is one which de-
clares that Thaw's delusions had be-
come fixed and established before the
time of his marriage"
It is pointed out that this sentence
may, if desired, prove grounds for pro-
ceedings by Mrs. Evelyn Thaw for the
annulment of her marriage.