The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1909-04-14
NO EMOTIONAL
INSANITY SAYS
1H|s...A!!! |! !!!EN|sT
Loop Hole for Escape Of De-
praved Criminals Closed
by an Expert
S0NsBY WAS NOT CRAZY WHEN
He SHOT CHARLES FlTzGERALO

While His Mother was Insane BE.
fore He Was Born, This Did Not
Establish Insanity in Him.
Jackson, Miss, April 14.-If the
Jury which has heard the testimony
in the trial of w. A. Sorsby for the
shooting down of Charles Fitzgerald
at the Clinton depot on the evening OF
September 20 last. adopts the plea
Of temporary insanity as the immedt-
ate actuating cause Of the act of mur-
der. It will be to fly in the face Of the
only alienist and expert testimony on
insanity and the incidents involved
Immediately before and after the
shooting. The last material witness
es for the state who were on the
stand in rebuttal today were DR.. j.
NJ. Buchanan, superintendent of the
East Mississippi Insane Hospital. Me-
ridian, and the veteran DR.. 7. j.
Mitchell, who for the past thirty years
has been connected with the state
hospital here as superintendent. DR..
Buchanan was introduced and decid-
ed it as his conviction. after hearing
all the testimony for each side, that
Will Sorsby was perfectly sane at the
time that he shot Fitzgerald. and that
he is sane at the present time. The
doctor gave his replies to the inter-
rogatories briefly, clearly and empha..
tically. with an undisturbed air OF
conviction. A number of hypothetical
questions were put to him in cross
examination, none of which had the
effect of shaking his testimony In
chief. The witness was quite positive
that there is no such thing as inherit
ed insanity, though it is frequently
known that a predisposition toward a
form of malady Is shown in the pro-
Reny of the mentally afflicted, that be-
ing the result of his personal experi-
ence extending over a considerable
period Of years. E
No Emotional Insanity.
To practically the same effect was
the testimony Of DIR. Mitchell. who
was the first witness Of the afternoon.
During his experience he had had oc-
casion to observe between 1000 and
5000 persons afflicted with insanity,
and naturally had made psychological
pIuCClS0 q 6Iuuys k4lI0l AOoAlAE cAA
the testimony preceding, and assum-
ing everything offered in evidence as
to the details of the tragedy, he had
seen no indication according to any
thing known to science to indicate in
sanity on the part of w. A. Sorsby,
either before, at the time of or since
the tragedy. AS to emotional insanity
the witness declared that there was
nothing recognized as such by the
scientists, and certainly nothing had
been shown in this case. Another
point made by the state in the exam
ination OF DR.. Mitchell, was that 1t
does not necessarily follow that in
cases of insanity or mental derange-
ment Of the mother during pregnancy
the same malady is inherited by the
infant born subsequently. This phase
had been strongly brought out by the
defense, and was testified to on the
stand by the mother of the defendant
herself
The balance Of the testimony dur
ing the day was largely cumulative to
show the nationality of the young
man as he had appeared to his inti-
mates during his career and imme-
diately at the time Of the act which
precipitated the unfortunate condi-
tion in which he finds himself today,
and which seriously affects those near
ani dear to him.
The testimony was all in and both
sides rested shortly before o'clock
and were requested by the court to
have their instructions, which in Mis-
sissippi jurisprudence are equivalent
to charge from the bench. in his
hands by Monday morning, and the
worst part Of this narrowing trial
xas over.
Every inch Of space, sitting and
standing, was occupied during the en-
tire day, women of the city, having
on all their Eastertide array Of airy
and filmy material.
The state called Rev. Dr.. W. +.
Lowrey, president of the Mississippi
college at Clinton. and proceeded to
lnterrogate him, through Mr.. Miller,
as to his knowledge Of any peculiari-
ties of temperament or action on the
part Of the defendant. DR.. Lowrey
stated that he had lived in Clinton
about ten years and during that time
had had opportunities to observe the
young man, tnOugn not 10 any special
extent, not more than other young
men and boys there. He had never
known of his doing anything that was
not perfectly rational and had no idea
that he was considered ieranged.
Counsel In Controversy.
A controversy arose here between
counsel over an objection to anything
that went to show an expression of
opinion as an expert, since the court
had ruled out several doctors testi-
mony yesterday as being not cornpe-
tent as coming from specially experts
or alienists in mental diseases. DR..
Lowrey was finally instructed to con-
ane himself to his own observations