Evening journal., 1909-05-17
EIGHT YEARS
FOR HAMS
Army Captain Sentenced to
Prison for Killing Will
lam f. AnniS
JUDGE SEVERELY SCORED
THE UNWRlTTEN LAW

BY United Press Leased Special Wire.
FLUSHING. J.. L., May 17.--Standing ap-
parently the most unconcerned man in tho
court room. seeming by his apathetic at
titude hardly to realize what Il all meants
and after listening 10 one OF the most
scathing arraignments Of the so-called un-
written law, ever heard in a court Of JUS
tice, Captain Peter G. Hains Jr.. United
States Army, this morning heard HIM
self condemned TO hard labor in Sing
Sing prison for a term not less than
eight nor more than sixteen years for the
knng Of William E. Annis on the float
OF the Baysido Yacht Club in Queens
county last August.
The former dapper army officer, a
ghost Of his former self. and seemingly
troubled and weighed down by his own
personal sorrows made no demonstration
az any time and so soon as sentence had
been pronounced sank heavily into char
without cvidenclng the slightest symptom
OF having realized the ordeal through
which he had passed
His aged father General Peter c. HaIns
and his brother, Major John Hains, who
were In the court ROOM also took the sem
tonce stocially plainly believing that it
was even better than they had hoped for
as the justice under the verdict OF tho
jury Of guilty OF manslaughtcr in the first
degree could have made the sentence
twenty years
] IL is expected that counsel Tor the con-
] victcd captain viii az once apply 10 tho
courts for a writ of reasonable doubt.
and then carry the conviction to the hlgh-
er courts
That the sentence was made very light
was due in part TO the fact that District
Attorney Dewitt. who secured the convic-
tlon, made no effort to oppose a plea for
clemencv made by Attorney Eugene
Young for Captain Hams. Dewitt, was
willing that the extreme penalty be not
enforced in the case being apparently
satisfied that the Judgment Of conviction
had been justified.
Justice Garretson entered his chambers
at 10 O'Clock and at once gave an audi
! ouce to Attorneys Mcintyre and Younf
who had with them Davidson Bennett
the LAWYER who prepared the confession
signed BY Claudia Hains at the captain
home IN Fort Hamilton. what passed II
chambers was not revealed but it wa
intimatcd that both Youngs and Mcintyre
cndeavored 10 impress the judge with the
fact that claudia Hams story Of her al
legged relations with William T.. Annis
came as a frightful shock to the army
captain. and seemed to break down his
mentality.
So soon as the conference closed Justice
Gsrretson ascended the bench in front Of
which Captain Hains had been lolling In
a chair for more than an hour.
Denies Defense's Motion.
A nod 10 the attosSeys and Mcintyre
was on his feet. If IL pleases the court, %
he began. Il desire TO move that the
I, Judgment OF conviction against this de-
fendant Peter c. Hains, be set aside ON
the ground that il was contrary 10 law;
that it was against tho weight OF evil
dence. and further 1 desire 10 move that
the verdict be set aside, and a new trial
: granted on the exceptions taken by the
defense during the progress Of the trial
and to the alleged errors which we insist
were contained in your honor's charge
''Your motion IS denied broke in JUS
tice Gnrretson. what else now?'
1--WE now desire to move for an arrest
Of judgment" continued Mcintyre. 'cn
the grounds that the facts recited In the
indictment did not constitute crime and
Continued on Second Page.