Las Vegas optic. (East Las Vegas, N.M.) 1908-1921, 1909-08-07
JEROME is VINDICTIVE
DISTRICT ATTORNEY MAKES BIT
TER ATTACK ON WHOLE
~ FAMILY
|SAYS ALL ARE PECULIAR
he EVEN iNTlMATEs MOTHER
OF DEFENDANT Is a
LITTLE OFF"

White Plains. N. Y, Aug. Ills
chair touching District Attorney Jer-
ONES, his face pale with determine
tion and showing no emotion of the
verbal storm which he evidently ex-
pected, Harry X. Thaw this morning |
listened to the final arguments in his
habeas corpus application for release
from Matteawan asylum.
| Speaking of those witnesses in the
case and their bearing under cross
examination. jerome said he thought
all did their best to tell the truth ex-
cept Evelyn Thaw
Il think this girl deliberately lied
Intentionally he said. Il have no
doubt that she told of her injuries at
lkhsshands of White to her husband
Jerome summed up the family his
tory Of the Thaws by saying the whole
family showed some popularity OF an
other and that any one could say,
well you would get pretty rickety
sort of child from that family"
jerome Reviews Testimony
Jerome maintained that Susan Mer-
rill's story of receiving large sums
from Thaw and of his living with wo-
men at her house had been unrefuted.
He detailed the many wild acts of the
prisoner and called the attention of
bis love for the dramatic, which he
said. received its strongest illustra-
tion in the shooting of White.
Referring to Mrs. Thaw's attack on
him in pamphlet form. Jerome said he
saw that the same color which runs
through the sons behavior. He asked
the court to disregard the testimony
of DR.. Evans, the Thaw alienist. He
concluded by saying:
'It seems to me it would not be safe
to turn this man loose until there is
ample opportunity to submit him to
o medical examination every day for
a long Ieriod."
Pleads For Client.
Attorney Morschauser, for Thaw,
urged the court to consider only the
evidence of the present proceedings. |.
He reiterated that if Thaw had even !.
latent trace of insanity, the horrors ,
of Matteawan would have brought it
out. He claimed that the incidents
in Thaw's early life were greatly ex-
aggerated. and said similar results
might be obtained from the boyhood
pranks of any man. He declared al
though his life had been raked for
evidence Of insanity, there was a
period of fourteen years when no err
ratio acts had been found.
Mrs. Mary Copely Thaw issued a
statement this afternoon, assailing
the alienists of the state and declar-
ing that Drs. Hirsch, Pritchard, Flint
and Mcdonald had no regard for their
oaths, and testified only as directed
by Jerome.
Several VerdIcts Possible
Several possibilities confront Thaw.
The court may grant his plea and
make him absolutely free. It may
decide that he has not established his
sanity and refuse ito interfere, in
which case the state authorities will
probably send him back to Mattea-
wan hospital for the criminal insane.
Eut Justice Mills has further dis.
|cretiorary powers. He may feel that
IThaw's mental condition is still n
doubt and for that reason delay
final order meanwhile parolling him
in the custody Of some officer or pos
|sibly on his own recognlzance In the
care of his family Or he may de-
clare Thaw insane. but moved by his /