The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-01-21
EFFORTS ID FREE THAW ARE REbUKED Report of New York State Bar Association Is Scathing L0OPH0LES IN THE LAW In the Report It Is Suggested That Abuses In the System Should
 Be Corrected Without Fur
 ther Delay.

Rochester, January 20.-ln a report which scathingly rebuked the efforts to liberate Harry K. Thaw from the Mat teawan asylum, the special committee on the commitment and discharge of the criminal insane today recommended to the thirty-third annual meeting of the New York State Bar association the amendment of the hsbeas corpus law. It is suggested that the law be so amend ed so that a person confined in a pri- yate asylum may ask for writ of hab- eas corpus at any time and without SUD- porting affidavits, but that a person con fined in any state hospital for the in- sane or state hospital for insane crim- inals or a state hospital for insane con- victs may make an application for writ of habeas corpus upon only a verified pe- tition accompanied by certificate made under oath by qualified medical exam iners in lunacy. These examiners must make affidavit that the person is sane and give their reasons and then the ap- plication for writ may be made to any court having jurisdiction. After that the case takes It's usual course.
 The report continues in part: ITO en- phasize the need for this remedy, ref erence should be made known to well known case which has been in the pub lie eye for long where a murderer who has escaped consequences of his crime by the plea of insanity Is trying To escape the consequences of his plan by means of a continuous performance in habeas corpus. No stronger illustration of the abuses in our system of criminal jurispru- dence can be had than by recalling the circumstances of this case
 "Sympathy for an unfortunate and misguided family ought not to deter us from the recital.
 "A youthful debauchee of great wealth, trained to believe that his money gave him a right to freedom fl Om all re- straints, 1Seether imposed by law or the rules of decency, inheriting an abnormal ity of mind likely to develop into hon. icidal acts, leading a debased and ig- noble life without a thought of the re- responsibilities which wealth imposes upon its owner, commits a foul and cowardly murder in a public resort.
 If he were sane there could be no escape from the penalty of death. His only defense is insanity After long and seemingly needless deay-and delays in haling murderers to the bar for trial bring the administration of the criminal law into disrepute-he is brought to trial, which by reason of the manner In which it is conducted. degenerates into a disgraceful farce and a confused jury finds itself unable to agree. A second results in a verdict of acquit'al on the ground of insanity and thereupon the prisoner Is sent by the court, as re- quired. to state asylum for the criminal insane
 From this he plans to get free upon successive writs of habeas corpus winch he purposes to apply for so long as his purse will enable him to pay zealous counsel and interruptions experts. We say interruptions experts for, to the shame of the medical profession be 1t spoken, the expert who at one time swears him out of jail on an opinion Of insanity attempts at another time to swear him out of the asylum by an opin- ion of sanity So forgetful are the mur- derer's family of their duty to society, their obligation to uphold the law, that they aid and abet the plot and instead of leaving him to his fate as 1t Is their duty as citizens to do. they claim, for sooth, that he is an object of persecu- ton.
 Among the numerous judges of the su- preme court of this state the chances are that there Is at least one whose head is not able to control his heart, and the only problem in this murderers quest for free dom is to discover who that particular judge is There may be number of proceedings but he will at last be found and then upon petition to him, present. ed by counsel persona grata and backed up by the testimony of medical experts whose favorable opinions can be bought for cash. the path to freedom will be cleared of all obstacles. It is a mere question of time and money when this particular murderer will be set free to direct his homicidal inclinations against some other citizen who has already fallen or may hereafter come under his dis pleasure.
 Has not the time come in the develop ment of our system of penology to rele- gate to the realm of the obsolete the as- sumption that an insane man cannot com- init crime? In other words, ought not we to abolish the defense of insanity and leave as the one issue to the petit jury did the accused do the forbidden deed? If he did not he is innocent: if he did he Is guilty, and with the state of his mind at that time the jury has nothing to do. The point we make here is that however legally right under existing legal concepts, 1t is really wrong, sociologically wrong. to find man not guilty on the ground of insanity.
 "No man will contend that the insane murderer should forfeit his life. The question we put is, why should he not for felt his liberty? Why should he be ac- quilted on the ground of his insanity and then be allowed to go at large on the ground of his sanity? He has proved him