Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1911-10-28
state '. Hnssing. MultnOmah County.

NJ. W. Hassing, appellant AppeaI
from the circuit court for Multnomah
county. The Hon. ]. P. Kavanaugh
Judge. Argued and submitted Oct. 10
1911. John A. Jeffrey and (Chas. E
Lemon, on brief)s for appellant. Jos
Page, deputy district attorney, and
Geo. ]. Cameron, district attorney
and J. j. Fitzgerald, deputy, on brief)
for respondent Mcbride, ]. Affirmed
Defendant was convicted or the
crime of murder in the first degree
committed upon the person of Edith
Hassing, his wife. The defense, so far
as disclosed by this appeal, was in
sanity.
The defense offered in evidence a
communication from the chief alienist
of the public insane hospital near
Aarhus, Denmark, which appears to be
a reply to an official letter of inquiry
from the ministry of foreign affairs
of Denmark. This communication
states that it is disclosed, from the
records of the asylums and from the
journals of the Hassing family, who
had been placed there, supplemented
with details from certain relatives of
the Hastings, that certain relatives of
defendant, both in the direct and col
lateral line, had been insane and con-
fined in the asylum. The names and
family history of these persons, COM
piled from the above sources, are
given in the communication. 1t has
indorsed upon it the words: Legal
lied. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Copenhagen, January q, 1911. For
the Minister, H. A. Bernhoft," with
the seal of state attached. Accom-
panying this document is a certifi-
cate OF the Danish minister to the
United States, which is as follows:
1T is hereby certified that in Den
mark registers of birth, marriage and
death are kept by pastors of the DAN
ish Lutheran church, who are state
officers; that transcripts of parish
registers serve as certificates of birth,
marriage and death; that the insane
asylum near the city of Aarhus is a
state institution, and that the chief
alienist is keeper of asylum records.
1t is finally certified that legalization
made by the Danish ministry of for
eign affairs cover the genuineness Of
the document legalized and prove that
such document originates from the
proper Danish authority.
&C. MOLTKE,
Minister of Denmark to the United
States.
Washington, D. c., March 8, 1911"
And also a certificate of P. c. Knox.
secretary of state, as to the official
character of the Danish minister. The
state objected to the introduction of
these documents and they were ex-
cluded. This ruling is assigned as
error
To rebut certain evidence offered
by defendant as to his insanity, the
state called Fred Nicholson, who tes-
titled that he became acquainted with
defendant about two weeks before the
shooting; that he was with him about
three times a week for two weeks
and talked with him on all kinds of
subjects; that, at his suggestion, he
came twice with him to the court
house to listen to murder trials where
the defense was insanity; that in his
judgment he was sane. The state also
called ]. c. Tally, jailer, who had
been in charge of the prisoner for
nearly four months. He testified that
defendant did not act differently from
other prisoners and expressed the
opinion that he was sane. The ad
mission of this testimony is also as
signed as error.
The court was requested by defen-
dants counsel to give the following
instructions, both of which were re-
fused:
You are instructed that before you
can find the accused guilty you must
find from the evidence and beyond a
reasonable doubt, that he had suffi-
cient mental capacity to distinguish
between right and wrong as applied
to the act he was about to commit,
if he did commit it, and sufficient
capacity to be conscious that the said
act was wrong and at the same time
sufficient will power and self-control
to restrain himself from the commits
sion of such act, and unless you so
find beyond a reasonable doubt in
this case, you must find the defendant
not guilty"
You are instructed that in order to
convict person of crime, he must
have a memory and intelligence
enough to know that the act he is
about to commit is wrong, to remem-
ber and understand and to know If
he commits the acts he will be sub
ject to punishment and reason and
will be sufficinet to enable to compare
and choose between the supposed ad-
vantage and qualification so obtained,
by the criminal act and the immunity
from punishment which he will secure
by refraining from it and having so
contemplated the act, the will and
controlling power to restrain himself
from committing it, and unless you
find that all these elements concurred
in the commission of the act alleged
by the defendant, if he did commit it
you must not find him guilty"
The refusal to give these instruc-
tionS is assigned as error.
Mcbride, ]. There was no error in
the ruling of the court, rejecting the
communication of the chief alienist OF
the insane asylum to the Danish min
lstry .of foreign affairs. Section 76t
L"O L. requires that as foreign docu-