New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-07-27
JUDGE KEOGH DENIES
FREEDOM TO THAN
Decision Holds That Whites
Slayer Is Insane and Dan
qerouS to Community.
HEARING THIRD OF SERIES
Prisoner Says 1T Would Have
Been Better Had I Been
Acquitted Like Cap
tain Hams

Justice Martin J. Keogh. Of the supreme
'ourt. handed down decision in White
Plains yesterday that Harry X. Thaw
was stu insane an dthat his release
would be dangerous to the peace and
safety Of tie public.
Justice Keoghs decision is as follows:
I'M Jauuar, 1905. Harry X Thaw was
'Isd ON an indictment charging nm WIN
having committed the crime Of murder:
n. was acquitted by the jury on the
around that he was insane when ne COM
United the homcdal act.
Thereafter Mr.. JusuC" DoWhnS' VINO
presided at the trial, committed ilm 20
the Mattcaw9u State Hospital aIleE.ne
that he deemed his discharge az thht llhle
10 be dangerous to public safety;
In May. 1905 ne obtained a VIII OF ma,
bess corpus to secure MS discharge on
the ground that he was theh sam, Nv
question Of his sanity was cafelull! III
.rIired into by Mr.. justice MorScnauAtI
Who in an able opinion dcclaed I!3i ne
was then insane and that II Woulu W.
unsafe to set him free -. ,,ohoos
In June 1909 another WITT OF uaOe19
cornus was sued out in his behalt, an eN-
balIstive inquiry was had into ms sdiIiE
and a lucia opinion was written ny W,
Justice Mills In which ne declutu 5" 20.
no was then insane and that II WoulI oe
dangerous to the luhlc peace an" 0''N''
20 grant his discharge. ....., o., socuro
The ureSent writ was OBTAINED 10 Se'uL
The release Of Harry Is. ThaW on lu'
ground that he Is now sane ana 'H HeI, utt
ION of his present sanity or INSANITY
wa the subject Of an inquiry occuPHu!h
nigbteen days. during which the CoUui
had the aid Of most able ana Ia'''I'N vi
counsel. .,;,,,, the
LOCAL history Of this case, but no uScIu'
p1irpose can be helped by DOING so. -
mans an exception ought 10 ne mace 50
far as 10 saw that thers was some r.
,ir,onv II, the case to the effect that the
demeanor az Harry *. ThaW on TINS
hearing was better than u was OF '''
hearing before M Justice MllIS. -,.,,o,,
Nv whole duty is fully performed "u'h
I decide the single question 81 lH'I pr
sDrfcl for dr,iSIou-uaW"IN. j. li"FlN IN;
,Thaw at present sane or insane, a'
would his release he dangerous 70 '"'
public peace ana safety ..,,,l
Having listened 10 all the testimony ana
seriously considered IL am Oh tu'
opinion that Harry Is. IhaW - S,ii H No
sane and that his diScharG' N""l1 "
dangerous 30 tn" public, peace anu ~dl''N,
Tho writ therefore. must u" dl>ln'~S'"
luou the merits, and Harry Is; IhaW II-
.1andad into the custody ~ IN" defend
ant as Superintendent OF the MsEIGS,SMI"''
state Hospital NJ D. NH''''
The. latest attempt Of Harry Is. Thaw
10 regain his release from Mauea"an
ASYLUM for the Criminal Insane was IN
,tltltsd before Justice Keogh Jun" IT,
when tho mother Of the slayer, Mrs
Mary Cooley Thaw, brought the question
oe his release into court again on writ
nj babeas corpus on the ground that no
vas sane and illegally held in the asy-
lIm.
When told Of the decision of Justice
Kcogh in the county Jail Thaw gave out
through Sheriff DOYLE the following
statement:
II am sending the sad word 10 my
family. It would have been better had
been acquitted like Captain Hams
III. X. THAW.'
other than this there is no statement
from Thaw. Mrs. Mary Copley Thaw is
now In Pittsburgh, hut she is expected to
arrive in White Plains on Sunday. Sheriff
William J. DOYLE said Yesterday that he
Old not know when Tnaw would be taken
back to Matteawan. He will probably go
to-day. after the Sheriff has been served
with a certified copy Of the decision.
Clarence J. Shearn. counsel for Harry K.
Thaw. gave out the following statement
from his summer home, in Easthampton,
last night:
While the decision deals a cold blow to
1'haw's mother and family 10y further
postponing the day when he can 20 home
TO them, nevertheless Il will he found To
mark q forward step in his fight for
freedom. In the first place, the contcn-
lion that TnGW has paraHoia has D.en
smashed. Justice Heogh does not ind
any paranoia, and every one who has fol-
lowed the trial knows that Thaw's al
legged Illusions We're proved to be ahso-
lutte fact.
I'm the next place. Justice Keogh finds
no
hearing three years ago. This VIII strike
the average person as significant. man
who is supposed TO have progressive
disease. but who has such constitution.
such self-contrOl such courage ana "a
tIeuce as rot only to hold his own but
actually improve under the horrible con-
,HtiOns prevailing in 4 place Ike Matt"a-
wan ohvfOuglv cannot lie vcrv insane.
As the president Of the state LunaCy
Commission snd both the superintendent
at MattcaWan and his CHIEF aSSlStdnt are
al Of the opinicn that Thew IS not in
sane 81 Is difficult TO see how he can be-
he'd much longer The next step should
be the prosecution Of some of the per-
Wrcrs produced al the trial 10y the pri-
vate interests that obtained control II the
state side Of the case
The proceedings before Justice Keogh
marked the third attempt Of Harry X.
Thaw to obtain his release from Mattea-
wan on a writ Of habcas corpus. Nigor-
Gus efforts also have been made from
time to time to get Thaw transferred to
another institution.
The first hearing on a habeas corpus
writ was begun on May a. 1908. before
Justice Morschauser. William Travcrs
Jerome then District Attorney. AMI
Frank Garvan. who had assisted Jerome
in the first murder trial. appeared in OPP
position TO the granting of the writ. The
contention Of the Thaw lawyers at the
time was that the prisoner had not been
charged with any crime after his ac-
quittal
After an examination Of witnesses last
M ten days Justice Morschauser dis