DEATH SENTENCE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21639, 3 November 1933, Page 10

DEATH SENTENCE

EDWARDS FOUND GUILTY GREY LYNN MURDER MERCY RECOMMENDED MOHE MEDICAL EVIDENCE THE QVEST lON OF SANITY The trial of John Hubert Edwards nged -31, labourer, charged with th murder of .Mrs. Christian Cunninghan fit her homo at 111 ('rummer Road Grey Lynn, on August 16, was con eluded in the Supreme Court yesterda; afternoon, when the jury returned ; verdict of guilty, with a strong recom mendation to mercy. Mr. Justice Herd man pronounced sentence of death Mr. Meredith appeared for the Crow; and Mr. Hail Skelton jopresentcd ae cusod. During the trial, which extended ore four days, evidence was given by 2 witnesses, of whom two were medic? witnesses for the defence and fonr wer medical witnesses for the Crown. Th evidence was concluded at noon yestei day. Counsel's addresses to the jnr occupied two hours and the Judge' summing-up half-an-hour. The jury rc tired at 3.00 p.m. and returned wit its verdict at 5 p.m. When the Court resumed yesterda morning Dr. H. M. linchanan, snperir tendeut of the Auckland Mental Ho: pital, was cross-examined by counsel fc the defence. He said accused told hii he was born in Cheshire, England, an was one of a family of 13 ehildrei He first earned a living by working i a foundry in Ciieshire; he also did som farming in that county and 1 afterwards went to Australia. Ho the came to New Zealand and had peddle tea during the past 16 years. Accuse told witness he heard noises. To His Honor: It was a buzziu sound. 1 asked accused if they appeare like voices and he said, "No." A Neurasthenic Patient Mr. Hall Skelton: Did he tell yo about messages coming to him ?—N< lo His Honor: In cases in whic people had committed murder whe in a state of melancholia it was wi jiess' experience that no improvemei occurred in their condition after tl crime. To Counsel: Tho distinction betwee neurasthenia and dementia praeeo: which was also considered by son writers to bo the same as schizophreni; was sometimes difficult to determine. To His Honor: Accused is a ncura thenic with poor emotional control, bt he is not certifiablv insane. Dr. G. M. Tot hi 11, senior assistai at the Auckland Mental Hospital, sai he had seen accused on seven differei occasions. "1 formed the opinion," sa: witness, "that accused was subject ' neurasthenia, 'using the term in i broadest sense. That is to say, he wou be emotionally unstable, he would hai mental and physical fatigue, difficuh in concentrating, insomnia, vague fea of bodily illness or impending harr headache and such physical symptor as acceleration of tho heart, profu perspiration and stammering. At tim he would bo depressed and at othe quite happy. The palpitations of hea would be very frightening to the su ject. Another Doctor's View To Mr. Meredith: Tho cutting Mrs. Cunningham's throat and then 1 own were conscious acts on accused part. The facts that he went into t. bathroom to get the razor and th he wrote a letter before using tho raz show purpose. From the evidence, think ho could distinguish betwei right and wrong. To Air. Hall Skelton: If it is cc rect that accused had delusions of pe eecution and hallucinations of grande I would have to alter my opinion. Dr. St. Ledger H. Gribbin, of Ham ton, who was associated for '24 yea with tho Health Department and one time or another was in charge every mental hospital in* New Zealai with the exception of Auckland, sa that, in his opinion, accused knew ti nature and' quality of tho act win ho committed it. Mr. Hall Skelton: If accused had d lusions of persecution and hallucin tions of grandeur would you say ! was subject to neurasthenia r —No. those things were definitely establishi his condition would be beyond the ram of neurasthenia. You would then have to alter yo diagnosis 1' —Yes. Dr. C H. Tewsley, medical offic at Mount Eden Prison, said it was 1 opinion that accused knew what - was doing when he committed the mu der and that he knew it was a breai of the law. Addresses by Counsel Counsel's addresses to the jury cori menced at noon. "The expert eviden of the Crown shows very clearly ho dogmatism carried too far may let to injustice," said Mr. Hall Skelto. "Crown witnesses say accused is suite ing from neurasthenia, which is not form oi insanity, but those witness' clearly formed their opinion befoi they came into Court, and they inn taken no notice of tho evidence. Tl vital question put to each of these wi nesses was, 'Jf tiiis man suffers d lusions of persecution and hallucin; tions, of grandeur, would he (the wi ness) alter bis diagnosis?' and the ali said 'yes.' "For some reason tiie witnesses fc the Crown have forgotten ali aboi thosH delusions. "When accused thro his arms about, shouted out that 1: was* being murdered, and said thei was blood oil his hands, when tiiei was no blood at all, was that neura: thenm:' U1 course it wasn't. That w;. u delusion, it. was phantasy. It w; not based on facts. Are you going t allow the Crown to say that tins ma was accountable for ins actions bt cause, when lie was in hospital a.ftei wards, ho made a few lucid remark in a mass ol garbled and ludicrou statements "Grand Ideas" "Accused told Mr. Robertson, th auctioneer, that he was going to o the leader ol a new religion and tha he would lead the world. He though iie was a good singer and be plannc to go to ."swiney to join the opera These were ali grand ideas, and tin;, were all inconsistent with the theor, developed by the Crown. It tins evi dence of accused's delusions is true ■ind you have heard the evidence o the witnesses who described t.iieni then the theory of the Crown i wrong.'' Counsel said it was evident iron what Witnesses had described that ae rused lelt his madness coming upoi him on the. night beloro tbe murder and the lirst tiling be thought ol win to go tho house ol his Iriend. Counse urged the jury to picture the horribh details of the crime —its ieroeily am. brutality. Jt was for them to sa\ whether that terrible motiveless deec was the act-of a sane and reasonable Juan or the homicidal paroxysm of a raving lunatic. The answer, in liis opinion, was indubitably the latter. Counsel's address occupied an hour find a-quarter.

For tho Crown, Mr. Meredith said it was not unreasonable to believe that on the night of August 15 accused felt lonely and invented an excuse to enter tho Cunningham's house so that ho could have company. There he may have been unduly excited by what ho was told. At any rate, it was more than probable that Mrs. Cunningham spoke so severely to him that lie was provoked to kill her. The jury need not be concerned with tho niceties distinguishing different mental illnesses. There was only one degree of insanity recognised by tho law in a trial for murder, and the only test the jury had to employ «as to determine whether accused knew what he was doing when i lie did it. j The question of legal responsibility I for one's actions was no new thing. | It had been determined m Great Urij tain many years ago, and it had been j definitely laid down that, for the proi taction of the community, a certain limit must be placed on the degree of insanity that would permit of acquittal in a murder trial. Every attempt to widen that limit and call a crime committed under nn uncontrollable impulse an act of insanity had been strenuously resisted and had ! ended in failure. To admit it would J jeopardise human life and safety and w t)uld make an entirely unjustified in- | road upon criminal law. Statements in Hospital It was suggested by the defence that accused suflered from momentary madness when he murdered Mrs. Cunningham, said Mr. Meredith. Tho evidence, however, indicated that it was a purposeful act, that there was a reason for it, and some of the things done and said by accused after the crime would only have been done'and said by j one who had had a clear knowledge | of what ho had done. How could it bo suggested, when lie wrote on a piece of notepaper. "Wo die together," that he did not know what ho was doingr "When he was sinking 1 fast, after his admittance to hospital I with his throat cut, and ho did not ! think ho would recover, he said he j had killed tho woman he loved. When | he got better and knew he had to face j his trial ho prepared tho way for a j defence of insanity—the only'method ! of defence open to him. his Honor, whoso summing-up occu- | pied half an hour, said that, apart from j a lew acts of eccentricity, there was j no evidence that accused had, prior to j this crime, been guilty of violence to ; anybody. Witnesses stated that it was | Ins habit to sing at odd moments, that j he had strong political convictions and j that ho was a vegetarian, but many | people were vegetarians, sang in their | bath and had strong political convie- ! tions, yet it did not follow that they I were irresponsible. The jury was asked | to believe that accused had delusions j and was so unbalanced that he did not j know what ho was doing. Law Regarding Insanity The law as to insanity was the same in New Zealand as in England, said His Honor. If a man committed a murder he was presumed to be sane unless the contrary was proved. The defence might prove that accused suffered from a disease of the mind, but that was not sufficient. The disease had to be of such a character that accused would not understand the nature and quality of the act he was committing. Such a law was necessary in the public interest. Tens of thousands of people might be suffering from diseases of tho mind, but that was not to say they constituted a menace. Continuing, His Honor said accused went to the Cunninghams' home wearing his pyjamas under his clothes, obviously with the intention of staying the night, ho slept there, asked for his breakfast, had a shave and went out with Mr. Cunningham. None of those things proved insanity. If he wrote the "death pact" letter before committing the murder it was very strong evidence that he had made up his mind to destroy the woman, for why should i he write, "The death pact; we die together," if ho did not intend to kill her.-' The defence claimed that he wrote it after the blows had been struck.'lf i that were so, he must then have gone to the daughter's bedroom, opened tho drawer, taken out the writing-pad, sought €*i pencil and deliberately written those words, afterwards placing the pad on top of tho gas meter. Was that consistent with tho theory that he did not know what ho was doing? Was it likely that a man would write such a letter and not know what he was doing? It was no proof of innocence that & man committed a crime as a result of an uncontrollable impulse. Agreement With Verdict Reviewing the medical evidence, His Honor said the three witnesses for the Crown had very wide experience in mental diseases both in England and in New Zealand. "They all declare that when the crime was committed accused was not suffering from a disease of the mind which might disable him from understanding the nature and quality of. the act and they declare that when he did it he knew ho was guilty," said His Honor. "If you accept their evidence tho defence of insanity fails." When the jury returned with its verdict His Honor assumed the black cap and pronounced sentence of death. "I am bound to say," added His Honor, addressing tho jury, "that on the evidence put before you I am of the opinion that your verdict is the correct one." The jury was exempted from further jury service for two years.