ALLEGED ASSAULT.

Otago Witness, Issue 3102, 27 August 1913, Page 48

ALLEGED ASSAULT.

CHAPMAN CONVICTED

TWO YEARS’ IMPRISONMENT. CHRISTCHURCH, August 22. The affair arising out of the death at the Su'imyside Mental Hospital last July of a * patient named Charles Thomas M'Meekin • came before, the Supreme Court to-day, when Joseph Martin Chapman was charged on two counts that, at Christchurch, on July 8, he did assault one Charles Thomas M'Meekin so as to cause him injuries wihch resulted in the death ol M'Meekin, and did thereby commit the crime of manslaughter; and, that, at Christchurch, on the same date, he, being then an attendant at "the Sunnyside Mental Hospital, in which Charles Thomas M'Meekin, a mentally defective poison, was then residing, did strike and ill-treat M'Meekin. The accused, who pleaded “ Not guilty,” was defended by Mr M. Donnelly, with him Mr A. T. Donnelly. Mr T. W. Stringer, K.C., Crown Prosecutor, appeared for the Crown. The evidence for the Crown was similar to that given in the lower court. ; Mr Donnelly submitted that there was no evidence to go to the jury on the first count, as it had not boon proved affirmatively that death had been accelerated. Mr Stringer said that ni view of the medical evidence he did not feel disposed to press ■ the manslaughter charge, i His Honor said ho thought this would be a safer course. He accordingly formally uphold Mr Donnelly’s contention, thus reducing the charge to one of assault. The accused, who gave evidence, said when he opened the door of the room : M'Meekin immediately rushed to the door ' and struck at him. Witness avoided the "blow, and closed with him. They fell on the floor. Witness got up, and lifted M'Meekin. Witness had his left arm round M'Meekin’s neck and his right arm locked with M'Meekin’s. Todd had hold of M'Meekin’s left arm. and Stevens had hold of his two legs. M'Meekin was trying to kick Stevens. They put him on his Led, and held him there tiil ho cooled down. Stevens held his legs. Witness stood behind M'Meekin having hold of his right arm. with witness’s left arm rounel hie neck. Todd had hold of his left arm After M'Meekin had cooled down Stevens put the blankets over his logs, and then the three went out of the room. None of the three of them struck or kicked M'Meekin. Ho denied that from start to finish he had ever struck or illtreated M'Meekin, and he denied having i made the various statements alleged by witI /leases for the Crown to have been uttered j by him. He bad had occasion to report ) Duckworth for leaving the beds :n a filthy I state in the morning, and he had cautioned 1 Todd several times for the way in which he put old men to bed. He had reported Sykes. To Mr Stringer: Stevens's statement that he had not gone into the room with witness and Todd was a deliberate lie. Witness also denied having said to Stevens what that witness alleged he had said. He averred that Todd, Steven*. Coakley. Sykes, and Duckworth (Crown witnesses) had been deliberately telling lies. He admitted having removed a leaf from tne report book on account of a statement made by Coakley to him. He had therefore put in a report stating his own trouble. 1 To his Honor: He had been on bad terms with these men, and they had a down on j im ‘ CHRISTCHURCH. August 24. 1 The hearing of the charge against 1 Joseph Martin Chapman of striking Charles Thomas M'Meekin, an jnmate of ! the Sunnyside Mental Hospital,*was concluded at* the Supreme Court yesterday. After a retirement of 45 minutes the jury returned a verdict of guilty. ( Mr Donnelly asked that in view of the o-ood record of the accused during the past nine yea re in which he had served as an attendant at the Mental Hospital some clemency should be shown to him.

He had come from Home with good credentials, and during his service at the hospital had not had a mark against him. His Honor said he would have been glad to have moderated the sentence, but he had to consider the nature of the offence, which was a most serious one. The accused had been convicted of a brutally savage assault on a mentally defective patient under his charge. Some of the observations and language used by the accused in connection with the deceased justified him in taking a strong view of the matter. The assault had evidently been committed by the accused in a fit of passion. The evidence fell short of proof that the conduct of the accused had actually been responsible for or had accelerated the death of this man. bu* the act had been done under circumstances in which the person under his charge had been unable to defend himself. His Honor therefore felt that he was only doing his duty in imposing the maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment.