MYSTERY WOMAN BEHIND THE SCENES?

NZ Truth, Issue 1189, 13 September 1928, Page 1

MYSTERY WOMAN BEHIND THE SCENES?

Murderers Sensational Act Creates Consternation ■■ ' ■ ■' * -." , -. . . " ' ■ • . ■ ,i Among Prison Authorities

UPIJFtCRmmMUST BE W^^';Wi^\^oWl^l

•':.'■ .. „.;.',.:'•'■■'• ' (From "N.Z. Truth's" Specidl' Auckland Representative.) ■ ; ' . . • . . . II WHO IS THE MYSTERY WOMAN b^ was staged II I within the walls of Mt. Eden prison some^ time ago, when^^Nbrinan Edwin Keals, the man who slew his brother's jj I wife and babe at One whero jn 1015, created consternaUbn by ajipearihg before the Prisons Board and calmly j| | announcing that he had successfully applied drastic surgical measures to himsslf, unknown to anybody, until || If the actual moment of his dramatic appearance m the l^^rdroom? . ; |! |I In the absenceof any definite explanation of this astounding act on^ the part of Keals, it is possible— and, on f| l| the strength of information m the possession of "N;Z. |jruth," probabie-^-that Keals has been the object of || |J "moral uplift" propaganda from outside, although the rf suits were tragically different to what the propagandist || |f.' intended.' ■.-■;• •■ ■■'. ■■■ ■: : ■ : ■ , •. '■ - _■';■:; '^ : '^.•,- : -- ■,■..■'■.'■.■.■■■.■■'.■' ' ■' •■'■'' ..■' - l: '■■'■"■''■.■■'■■■■■'■'..■■':s

Is- " • • • * '■ ' • JF, as there seems every reason to be- ■' lievei keals has been the object of . stupid, crank "uplift"., propaganda, the Mt; Eden gaol sensation, without parallel 'in' the: history of prison life m the Dominion, is.a, scandal of the first grade and somebody must: be' brought to book. . : : ■ ,', ■'■ A veil '-of mystery shrouds the whole pathetic episode; for no effort has been spared by the gaol ; authorities to keep the facts'frpm the public. .;,.'■. ..'.,... ' But the fa'<?ts of this astounclinghtiman": drama/ ■e'hafcted under the : veryeyes of vivardiers Wd 1 concealed by Keals until" thief moment, rpf, his . dra-, matic appearance Bef ore j the board, have' come {o, light at last; ,• .. ' >'; The case is pitiful m the extreme and it is only' after most careful consideration that VN.Z. Truth" has decided— hot only m the. iriter- . ests of prisoners' themselves, ; but . the outside public — to give publicity to this amazing and almost un- • believable sensation. . Norman Keals is a convicted murderer. His crime was horrible to, a degree, but the man, m spite of all fine, legal definitions of insanity, was unbalanced mentally and could not — from all logical standpoints and having regard to. his early history; — be held responsible for what he did when he perpetrated the Onewhefo horror. That being so, Keals, m his own interests arid from the humanitarian point, of view should receive the utmost protection from the authorities. Most certainly should he be protected from the dangerous, though wellintentioned, moral and mental uplift dope that is being peddled by.enthusiastic, but ill-advised, cranks. That it was possible for Keals to do what he did m complete secrecy is, m Itself, a scathing indictment of the system of supervision that evidently obtains m Jit. Eden gaol, where are congregated many long- sentence and dangerous criminals, Keals 9 Obsession ■ , ■ ■ . > ■ ■ ■ . ■ And that it was also possible for Keals to be made the target for the propaganda of uplift cranks, as freely alleged, is little short of a grave scandal, which should be looked into without delay; •',_',! "Truth" has information that there is a mystery woman concerned, and, furthermore, knows that she is no romantic figureywho at one time flitted across the stage of Keals' life— nor is she. a relative, near or distant. Will the Prisons Department affirm or deny the fact that this woman had communication with Keals and that certain propaganda of the uplifting, rehabilitation kind, .. was.fed.to him? . If this is the case, there is established, .a .definite link between this woman and the unfortunate man who finally resorted to such grave measures to impress himself on the Prisons Board. Keals is no subject for the attentions of th« lay reformer. ■ •' ■. His is an amazing mental complex which only skilled medical men, trained m the science of plumbing the uncharted seas of the mind, can understand and help. • And the fact of Keals'. peculiar and unbalanced mentality makes the alleged crank influence all the more reprehensible. ■ • . ■■'■'<..■ If the department knowingly tolerated such interference, someone must.be made to suffer for it. It ' is not suggested that this mystery woman, whoever she is, did; anything more than preach platitudes of rehabilitation, but very little of this kind of thing would be sufficient,.especially m a case of Keals' type, to set m nation the process of suggestion until the obsession stage was ' reached. The results of his act, at any .rate, were the reverse of what could possibly have been intended by the insidious, though well-intentioned, "counsel and help;" . • But the harm has been done. There is something infinitely, pathetic m the thought that Keals, actuated by a genuine desire to help himself and overcome his disadvantage's, should have, acted as he did. y .What "Truth" wants to know ■:■...■■'.■ '■ ' . ■ ■-■.» .'■ :. .■■■:'

iiiitiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiir.iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiimTiiniiiiiHiiniiiiilKniMiii! from the Comptroller of Prisons ;is-' the name of this' mystery woman— > arid exactly what her idea Was. Also, the public should be told, with T out unnecessary or unpalatable detail, . how far Keais' own peculiar mentality contributed to his astounding action, and to what extent, if any, did the alleged;pj6paganda influence him. • The fnattjpr, cannot be left where it stands at present. ... >. ■ : /.;it;-Jls v^jßStab'lis'hed:\'beyondv i do'Ub!t that theres is something radically; : ?^ijqng^-a.t. Mt. Edoii '.prlsbri, otherwise Kegitl-coiild: not have staggered .the members^pf . thePrisons BoardVtoHrtte point : of . : t^nstex'nat}on.: : ■< ': - ■ •.■.■..•';"■:'■■ ■ "•^, : „7 There • has: been scandalous v .laxit;i/ *iiitiiiiUMiiiiiniiiitiiitiiiiiiinii|tiiitiii(iintiiiit(iiiiiiin)(i'fiiuMiii)iii(t)itiiitiiiniiiiiii'tiiiiiiimlititiiiii! ■ .iinniiiiKitiiiHiiiiiHiiiiiiimiiiiniiiiiiiiuiiiimuiiiiJiiiittiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiuiniiiiiiiiiuiiiimi

lilimi'mumiHiHiHiiMiiiimnViiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiniiiiiiiitiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii'iiititiii'iniiii iiiiniiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiniiiUiimmiimimiiiiimiiiiiuiiiiiii timnimiiiiim>iiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiimiiii»iiiiiiiiiii ;:;. interference from outside with ; a ■?' man like'.Keals. V ■j.jThis is^the , criix- of the whole affair and the m duty bound, niust either .refute the suggestion entirely and^iSsue an' explanation of the 'rurpors concerning; the mystery woman, pr,; : sifrumbr ! proves '.to: be fact, explain wriy^such interference was tolerated. . iTo,; properly :V understand 1 the , nientality^of' the man who was stoic enough tp;%v;what KeUls. did. in prison", his history ilas to, be; takeir jlnto account. , - Jt^ ;^s#shWri -^hts^trial that ■ frnn 1904^6 ' had^uff efed from" headaches^ He al§o. had' a craze for religioTiS'mat^ ; 'jters and 'cherished, a desireitp. go to ■■Egyp.tvas ■' ia-vnli^s/di^ry.^;/,-;^:'^ \'. ■ " ;: . :.

NO TREMULOUS BIRD.MAN, HE

somewhere. "Truth" has no hesitation ;in asserting that the Mt. Eden gaol, I authorities and the department ; have a case of gross neglect :to answer. What defence is /available to them, iin view of what happened» Is difficult to imagine. . ; • : ■ They stand condemned for a grave lack of supervision m the exercise, of. their duty ; to ■" protect their •; "'charges from themselves— and the authorities cannot escape culpability.? '.••;'■ They: are as much to blame, if' not more -so,: ■■than' /Keals, ; himself,, for' the peculiar mental complex of the latter must be well known to them. 'Yet he is .allowed to do Ayhathe. did without detection; ; ■ But even k lamentable lack of reasonable care and supervision m deja,ling with/this unfortunate man is excusable up to a point. : .What >s not excusable, under any circumstances, is the .alleged crank

' Throughout his early life he display- 4 , ed symptoms of a peculiar- mentality. A remarkable sidelight 6n his mind was given ., m an amazing letter which was produced at his trial, and which he;- had' written, to his parents when serving a , sentence m Bathurst gaol, A J ustralia. '' "' ,-■ •-.■. '. . ' . ; In thi^ . letter, .he : cbmmenced by quoting, a portion of a- religious service, and went- on to talk ;about the strange dreams he: had experienced. '• •One. concerned -"an angel" he. said- he had seen on his window-sill. The angel asked him whether he would like to go back to. New Zealand by fiyst-saloon aeroplane or travel steerage on the "Wimmera." .He replied that he did not care how he got back, but would prefer to, travel by aeroplane fpr a change. ; '■'■■ Another dream of which, he wrote concerned fowls. Everywhere he look- 1 edhe saw— inhis dream— fowls, while I eggs were .everywhere. . ' ■■■.'■ ■ i

II MNlllliiiifiiiiillMllllllMtMlllMllllMtllllUlltinillllllllUlllllllllltllllllHllltilllKllllllinflllTlHMlltllftCKi -[ H llM1|IHltUIU|llllllTI|IHUUtl1UIII(lllilllllMM|ftftIIIIIII|tfHllttftlt(tl)IHinilTlItlltlllI))tllHnnfll|lllllllllti^ ■' i : '■■'■■ ■'. .".'"' " '.'..■ ; ■ ■■'■'. He .thought it was a case for saying: "For what I am about to receive .. ."and was very, disappointed when he woke lip. Just what led' him to his. terrible decision to kill his .brothers wife and child '\vas revealed m his confession to the police. '- .'-.;■'.' ]■„. ' > : He had conceived a • grievance ag'aitist his brother, .Leslie, over the disposal .of his father's farm.' Ke^ls confessed that he had erijtered his , brother's ; hoiise, iiitending ' chiefly to >;kIII vhis brother; ;L'esli(e; but of . re- ; m; r .the. farm, biit he then resolved to' kill them an.::,,.;-: .,-,- ; . ,'■■:;' ; ' v '■-. . ■..:■"■: '■ •': :■•■■■..-■ - He ] thought he,. had killed somebody after th^i' revolver shot. He took away the baby because it was "singing out" and he did; not ■like to leave it. "■;.-■ He throttled the child a few 'minutes' after he- got outside knd then covered: its body with ; a nikau tree. . There was more than eribugh medical evidence at his trial to show that Keals was far from normal. It was submitted that he was wholly lacking m a sense of remorse. ; Several, years before the crime, he had been examined and the doctor came ta the conclusion that Keals was mentally defective, being so constituted as likely to, become a menace to society. •- ;'.''"'' ':•'..■-•■■' ' .'"■"" A; medical examination, following his arrest for, murder, showed he was still mentally defective, especially m the moral sense. A. It was also put, forward that Keals knew when he was doing wrong, but could hot appreciate his wrongdoing; ! This, then, is the man who is alleged to have been the prey, of moral and mental amateur, uplifters. ■■ ' If such :is the case— and the authorities have allowed Keals' misfortunes and weaknesses to; become the object of amateur; experimentation and advice — then their actions are shameful and ghoulish. TruthWUoatl . By what right does any outsider, other than a trained mental specialist, dare to .intrude into this unfortunate rhan's mind; by what right does the department dare to permit such meddling-— assuming, as rumor persists, that there' has been meddling? ■"■ ■.'■ N . ■ If Keals is ever to win his way back to citizenship, he will best be helped, not . by uplift cranks who have no specialized .knowledge of his amazing complex and no scientific .ability to minister to' his trouble, but by skilled medical and mental scientists— the" only people who can help him. :, (: As it is, either Keals' strange mentality alone prompted hisVrash act or outside propaganda has worked so insidiously on '■■ his mind by indirect power of suggestion as to have become a powerf ul factor m crystallizing his Intent.. ". . ; , - It has, been suggested m some quarters that Keals was being "considered for early release by the Prisons Board and. that; he performed the operation m the. hope' of impressing upon the board- his flthess once more to take his pla.ee 'in the coiiimunity. , This is • hard to ' believe, but it may well be that spme such idea . was at the back of his mind. • . : So far as ' "Truth" can glean, there is no: prospect . yet , of Keals being released. He has already served thirteen and a-haif y fears. ,1 Following his trial, he was placed m Avondale mental hospital, but he managed to escatte from. that institution. ■• ■ ■■" ; ' '.''•, .' '. „ /■■ '• .. .;' "■ ;■ ' , ; Subsequent to his recapture, he was placed m Mt. Eden gaol, where he has remained ever since. , ' i^ The Prisons Board has been known to do some . strange thirigs, but : it is inconceivable that .Keals will be released so long as there is the slightest doubt as to his fitness to emerge once more into the ' world. : .One thing is ;definitely certain. He is no subject for the,: .lay re- : former — and the -sooner that fact ; is made known by the department the better. Arid that is why "Truth" demands of the Minister of, Justice a full public stateirieht setting out the. facts. . . '' Let .the: truth :be known. Who blundered .-at Mt. Eden?. ; -