EP 70: Horse Thief PT 2
In this second part of a two-parter, Paul and Kate return to 1846 upstate NY where a suspect is apprehended. The ensuing court case becomes one that changes US law forever in its implementation of a first-time defense strategy.
Sources:
“The trial of William Freeman for the murder of John G. Van Nest: including the evidence and the arguments of counsel, with the decision of the Supreme Court granting a new trial, and an account of the death of the prisoner, and of the post-mortem examination of his body by Amariah Brigham, M.D., and others.” (1848)
https://archive.org/details/trialwilliamfre01courgoog/page/n11/mode/2up
“People V. William Freeman” (Historical Society of the New York Courts)
https://history.nycourts.gov/case/people-v-freeman/
“People V. William Freeman” (Cornell Law School)
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/people_v._william_freeman_(1847)
“In the Shadow of the Gallows: Race, Crime, and American Civic Identity” by Jeannine Marie DeLombard
https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt3fj0kq?typeAccessWorkflow=login
“America's First M'Naghten Defense and the Origin of the Black Rage Syndrome” by Kenneth J. Weiss and Neha Gupta (Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry) 2018.
https://jaapl.org/content/46/4/503
“Crazy Bill Had a Down Look” by Louis C. Jones (American Heritage) 1955.
https://www.americanheritage.com/crazy-bill-had-down-look
“Owasco Lake” (World Lake Database)
https://wldb.ilec.or.jp/Display/html/3419
“Owasco Lake” (Visit Finger Lakes)
https://www.visitfingerlakes.com/plan-your-trip/finger-lakes-facts/owasco-lake/
“The Insanity Plea in Early Nineteenth Century America” by AD Spiegel and MB Spiegel (Journal of Community Health) 1998.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9615297/
“The Story Behind Each of the Eleven Finger Lakes” (Life in the Finger Lakes) 2019.
https://www.lifeinthefingerlakes.com/the-story-behind-each-of-the-eleven-finger-lakes-part-3/
“The Horrible Murder in Cayuga” New-York Tribune (1846)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/79062942/?terms=%22van%20nest%22%20%22freeman%22&match=1
“Ancient Dagger Found in Owasco House Believed Weapon Used in 1856 Carnage” (Democrat and Chronicle) 1928.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/135311878/?terms=%22van%20nest%22%20%22freeman%22&match=1
“The Full Story of William Seward and his most famous defendant” by Laurel Auschampaugh (The Citizen) 2014.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/479017591/?terms=%22van%20nest%22%20%22freeman%22&match=1
“Harriet Tubman” (National Park Service)
https://www.nps.gov/hart/learn/historyculture/tubman-residence.htm
“Harriet Tubman Home” (National Park Service)
https://www.nps.gov/places/harriettubmanhome.htm
“History” (Cayuga County)
https://www.cayugacounty.us/235/History
“M’naghten rule” (Cornell Law School)
“The Black Rage Defense” by Paul Harris (UConn Law)
“Harriet Tubman Home” (The History List)
“History of the Insanity Defense in New York State” by R A Carter (OJP)
https://ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/history-insanity-defense-new-york-state
“§ 40.15 Mental disease or defect.” (The New York State Senate)
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/40.15