One of the odder items in Library of America’s “Story of the Week” collection is a lawyer’s account of a crime in Illinois. It was written by Abraham Lincoln.
Three brothers —Henry, Archibald and William Trailor — were under suspicion in the death of a fellow named Archibald Fisher, who had been seen in their company.
Henry Trailor finally broke down and testified he saw his brothers haul off the body. William and Archibald Trailor were charged.
Lincoln described the reaction of the public as it followed the sensational story. Springfield, the capital of Illinois, was then a town of 3,500. But people followed the news and jumped to conclusions just as ably as the millions, assisted by social media, do today.
Lincoln was sure that the brothers would have been convicted if the alleged murder victim hadn’t shown up.
A doctor in a neighboring town kept telling authorities that Fisher was alive and in his care. It didn’t do any good. The case wasn’t dropped until the victim, allegedly dead, showed up, “in full life and proper person.”
• Source: Abraham Lincoln, “Remarkable Case of Arrest for Murder”; originally published in the Quincy Whig, April 15, 1846 and republished in True Crime: An American Anthology; New York: The Library of America, 2008.
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