October 10, 2024 • 48 mins
In 1859, Abraham Lincoln walked into a courtroom in Springfield, Illinois, ready to defend his client. No one knew it then, but this would be Lincoln's last murder trial; fourteen months later, he would be elected president. Lincoln's defense of 22-year-old Quinn Harrison, accused of killing another young man in a fight, highlights the future president's brilliance. But would Lincoln's legal skills be enough to free Quinn Harrison?
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
You are listening to History on Trial, a production of
iHeart Podcasts. Listener discretion advised. Greek Crafton's fate was sealed
on the fourth of July. The citizens of Pleasant Plains, Illinois,
had gathered in nearby Clary's Grove to celebrate Independence Day
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with a picnic, and it was on the journey to
this picnic that Greek Crafton set into motion the chain
of events that would lead two weeks later to his death.
Frederick Henry saw it all happen. He and his friend
Quinn Harrison were traveling by buggy to the picnic when
the pair ran into Greek Crafton and his brother John.
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Frederick and Quinn stopped to chat to the Crafton boys,
and that's when the trouble began. Greek and Quinn were
roughly the same age, twenty three and twenty two, respectively,
and they had grown up knowing each other. Pleasant Plain
was a small town, only seven hundred people. Greek's brother
William was even married to Quinn's sister Eliza. It was
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rumor had it not a happy marriage, and that bad
marriage might have been the root of the bad blood
between Greek and Quinn, which was now about to spill
out into the open. After a few minutes of casual conversation,
Greek took aim at Quinn, asking him whether he'd been
speaking badly about the crafton family. Quinn did not deny it.
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If they had a problem, Greek responded, they should settle
it sometime. Quinn said he wasn't interested in settling. Greek
pulled his coat off and said, let's settle it now.
Quinn tried to resist, saying he didn't want to fight,
but Greek wouldn't be put off. The men started exchanging insults.
Greek told Quinn he would whip him, and Quinn told
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Greek that he'd shoot him if he tried. Then, Greek
made several attempts to jump into the now moving buggy.
When he was pushed off, he started throwing clods of
dirt at Quinn, but hit Quinn's friend Frederick instead. Frederick
quickly drove off. Later that day, at the fourth of
July picnic, Greek and Quinn had another run in. Greek
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approached Quinn and offered to make peace. Quinn responded that
he had nothing to make peace for. Greek disagreed. Nothing
was resolved. Tensions continued to escalate Over the next two weeks,
Greek was heard throughout Pleasant Plains threatening Quinn. Quinn, who
was smaller and weaker than Greek, started carrying a knife,
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afraid of being attacked by the larger man. On July sixteenth,
Quinn Harrison was in Short and Heart's drug store, as
was Greek Crafton's older brother John, when Greek came in
and a fight broke out. Quinn did not want to fight.
He held firm to the shop's counter, trying to resist,
but Greek pulled at him till he came loose and
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dragged him to the back of the shop. The shopkeeper,
Benjamin Short, tried to break the men up, but could not.
At some point, Quinn managed to draw his knife and
splashed out wildly at his attacker. When the dust settled
and the men were finally separated, they saw with horror
that Quinn had managed to wound Greek. Wound was maybe
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too light of a word. Greek had a deep cut
running diagonally across his stomach from his rib cage to
his groin. His intestines hung out. Greek Crafton survived for
three more days, but eventually succumbed to his injuries. Pleasant
Plains was divided over Quinn's guilt. Was this self defense
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or was it murder? Either way, the case was sure
to go to trial. Quinn's father, Peyton, hired one of
Illinois's most esteemed lawyers, a former judge named Stephen Logan,
to defend his son. Logan, in turn, reached out to
a former partner of his and asked for the man's
assistance in the defense. This second lawyer would play a
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pivotal role, both in the trial itself and in guaranteeing
that even one hundred and sixty five years later, we
still know the story of Quinn, Harrison, and Greek crafton.
It's not that it isn't an interesting story on its
own merits. The trial represents the changing legal understanding of
self defense and gives us excellent depictions of life in
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the informal courtrooms of rural America in the mid nineteenth century.
But it is not a case that changed the course
of history. Why then, do we know so much about it?
It's all because of that second lawyer. He was a
seasoned attorney with more than two dozen murder trials under
his belt, and he was known for his folksy manner
and powerful closing arguments. Quinn Harrison's murder trial was to
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be his very last, because fourteen months later, this lawyer
would be elected a president of the United States. His
name was Abraham Lincoln. In Quinn Harrison's trial, we get
to see Abraham Lincoln as a man on the precipice.
He had not yet decided to pursue the nomination for president,
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but his name was well known nationally thanks to his
debates with Senator Stephen Douglas the year before. Taking on
a murder case, one with complicated facts and no guaranteed outcome,
was a risk. Lincoln would need to do his absolute best.
Could he deliver Welcome to History on trial, I'm your host,
(05:34):
Mira Hayward this week Illinois v. Quinn Harrison. There were
many reasons for Abraham Lincoln to decline Stephen Logan's request
that he joined Quinn Harrison's defense team. For one thing,
Lincoln's schedule was packed. He had a full caseload of
legal work. Like most lawyers at the time, Lincoln's practice
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was not specialized. He handled both criminal and civil cases.
He might be drawing up a will one day, defending
an accused murderer. The next cases weren't the only thing
on Lincoln's calendar in the summer of eighteen fifty nine.
He had quite a few political responsibilities too. Politics had
been Lincoln's first calling even before the law He had
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served in the Illinois House of Representatives from eighteen thirty
four to eighteen forty two, but being a politician didn't
pay the bills. Before being elected, Lincoln had worked as
a shopkeeper and a surveyor, but he was in search
of a more permanent career. Another state representative suggested that
he study law. Lincoln had previously considered becoming a lawyer,
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but hadn't pursued the idea, afraid that his lack of
formal education would hold him back. But with his colleague's encouragement,
Lincoln decided to try. He began reading law books voraciously
between legislative sessions. On March twenty fourth, eighteen thirty six,
the Sangoman County Court certified Lincoln as being a quote
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person of good moral character, which was the first requirement
to practicing law in Illinois. Six months later, the Illinois
Supreme Court issued him a law license. For the next decade,
Lincoln focused on his law practice, honing his skills. He
briefly returned to office, winning election to Congress in eighteen
forty six, but only served one term. After that, he'd
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gone back to his law practice with renewed vigor, traveling
across Illinois on the Eighth Judicial Circuit. But even as
he won a claim as a lawyer, Lincoln's interest in
politics never left him. In eighteen fifty six, he helped
found the Illinois Republican Party, and two years later became
the Republican's candidate for the Senate. His opponent in the
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eighteen fifty eight Senate race was the incumbent Stephen Douglas,
a Democrat known as the Little Giant thanks to his
short stature and towering presence. In the course of the election,
Lincoln and Douglas held a series of seven debates. The
two men mainly fought over the most pressing issue of
the day, slavery. Though Lincoln ultimately lost the Senate race,
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his forceful, eloquent opposition to the expansion of slavery won
him national recognition. Soon enough, people were whispering that Lincoln
might be considered for the Republican presidential nomination in eighteen sixty. Hence,
his grueling schedule in eighteen fifty nine. Throughout the year,
Lincoln was busy making speeches and campaigning for Republican candidates
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across the Midwest. Lincoln's political position was another reason to
turn down Logan's request. How would it look to political
kingmakers if their potential candidate lost a major murder case
on the eve of an election year. But there were
also compelling reasons for Lincoln to say yes to Logan. First,
and foremost, there was his history with Logan, which ran
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back decades. Stephen Trigg Logan was nine years older than Lincoln.
Logan had come to Springfield, Illinois, from Kentucky in eighteen
thirty two, and so quickly established a reputation for legal
brilliance that he was made a judge only three years later.
While a judge with the Sangamun County Circuit Court, Logan
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had helped set Lincoln on the path to being a
lawyer by signing his eighteen thirty six Certification of moral character.
In eighteen forty one, after Logan returned to private practice,
he invited Lincoln to become his partner. The pair proved
to be a good match. They had some things in common,
political views for one, and a disdain for convention for another,
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which could be seen in their clothes. Both Logan and
Lincoln were notoriously shabby dressers, but it was their differences
that helped them succeed in the courtroom. Logan was a
methodical lawyer with the encyclopedic knowledge of the law and
a penchant for preparation. Lincoln was more often interested in
the spirit of the law than the letter of it,
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and loved to improvise. Logan helped Lincoln get organized. In
his words, when Lincoln went in with me, he turned
in to try to know more and studied to learn
how to prepare his cases. In return, Lincoln helped be
somewhat prickly and awkward Logan win over juries. The pair
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had three fruitful years together in practice before Lincoln set
off on his own. An end to their formal partnership
did not mean that Lincoln and Logan stopped working together.
Over the years, they would serve as co councils on
nearly seven hundred cases and as opposing councils on three
hundred more so. When Logan asked Lincoln for a favor,
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Lincoln was inclined to say yes. Logan wasn't Lincoln's only
personal connection to the case. Lincoln knew Peyton Harrison, the
father of Quinn Harrison well. The two were distantly related.
They were third cousins, but their bond was more political
than familial. The wealthy and prominent Harrison had supported Lincoln's
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political aspirations for years. Further, Lincoln had served alongside Quinn
Harrison's cousin George, in the Blackhawk War. But Lincoln also
knew the victim, Greek Crafton. He knew him very well.
In fact, Greek had once served as a law clerk
in his office, and Lincoln had liked him. That might
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sound like a reason for Lincoln not to take the case,
but if anything, the opposite was true. Lincoln mourned Greek
Crafton's death and did not want to see the tragedy compounded,
which is what would happen. He believed if Quinn Harrison
was convicted of murder, both the Craftons and the Harrisons
had suffered too much already. In Lincoln's mind. Even more
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than that, Lincoln didn't think Quinn was guilty of murder.
He believed that the killing was self defense. After weighing
up all these factors, Lincoln made a decision. He said
yes to Stephen Logan. Abraham Lincoln was on the case.
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At first glance, the killing of Greek Crafton might seem
like a clear case of self defense. Greek threatened to
attack Quinn Harrison. Quinn started carrying a knife with him
for protection, and when Greek attacked him on July sixteenth, Quinn,
afraid for his life, struck back. But proving self defense
in court would be easier said than done. As Lincoln
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sat in his notoriously messy second floor office on Fifth
Street in Springfield, he must have considered if Quinn's actions
conformed with Illinois self defense laws. Self defense laws were
a matter of much debate in the mid nineteenth century.
In the eighteenth century, American law had broadly followed English precedent.
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The English approach to self defense, per William Blackstone's influential book,
Commentaries on the Laws of England, was this quote. A
man using violence in his own defense should have retreated
as far as he conveniently or safely can to avoid
the violence of the assault, before he turns upon his assailant.
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Blackstone's definition of self defense suited the American legal system
in its earliest days, but as the country developed, the
definition of self defense began to evolve. In eighteen forty six,
Francis Wharton wrote the first survey of American criminal law,
discussing self defense. Wharton wrote quote, a man may repel
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force in defense of his person, habitation, or property against
one or many who manifestly intend and endeavor, by violence
or surprise to commit a known felony on either. In
such a case, he is not obliged to retreat, but
may pursue his adversary till he finds himself out of danger,
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and if in a conflict between them he happeneth to kill,
such a killing is justifiable. Wharton's construction removed many of
the rules for justifiable self defense that Blackstone had used,
such as the duty to retreat, and allowed for a
wider application of self defense. By the eighteen forties, when
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Wharton was writing, America was experiencing rapid changes. Most notably,
the country was expanding. West. Frontier settlements often had little
contact with formal justice or law enforcement systems, and so
the government increasingly condoned people taking the law into their
own hands. What was once public became private. Writes the
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scholar Joshua Stein, as a state monopoly on violence gave
way to a private army of thousands of white male deputies,
empowered to defend their realms. Not everyone approved of this
sanctioned vigilantism. Abraham Lincoln was one opponent, criticizing quote the
increasing disregard for law which pervades the country, the growing
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disposition to subsidy to the wild and furious passions in
lieu of the sober judgment of courts. But Lincoln didn't
think that Quinn's case was one of wild and furious passion.
He thought that Quinn's actions fit under Illinois eighteen fifty
six Statute on Self Defense, which declared, quote, the use
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of a deadly weapon in self defense is limited only
to those events in which the danger is so urgent
and pressing that, in order to save his own life
or to prevent his receiving great bodily harm, the killing
to the other was absolutely necessary. Lincoln understood from his
conversations with Quinn that the young man had genuinely believed
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his life was imperiled when Greek Crafton attacked him, and
had only pulled the knife to save his own life.
But there was a serious obstacle to telling the jury
that Quinn would not be allowed to testify at his
own trial. This restriction wasn't specific to Quinn's trial or
even to Illinois. In Eache in fifty nine, no criminal
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defendant was allowed to testify in their own defense in
the United States. As with the concept of self defense,
the American legal system was influenced by the British tradition
in this matter. For centuries, defendants were considered to be
inherently incompetent witnesses because their bias was so strong that
it could lead to them lying on the stand. By
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the nineteenth century, however, lawyers and theorists had begun to
question this assumption. Does it follow wrote the English jurist
and philosopher Jeremy Bentham in eighteen twenty seven, that because
there is a motive of some sort prompting a man
to lie, that for that reason he will lie. In
the eighteen forties, both English and American courts began letting
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parties in civil cases testify, but opposition to allowing criminal
defendants to testify was still strong. Opponents believed that the
right to testify might actually hurt defendants. Juries, these opponents argued,
would begin to expect defendants to testify. If a defendant
did not testify, the jury might automatically assume that it
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was because they were guilty. Thus, all defendants would wish
to testify, and those that were guilty would have to
perjure themselves, and the lives of these defendants would cause
juries to begin disbelieving all defendants in sort of the
worst vicious cycle of all time. But not everyone agreed
with these arguments. John Appleton, the Chief Justice of the
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Supreme Court of Maine, argued forcefully for a defendant's right
to testify. The lawyer and scholar Robert Popper sums up
Appleton's arguments in his article History and Development of the
Accused's Right to testify, quote that the defendant's testimony is
crucial in order to ascertain the whole truth. That the
defendant is most apt to be familiar with the true facts,
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that he is no more interested than the complainant. That
since he is presumed in a perjurious motive should not
be attributed to him, and that the law should not
aid the guilty and harm the innocent. After years of debate,
many jurists eventually came around to Appleton's way of thinking.
Beginning in the mid eighteen sixties, state after state began
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allowing defendants to testify in criminal cases. By nineteen hundred,
every state had such a law on the books, except
for Georgia, but back in eighteen fifty nine such reforms
were still years away. Quinn Harrison would not be allowed
to take the stand. Lincoln and Logan would need to
find another way to explain his state of mind to
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the jury. Legal hurdles weren't Lincoln's only concern. He knew
that he was up against formidable opponents. John Palmer would
be leading the prosecution. Palmer was a major player in
the Illinois Republican Party, a skilled lawyer and a longtime
friend of Lincoln's, who one observer described as having quote
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a convincing voe and a personality of tremendous earnestness and sincerity.
Palmer would be assisted by Norman Broadwell, a lawyer who
had begun his legal career by studying law under Lincoln.
Lawyers Jim White and John mclernan filled out the prosecution.
It was a sharp, successful group of lawyers who wouldn't
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make the trial easy for the defense. There was also
the matter of the judge. Circuit Court judge Edward Y
Rice was known as a fair judge, but a stern one.
Lincoln liked to keep things casual in the courtroom. He
was famous for his folksy manner, his clever jokes, and
his disheveled wardrobe. Rice preferred a no nonsense approach and
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kept strict order in his courtroom. Lincoln would have to
try to stay on the judge's good side while still
playing to his own strengths, and Lincoln was certainly a
strong lawyer. Dan Abrams and David Fisher, in their book
Lincoln's Last Trial write that quote his stirring use of
common language allowed him to forge a remarkable connection with
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his audience. Many of the qualities that made Lincoln a
legendary president. His remarkable memory, his talent for distilling issues
to their cores, and most of all, his powerful way
with words were developed during his years in the courtroom.
But would these skills be enough to save Quinn Harrison.
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The Sangamon County Courthouse, a two story brick building with
the facade of a Greek temple, sat on the east
side of the town's main square. The first floora held
county offices. The second held the courtroom, a high ceiling
spacious room with large windows. In the courthouse's attic in
a converted storeroom, Quinn Harrison sat awaiting his trial after
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Greek's death. Quinn had gone into hiding afraid of retribution
from the Craftons. When Stephen Logan joined the defense, he
organized Quinn's surrender. The Harrison family hired private guards to
stand watch outside his makeshift cell. This was an an
unnecessary measure. All of Sangmun County was paying close attention
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to the case, and many people had strong opinions both
for and against Quinn Harrison. Because of these strong opinions,
selecting a jury was not an easy process. On Wednesday,
August thirty, first potential jurors gathered in the courtroom. Illinois
law at the time required that jurors be quote white,
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male property owning American citizens between the ages of twenty
one and sixty. Lincoln was known for taking jury selection
seriously because so much of his success came from the
connection he established with each juror throughout the course of
the trial. Finding the right jurors was crucial. After trying
thousands of cases, Lincoln had developed a number of theories
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on what made for a good juror, some more rational,
like preferring younger men who might be less set in
their ways, and some more absurd. Lincoln did not like blonde,
blue eyed jurors because he thought they were indecisive, and
deferred to the prosecution. By the end of the day,
after questioning more than one hundred men, the defense and
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prosecution managed to find their jury. Judge Rice dismissed the
jurors for the night with a warning not to discuss
the case with anyone. The next morning, Thursday, September one,
Quinn Harrison was led down from his attic cell. At
nine am the trial began. Neither side had much to
say for opening arguments. Per the court transcript quote, mister
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Brodwell proceeded briefly to open the case of the prosecution,
merely reading the indictment and the statute applicable, and mister
Logan very briefly replied for the defense, stating their position.
With these riveting performances out of the way, it was
time to dive into testimony. The central issue of the
trial was self defense. Were Quinn Harrison's actions a reasonable
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and necessary response to the threat Greek Crafton presented. To
answer this question, Both the prosecution and the defense tried
to recreate the scene at Short and Heart's drug store
on July sixteenth. Silas Livergood, a friend of the Crafton brothers,
appeared for the prosecution. Livergood had been in the drug
store on the sixteenth and seen the fight firsthand. Prosecutor
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John Palmer walked Livergood patiently through the fight, and then
to give the jury a better picture, he asked Livergood
to demonstrate the positions Quinn and Greek had been in
at the moment of the stabbing. Livergood stepped down and
stood behind Palmer, who was playing Quinn. Facing the jury,
Livergood wrapped his left arm around Palmer's left arm, leaving
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Palmer's right arm free. It was with his right hand,
Livergood explained that Quinn had struck out backwards with the knife.
Livergood's description didn't sound good for Quinn. Vergood did acknowledge
that he had heard John Crafton tell his brother to
quote whip Quinn, and admitted that even after Quinn had
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said he didn't want to fight Greek had bodily dragged
him away from the counter, but at the moment he
had dealt Greek the fatal blow, Quinn, if Livergood was
to be believed, hadn't been in imminent danger. He had
just been restrained. John Crafton came to the stand next.
John claimed that his being in the drug store that
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day was a coincidence. He'd just been there to pick
up some money that he believed had been left for
him there. He'd asked Benjamin Short, the owner, about the money.
When Short said that it may have been left with
his partner, who was out, John decided to stay and
wait for the partner's return. He had been surprised to
look up and see a fight beginning, he said, and
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shocked to see that his brother was one of the participants.
Like Livergood, John claimed that Quinn had been in no
immediate danger before he stabbed Greek, although also admitted that
he hadn't seen the actual stabbing, But a moment after
the first blow, John said Quinn had tried to stab
his brother again. John had then stepped in to protect
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Greek and received a deep cut on his right arm
for his trouble. Even now, his arm was in a
sling and he could barely move it. John's testimony was
clearly painful for him, and his story made a powerful impact,
but there were some problems with the prosecution's account of
the fight. During his cross examination of Silas Livergood, Stephen
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Logan had gotten Livergood to admit that the only reason
that Quinn's right arm had been free to stab Greek
was because Greek, who had initially grabbed Quinn by both arms,
had let Quinn's right arm go. Why had Greek let
Quinn's right arm go in order to free up his
own right hand, which he then used to hit Greek
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hard in the face. There was reason for Quinn to
be frightened, it seemed, especially because Greek was substantially larger
and stronger than him, a point the defense continually brought up,
even having Quinn's doctor testified to his lifelong frailty, and
the fight had never really been one on one. The
defense reminded the jurors Quinn had good reason to believe
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that John Crafton and perhaps even Silas Livergood were there
to beat him up too. John Crafton had claimed that
he was only at the drug store by coincidence, but
the testimony of Benjamin Short, the drug store's owner who
appeared for the defense, raised questions about this story. Short
said that John had never asked him about any money
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and also hadn't given any other explanation for why he
was there, and Short described John as much more than
a passive participant. When Short had tried to stop the fight,
the shopkeeper said John had grabbed him and told him
to let Greek whip Quinn. To further bolster their claimed
that Quinn was genuinely afraid for his life. Lincoln and
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Logan wanted to prove that Greek had been threatening Quinn
for weeks, but when they introduced their first witness to
these threats, doctor John Allen, Palmer, quickly objected Allan's testimony.
Palmer argued to Judge Rice would be more prejudicial than
probative unless quote evidence was shown in connection with it
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to bring knowledge of these threats to the defendant. If
Quinn hadn't heard these threats, then they were irrelevant, per
Palmer's argument. Lincoln and Logan fought back hard in an
extended argument that Judge Rice dismissed the jury for, but
ultimately the judge decided not to allow Allen's testimony. Lincoln
and Logan managed to get a related witness, Thomas White,
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on the stand because White had directly told Quinn about
the threats Greek had made, but to get further testimony
of this nature admitted, the defense changed their approach. They
decided to call witnesses who had spoken to Greek Crafted
immediately before the fight. On the sixteenth, when the prosecution
again objected, the defense responded that these witnesses were there
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to speak to Greek Crafton's intent, not Quinn Harrison's fears.
Jud Rice decided to allow the testimony. The defense brought
on multiple men who had spoken to Greek shortly before
the fight and heard him threaten to attack Quinn. Doctor
John Allen came back to the stand and discussed how
thirty minutes before the fight he saw Greek at another
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store in town, and Greek had told him that he
was there lying in wait for Quinn. When Quinn did
not show, Alan said Greek left. Thanks to these witnesses,
the defense could paint a better picture of the atmosphere
immediately before the fight, Greek's determination, Quinn's anxious anticipation. There
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was one final legal battle ahead of them. Lincoln and
Logan had gotten the threat testimony admitted by saying that
it spoke to Greek's state of mind before the fight.
Now they wanted to bring on a witness who could
speak to Greek's feelings after someone who had spoken to
Greek Crafton on his deathbed, the Reverend Peter Cartwright, had
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heard some of Greek's last words, and these words were
sure to make waves if the defense could get Cartwright's
testimony admitted. The moment Logan asked Cartwright about what Greek
Crafton had said to him, John Palmer was on his feet,
objecting this was hearsay. Palmer said Greek Grafton was certainly
not available to be questioned on his words, the testimony
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was inadmissible. Logan countered that these words were Greek's dying declaration,
a category of speech that is often an exception to
the hearsay rule on the belief that a dying person
will be honest. Judge Rice said that he wanted to
hear Cartwright's testimony out of the jury's earshot before ruling.
Once Cartwright told his story, Judge Rice took some time
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to consider his decision. Then he began to speak. The
law could often be ambiguous or difficult to interpret. Rice
said dying declarations were one such gray area in the law.
There were specific criteria that admissible dying declarations had to meet,
and he just wasn't sure if this testimony met those criteria.
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Hearing this, Abraham Lincoln jumped to his feet. This moment
would be burned into those who witnessed it. The court
reporter Robert hit later said, quote, I never saw a
demonstration of power manifested in any human being in my
life equal to that. Lincoln was furious. He believed that
Rice was gravely wrong. This testimony was admissible, and to
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exclude it, he thought would be a miscarriage of justice.
Lincoln began to pace back and forth, passionately making his case.
He characterized the continued rulings against him, wrote his law
partner William Herndon, as not only unjust, but foolish, and
figuratively speaking, he peeled the court from head to foot.
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He was brought up to the point of madness, alternately
furious and eloquent, pursuing the court with broad facts and
pointed inquiries in marked and rapid succession. When Lincoln was finished,
He composed himself and walked back to the defense table, saying, quote,
the deceased has a right to be heard Onlookers waited
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with bated breath. Judd Rice wasn't known for his tolerance
for outbursts. Would he censure Lincoln. But Rice kept his
composure smoothly, telling the lawyers that before he had been
so rudely interrupted, he had actually been about to rule
the testimony admissible, although he wasn't sure it strictly met
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the definition of a dying declaration. Rice said he wasn't
sure it didn't either. Observers didn't know whether to buy
the judge's story or not herndon a pined quote. Lincoln
so effectually badgered the judge that strange as it may seem,
he pretended to see the error in his former position
and finally reversed his decision in Lincoln's favor. But whatever
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Rice's original intent, he had ruled and Reverend Cartwright could
deliver his testimony. Cartwright returned to the stand, this time
with the jury present. Cartwright was a fascinating witness for
many reasons. For one thing, he was Quinn Harrison's grandfather.
Usually that would have rendered his testimony suspect, but Cartwright's
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public reputation far outweighed any personal entanglements he had with
the case. In eighteen fifty nine, Peter Cartwright was one
of the most famous preachers in the country, a leader
of the religious revival that would come to be known
as the Second Great Awakening, known as God's Plowman. Cartwright's
eighteen fifty seven book, Autobiography of Peter Cartwright The Backwoods Preacher,
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which documented his decades spent energetically traveling a miast his
frontiers in search of people to convert, had won a
claim all across the country. Cartwright was not universally beloved.
He could be single minded and militant. One of his
most frequent opponents was Abraham Lincoln, who disliked the way
Cartwright mixed religion and politics. Lincoln and Cartwright had run
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against each other for Congress in eighteen forty six. Lincoln won,
but even Lincoln could not deny Cartwright's integrity. That's why
when he heard what Cartwright had been told by Greek Crafton,
he had known that he needed to get the reverend
on the stand. Now, in front of a wrapped courtroom,
(33:40):
Cartwright told his story. After the fight, Greek Crafton had
summoned Cartwright to his bedside. The honest hour has come,
Cartwright recounted Greek, telling him and in a few moments,
I expect to stand before my final judge. Do you
think there is any mercy for me? Will you pray
for me? Cartwright, in reply expressed his quote deep and
(34:05):
heartfelt regret that this calamity had fallen upon Greek. The
dying man took a moment and then said, yes, I
have brought it upon myself, and I forgive Quinn. Cartwright
then conducted religious services, noting for the jury how Greek
had shown great composure. When Cartwright's prayers concluded, Greek repeated
(34:27):
his earlier words, I have brought it upon myself. He said,
I forgive Quinn, and I want it said to all
my friends that I have no enmity in my heart
against any man. Cartwright's words hung in the courtroom. Greek
had forgiven his killer. He had blamed himself, not Quinn,
(34:48):
for his own death. It was a powerful plea from
beyond the grave for mercy. Of course, whether or not
a victim forgives their killer before dying, ying does not
actually determine if the killer broke a law. In closing arguments,
the prosecution reminded the jury of the plain facts of
the case. Norman Broadwell began recapping the testimony of the
(35:12):
prosecution's witnesses for the jury, and then reminding jurors of
what exactly Illinois law said to use lethal force against
someone else and be justified. Broadwell explained that lethal force
must have been absolutely necessary. It must be the only
thing standing between you and your own death or serious injury.
(35:33):
That was not the situation Quinn Harrison was in. Broadwell argued,
he may have been frightened, but that didn't mean that
his life was truly in danger. Stephen Logan disagreed. In
his closing arguments, he portrayed Quinn Harrison as a man
with no other options when Greek Crafton attacked him. Quinn
had tried to resist, He'd told Greek he didn't want
(35:56):
to fight. He'd clung to the countertop, he called for help.
None of that had stopped the attack. It was only
after he had been pulled free and it appeared that
John Crafton might join the fray. Logan said that in
fear for his life, he had struck back with the
only weapon he had available to him. He asked the
jurors to put themselves in Quinn's shoes. Abraham Lincoln was
(36:22):
up next. Lincoln's closing arguments were legendary. At no time
were his eloquence, his intelligence, and his empathy so clearly
on display than in these moments. That afternoon. Lincoln didn't
focus just on Quinn. He spent much of his closing
argument talking about Greek. He had known Greek well, he
(36:44):
had mentored the young man. At one point, he spoke
of his own personal grief. Lincoln knew that he was
not alone in this sadness, but that grief, he said softly,
would not be healed by punishing another young man. Had
had no murderous intent. He had acted impulsively out of
(37:04):
a genuine belief that he might die. Punishing Quinn would
not bring Greek back, it would not heal the wounds,
and it would not accord with the law. As Lincoln concluded,
many in the courtroom had tears rolling down their cheeks.
John Palmer delivered the trial's final closing argument. Throughout the trial,
(37:28):
Palmer had been a calm, affable presence in the courtroom,
arguing his case, forcefully, of course, but never getting too personal.
After all, he knew and respected the defend Flowyer's But
for some reason, Lincoln's closing argument had set John Palmer off.
His first words were not about Gwyn Harrison, but about
(37:49):
Abraham Lincoln. Well, gentlemen, Palmer said, you have heard mister
Lincoln hones stay Lincoln, they call him. I believe, and
I suppose you think you have heard the honest truth,
or at least that mister Lincoln believes what he had
told you to be the truth. I tell you he
believes no such thing. That frank, ingenious face of his,
(38:14):
those looks and tones of such unsophisticated simplicity, those appeals
to your minds and consciences, as sworn jurors, are all
assumed for the occasion, gentlemen, all a mask. Gentlemen, you
have been listening for the last hour to an actor
who knows well how to play the role of honest
(38:36):
seeming for effect. Abraham Lincoln could take no more. He
stood and rebuked Palmer, saying, mister Palmer, you have known
me for years, and you know that not a word
of that language can be applied to me. Palmer stared,
at Lincoln hard and then deflated. Yes, mister Lincoln, I
(38:57):
do know it, and I take it all back, he said.
The two men shook hands. It was hard for observers
to understand what had just happened. Was Palmer really angry
or was he just trying by dramatic means to dispel
the spell that Lincoln's closing had cast over the courtroom.
(39:18):
Either way, the rest of Palmer's closing was much less exciting.
He spoke for three hours, according to the State Journal quote,
evincing great ingenuity in handling the testimony, interspersing many remarks
upon human nature and human passions, the duties of the citizens,
and the spirit of the law. He pushed back on
the defense's depiction of Quinn Harrison as a weak, frightened innocent,
(39:41):
describing all the times Quinn had provoked Greek crafton and
recounting how Quinn had told people he would strike back
if Greek tried anything. When Palmer concluded, Judge Rice instructed
the jury and then dismissed them to deliberate. It was
shortly after four pm on Siptem third, eighteen fifty nine.
(40:02):
It took the jury little more than an hour to
reach a verdict. Once everyone was back inside the courtroom,
the jury foreman handed the bailiff a piece of paper
with their decision written inside. The bailiff passed the paper
to Judge Rice, who read it aloud. On the charge
of murder for the death of Greek Crafton, the defendant,
(40:22):
Quinn Harrison was found not guilty, though the courtroom broke
into tears upon the judge's announcement. Not everyone was happy
about Quinn Harrison's acquittal. Greek Crafton's friends and family were furious.
They felt certain that Quinn had gotten away with murder.
(40:45):
Their anger over the issue eventually prompted local law enforcement
officers to arrest Benjamin Short, the drug store owner who
had tried to break up the fight, and charge him
as an accessory in Greek's murder. The charges were eventually dropped,
with the animal lingered. Perhaps because of this animosity, Quinn
Harrison never seemed to be comfortable in Pleasant Plains again.
(41:08):
He began a pattern of wandering, venturing into the frontier
for long spells. Even his eighteen sixty seven marriage to
a woman named Emmeline couldn't keep him in one place.
Though the couple had two children. They would eventually divorce
in eighteen ninety eight after Emmeline charged Quinn with desertion.
Quinn Harrison died in nineteen twenty in Missouri. Though the
(41:32):
trial had grown contentious by the end, the lawyers involved
all remained friends. Abraham Lincoln quickly forgave John Palmer for
his courtroom outburst. Two months after the trial ended, Lincoln
campaigned for Palmer to fill an empty congressional seat, describing
Palmer as quote good and true. Palmer lost this election,
(41:54):
that he would soon return Lincoln's political support, as would
two other lawyers from the trial. In May eighteen sixty,
the Republican Party held its presidential nominating convention in Chicago.
William Seward, a senator from New York, was considered the
front runner, but there were multiple other candidates, including Illinois's
own Abraham Lincoln, John Palmer, Norman Broadwell, and Stephen Logan.
(42:18):
All lobbied heavily for Lincoln, who emerged from the convention
as a surprise nominee. Logan then helped Lincoln raise thousands
of dollars to fund his campaign. Lincoln stayed close with
many of his Illinois connections during his time in office.
He asked Stephen Logan to edit his inaugural address. He
appointed John Palmer to be military governor of Kentucky after
(42:41):
the Civil War. These men would stand by Lincoln's side
even in death. On April fifteenth, eighteen sixty five, Stephen
Logan delivered a eulogy at the Springfield Memorial for Lincoln,
recording his legacy in a way that would resonate with
anyone who saw him in action at the Hair Trial. Quote.
(43:02):
When Lincoln believed his client was right, especially in difficult
and complicated cases, he was the strongest and most comprehensive
reasoner and lawyer I had ever met. Or if the
case was somewhat doubtful but could be decided either way
without violating any just, equitable, or moral principle, he was
very strong. But if he thought his client was wrong,
(43:26):
he would make very little effort. In other words, Lincoln
the lawyer was very much like Lincoln the president. That's
the story of Illinois v. Quinn Harrison. Stay with me
after the break to hear the amazing tale of just
how we know as much as we do about this trial.
(43:47):
For years, the shoe box sat in a garage, its
sides slightly sagging with damp its corners nibbled away by mice.
When the garage's owner moved from Fresno to Huntsville, Alabama,
he took the sho shoe box with him. It might
not have looked like much, but the box contained a
family heirloom. In nineteen eighty nine, after the owner died,
(44:08):
his widow presented the box to a group she thought
might be interested in its contents. The group couldn't believe
their luck. Inside the shoe box were one hundred handwritten pages,
carefully ordered and tied together with a yellow ribbon. It
was a transcript of Abraham Lincoln's last murder trial. The
(44:30):
man who had owned the transcript was Quinn Harrison's great grandson, William.
The transcript had been passed down from father to son
for four generations. After William's widow presented it to the
Lincoln Legal Papers, a research group dedicated to exploring Lincoln's
law career, the group made the transcript publicly available. It's
(44:50):
a remarkably rich document. The transcript transports you into the courtroom,
reporting on not just the words spoken, but the actions, movements,
and emotions of the participants and the onlookers. The transcript
lets us see Lincoln as a lawyer, just as if
he were speaking in front of us today. The existence
of this transcript is astonishing for a number of reasons.
(45:14):
Of course, there's the miracle of it surviving one hundred
and thirty years in non archival environments, but even more
than that, it's amazing that this transcript was even created.
At the time. Most trials, if they were recorded at all,
were just summarized. This kind of verbatim report is very unusual.
How did it come to be likely thanks at least
(45:36):
indirectly to Abraham Lincoln himself. The Illinois State Journal, aware
of Lincoln's growing fame and the high profile nature of
the case, hired a shorthand reporter to transcribe the trial.
They didn't have to look hard to find a good
shorthand man. Only a year earlier, Abraham Lincoln had hired
a young shorthand reporter named Robert R. Hit to transcribe
(45:58):
his debates with Stephen's Douglas. HiT's transcriptions had been instrumental
in spreading news of Lincoln's performance nationwide, and they'd helped
make hits reputation too, which is perhaps how the State
Journal selected him to cover the Harrison trial. Robert Hit
attended every day of the trial, making shorthand transcriptions and
then painstakingly copying the transcriptions out in long form each night.
(46:22):
He had to make multiple copies. Besides the reports that
he sent to the State Journal, Hit was also offering
copies for a price to trial participants. Abraham Lincoln subscribed,
paying Hit twenty seven dollars and fifty cents for his copy.
Greek Crafton's family subscribed too, though Hit charged them two
dollars and fifty cents less than he'd charged Lincoln. A
(46:44):
transcript could be helpful in the case of an appeal, so,
of course Quinn Harrison's family bought a copy as well,
which is how one hundred and sixty five years after
the Harrison trial ended, we could imagine ourselves in the
Sangamin County Courthouse with row seats to Abraham Lincoln's last
murder trial. Thank you for listening to History on Trial.
(47:07):
If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a rating
or review. It can help new listeners find the show.
My main sources for this episode were Dan Abrams and
David Fisher's book Lincoln's last trial, the murder case that
propelled him to the presidency, as well as the trial
transcript and other materials contained in the second edition of
the Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln Complete Documentary Edition, a
(47:31):
publication of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency edited by Martha L.
Behner and Colin Davis. For a complete bibliography, as well
as a transcript of the episode with citations, please visit
our website History on Trial podcast dot com. History on
Trial is written and hosted by me Mira Hayward. The
(47:52):
show is edited and produced by Jesse Funk, with supervising
producer Trevor Young and executive producers Dana Schwartz, Ali Xander Williams,
Matt Frederick, and Mira Hayward. Learn more about the show
at History on Trial podcast dot com and follow us
on Instagram at History on Trial and on Twitter at
(48:13):
Underscore History on Trial. Find more podcasts from iHeartRadio by
visiting the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen
to your favorite shows.
You are listening to History on Trial, a production of
iHeart Podcasts. Listener discretion advised. Greek Crafton's fate was sealed
on the fourth of July. The citizens of Pleasant Plains, Illinois,
had gathered in nearby Clary's Grove to celebrate Independence Day
(00:22):
with a picnic, and it was on the journey to
this picnic that Greek Crafton set into motion the chain
of events that would lead two weeks later to his death.
Frederick Henry saw it all happen. He and his friend
Quinn Harrison were traveling by buggy to the picnic when
the pair ran into Greek Crafton and his brother John.
(00:45):
Frederick and Quinn stopped to chat to the Crafton boys,
and that's when the trouble began. Greek and Quinn were
roughly the same age, twenty three and twenty two, respectively,
and they had grown up knowing each other. Pleasant Plain
was a small town, only seven hundred people. Greek's brother
William was even married to Quinn's sister Eliza. It was
(01:08):
rumor had it not a happy marriage, and that bad
marriage might have been the root of the bad blood
between Greek and Quinn, which was now about to spill
out into the open. After a few minutes of casual conversation,
Greek took aim at Quinn, asking him whether he'd been
speaking badly about the crafton family. Quinn did not deny it.
(01:31):
If they had a problem, Greek responded, they should settle
it sometime. Quinn said he wasn't interested in settling. Greek
pulled his coat off and said, let's settle it now.
Quinn tried to resist, saying he didn't want to fight,
but Greek wouldn't be put off. The men started exchanging insults.
Greek told Quinn he would whip him, and Quinn told
(01:54):
Greek that he'd shoot him if he tried. Then, Greek
made several attempts to jump into the now moving buggy.
When he was pushed off, he started throwing clods of
dirt at Quinn, but hit Quinn's friend Frederick instead. Frederick
quickly drove off. Later that day, at the fourth of
July picnic, Greek and Quinn had another run in. Greek
(02:15):
approached Quinn and offered to make peace. Quinn responded that
he had nothing to make peace for. Greek disagreed. Nothing
was resolved. Tensions continued to escalate Over the next two weeks,
Greek was heard throughout Pleasant Plains threatening Quinn. Quinn, who
was smaller and weaker than Greek, started carrying a knife,
(02:37):
afraid of being attacked by the larger man. On July sixteenth,
Quinn Harrison was in Short and Heart's drug store, as
was Greek Crafton's older brother John, when Greek came in
and a fight broke out. Quinn did not want to fight.
He held firm to the shop's counter, trying to resist,
but Greek pulled at him till he came loose and
(02:59):
dragged him to the back of the shop. The shopkeeper,
Benjamin Short, tried to break the men up, but could not.
At some point, Quinn managed to draw his knife and
splashed out wildly at his attacker. When the dust settled
and the men were finally separated, they saw with horror
that Quinn had managed to wound Greek. Wound was maybe
(03:21):
too light of a word. Greek had a deep cut
running diagonally across his stomach from his rib cage to
his groin. His intestines hung out. Greek Crafton survived for
three more days, but eventually succumbed to his injuries. Pleasant
Plains was divided over Quinn's guilt. Was this self defense
(03:42):
or was it murder? Either way, the case was sure
to go to trial. Quinn's father, Peyton, hired one of
Illinois's most esteemed lawyers, a former judge named Stephen Logan,
to defend his son. Logan, in turn, reached out to
a former partner of his and asked for the man's
assistance in the defense. This second lawyer would play a
(04:05):
pivotal role, both in the trial itself and in guaranteeing
that even one hundred and sixty five years later, we
still know the story of Quinn, Harrison, and Greek crafton.
It's not that it isn't an interesting story on its
own merits. The trial represents the changing legal understanding of
self defense and gives us excellent depictions of life in
(04:26):
the informal courtrooms of rural America in the mid nineteenth century.
But it is not a case that changed the course
of history. Why then, do we know so much about it?
It's all because of that second lawyer. He was a
seasoned attorney with more than two dozen murder trials under
his belt, and he was known for his folksy manner
and powerful closing arguments. Quinn Harrison's murder trial was to
(04:51):
be his very last, because fourteen months later, this lawyer
would be elected a president of the United States. His
name was Abraham Lincoln. In Quinn Harrison's trial, we get
to see Abraham Lincoln as a man on the precipice.
He had not yet decided to pursue the nomination for president,
(05:12):
but his name was well known nationally thanks to his
debates with Senator Stephen Douglas the year before. Taking on
a murder case, one with complicated facts and no guaranteed outcome,
was a risk. Lincoln would need to do his absolute best.
Could he deliver Welcome to History on trial, I'm your host,
(05:34):
Mira Hayward this week Illinois v. Quinn Harrison. There were
many reasons for Abraham Lincoln to decline Stephen Logan's request
that he joined Quinn Harrison's defense team. For one thing,
Lincoln's schedule was packed. He had a full caseload of
legal work. Like most lawyers at the time, Lincoln's practice
(05:57):
was not specialized. He handled both criminal and civil cases.
He might be drawing up a will one day, defending
an accused murderer. The next cases weren't the only thing
on Lincoln's calendar in the summer of eighteen fifty nine.
He had quite a few political responsibilities too. Politics had
been Lincoln's first calling even before the law He had
(06:20):
served in the Illinois House of Representatives from eighteen thirty
four to eighteen forty two, but being a politician didn't
pay the bills. Before being elected, Lincoln had worked as
a shopkeeper and a surveyor, but he was in search
of a more permanent career. Another state representative suggested that
he study law. Lincoln had previously considered becoming a lawyer,
(06:42):
but hadn't pursued the idea, afraid that his lack of
formal education would hold him back. But with his colleague's encouragement,
Lincoln decided to try. He began reading law books voraciously
between legislative sessions. On March twenty fourth, eighteen thirty six,
the Sangoman County Court certified Lincoln as being a quote
(07:03):
person of good moral character, which was the first requirement
to practicing law in Illinois. Six months later, the Illinois
Supreme Court issued him a law license. For the next decade,
Lincoln focused on his law practice, honing his skills. He
briefly returned to office, winning election to Congress in eighteen
forty six, but only served one term. After that, he'd
(07:26):
gone back to his law practice with renewed vigor, traveling
across Illinois on the Eighth Judicial Circuit. But even as
he won a claim as a lawyer, Lincoln's interest in
politics never left him. In eighteen fifty six, he helped
found the Illinois Republican Party, and two years later became
the Republican's candidate for the Senate. His opponent in the
(07:46):
eighteen fifty eight Senate race was the incumbent Stephen Douglas,
a Democrat known as the Little Giant thanks to his
short stature and towering presence. In the course of the election,
Lincoln and Douglas held a series of seven debates. The
two men mainly fought over the most pressing issue of
the day, slavery. Though Lincoln ultimately lost the Senate race,
(08:09):
his forceful, eloquent opposition to the expansion of slavery won
him national recognition. Soon enough, people were whispering that Lincoln
might be considered for the Republican presidential nomination in eighteen sixty. Hence,
his grueling schedule in eighteen fifty nine. Throughout the year,
Lincoln was busy making speeches and campaigning for Republican candidates
(08:30):
across the Midwest. Lincoln's political position was another reason to
turn down Logan's request. How would it look to political
kingmakers if their potential candidate lost a major murder case
on the eve of an election year. But there were
also compelling reasons for Lincoln to say yes to Logan. First,
and foremost, there was his history with Logan, which ran
(08:52):
back decades. Stephen Trigg Logan was nine years older than Lincoln.
Logan had come to Springfield, Illinois, from Kentucky in eighteen
thirty two, and so quickly established a reputation for legal
brilliance that he was made a judge only three years later.
While a judge with the Sangamun County Circuit Court, Logan
(09:12):
had helped set Lincoln on the path to being a
lawyer by signing his eighteen thirty six Certification of moral character.
In eighteen forty one, after Logan returned to private practice,
he invited Lincoln to become his partner. The pair proved
to be a good match. They had some things in common,
political views for one, and a disdain for convention for another,
(09:34):
which could be seen in their clothes. Both Logan and
Lincoln were notoriously shabby dressers, but it was their differences
that helped them succeed in the courtroom. Logan was a
methodical lawyer with the encyclopedic knowledge of the law and
a penchant for preparation. Lincoln was more often interested in
the spirit of the law than the letter of it,
(09:55):
and loved to improvise. Logan helped Lincoln get organized. In
his words, when Lincoln went in with me, he turned
in to try to know more and studied to learn
how to prepare his cases. In return, Lincoln helped be
somewhat prickly and awkward Logan win over juries. The pair
(10:16):
had three fruitful years together in practice before Lincoln set
off on his own. An end to their formal partnership
did not mean that Lincoln and Logan stopped working together.
Over the years, they would serve as co councils on
nearly seven hundred cases and as opposing councils on three
hundred more so. When Logan asked Lincoln for a favor,
(10:37):
Lincoln was inclined to say yes. Logan wasn't Lincoln's only
personal connection to the case. Lincoln knew Peyton Harrison, the
father of Quinn Harrison well. The two were distantly related.
They were third cousins, but their bond was more political
than familial. The wealthy and prominent Harrison had supported Lincoln's
(10:59):
political aspirations for years. Further, Lincoln had served alongside Quinn
Harrison's cousin George, in the Blackhawk War. But Lincoln also
knew the victim, Greek Crafton. He knew him very well.
In fact, Greek had once served as a law clerk
in his office, and Lincoln had liked him. That might
(11:21):
sound like a reason for Lincoln not to take the case,
but if anything, the opposite was true. Lincoln mourned Greek
Crafton's death and did not want to see the tragedy compounded,
which is what would happen. He believed if Quinn Harrison
was convicted of murder, both the Craftons and the Harrisons
had suffered too much already. In Lincoln's mind. Even more
(11:45):
than that, Lincoln didn't think Quinn was guilty of murder.
He believed that the killing was self defense. After weighing
up all these factors, Lincoln made a decision. He said
yes to Stephen Logan. Abraham Lincoln was on the case.
(12:05):
At first glance, the killing of Greek Crafton might seem
like a clear case of self defense. Greek threatened to
attack Quinn Harrison. Quinn started carrying a knife with him
for protection, and when Greek attacked him on July sixteenth, Quinn,
afraid for his life, struck back. But proving self defense
in court would be easier said than done. As Lincoln
(12:28):
sat in his notoriously messy second floor office on Fifth
Street in Springfield, he must have considered if Quinn's actions
conformed with Illinois self defense laws. Self defense laws were
a matter of much debate in the mid nineteenth century.
In the eighteenth century, American law had broadly followed English precedent.
(12:49):
The English approach to self defense, per William Blackstone's influential book,
Commentaries on the Laws of England, was this quote. A
man using violence in his own defense should have retreated
as far as he conveniently or safely can to avoid
the violence of the assault, before he turns upon his assailant.
(13:10):
Blackstone's definition of self defense suited the American legal system
in its earliest days, but as the country developed, the
definition of self defense began to evolve. In eighteen forty six,
Francis Wharton wrote the first survey of American criminal law,
discussing self defense. Wharton wrote quote, a man may repel
(13:31):
force in defense of his person, habitation, or property against
one or many who manifestly intend and endeavor, by violence
or surprise to commit a known felony on either. In
such a case, he is not obliged to retreat, but
may pursue his adversary till he finds himself out of danger,
(13:52):
and if in a conflict between them he happeneth to kill,
such a killing is justifiable. Wharton's construction removed many of
the rules for justifiable self defense that Blackstone had used,
such as the duty to retreat, and allowed for a
wider application of self defense. By the eighteen forties, when
(14:13):
Wharton was writing, America was experiencing rapid changes. Most notably,
the country was expanding. West. Frontier settlements often had little
contact with formal justice or law enforcement systems, and so
the government increasingly condoned people taking the law into their
own hands. What was once public became private. Writes the
(14:35):
scholar Joshua Stein, as a state monopoly on violence gave
way to a private army of thousands of white male deputies,
empowered to defend their realms. Not everyone approved of this
sanctioned vigilantism. Abraham Lincoln was one opponent, criticizing quote the
increasing disregard for law which pervades the country, the growing
(14:58):
disposition to subsidy to the wild and furious passions in
lieu of the sober judgment of courts. But Lincoln didn't
think that Quinn's case was one of wild and furious passion.
He thought that Quinn's actions fit under Illinois eighteen fifty
six Statute on Self Defense, which declared, quote, the use
(15:19):
of a deadly weapon in self defense is limited only
to those events in which the danger is so urgent
and pressing that, in order to save his own life
or to prevent his receiving great bodily harm, the killing
to the other was absolutely necessary. Lincoln understood from his
conversations with Quinn that the young man had genuinely believed
(15:40):
his life was imperiled when Greek Crafton attacked him, and
had only pulled the knife to save his own life.
But there was a serious obstacle to telling the jury
that Quinn would not be allowed to testify at his
own trial. This restriction wasn't specific to Quinn's trial or
even to Illinois. In Eache in fifty nine, no criminal
(16:04):
defendant was allowed to testify in their own defense in
the United States. As with the concept of self defense,
the American legal system was influenced by the British tradition
in this matter. For centuries, defendants were considered to be
inherently incompetent witnesses because their bias was so strong that
it could lead to them lying on the stand. By
(16:25):
the nineteenth century, however, lawyers and theorists had begun to
question this assumption. Does it follow wrote the English jurist
and philosopher Jeremy Bentham in eighteen twenty seven, that because
there is a motive of some sort prompting a man
to lie, that for that reason he will lie. In
the eighteen forties, both English and American courts began letting
(16:48):
parties in civil cases testify, but opposition to allowing criminal
defendants to testify was still strong. Opponents believed that the
right to testify might actually hurt defendants. Juries, these opponents argued,
would begin to expect defendants to testify. If a defendant
did not testify, the jury might automatically assume that it
(17:10):
was because they were guilty. Thus, all defendants would wish
to testify, and those that were guilty would have to
perjure themselves, and the lives of these defendants would cause
juries to begin disbelieving all defendants in sort of the
worst vicious cycle of all time. But not everyone agreed
with these arguments. John Appleton, the Chief Justice of the
(17:32):
Supreme Court of Maine, argued forcefully for a defendant's right
to testify. The lawyer and scholar Robert Popper sums up
Appleton's arguments in his article History and Development of the
Accused's Right to testify, quote that the defendant's testimony is
crucial in order to ascertain the whole truth. That the
defendant is most apt to be familiar with the true facts,
(17:55):
that he is no more interested than the complainant. That
since he is presumed in a perjurious motive should not
be attributed to him, and that the law should not
aid the guilty and harm the innocent. After years of debate,
many jurists eventually came around to Appleton's way of thinking.
Beginning in the mid eighteen sixties, state after state began
(18:17):
allowing defendants to testify in criminal cases. By nineteen hundred,
every state had such a law on the books, except
for Georgia, but back in eighteen fifty nine such reforms
were still years away. Quinn Harrison would not be allowed
to take the stand. Lincoln and Logan would need to
find another way to explain his state of mind to
(18:38):
the jury. Legal hurdles weren't Lincoln's only concern. He knew
that he was up against formidable opponents. John Palmer would
be leading the prosecution. Palmer was a major player in
the Illinois Republican Party, a skilled lawyer and a longtime
friend of Lincoln's, who one observer described as having quote
(18:59):
a convincing voe and a personality of tremendous earnestness and sincerity.
Palmer would be assisted by Norman Broadwell, a lawyer who
had begun his legal career by studying law under Lincoln.
Lawyers Jim White and John mclernan filled out the prosecution.
It was a sharp, successful group of lawyers who wouldn't
(19:19):
make the trial easy for the defense. There was also
the matter of the judge. Circuit Court judge Edward Y
Rice was known as a fair judge, but a stern one.
Lincoln liked to keep things casual in the courtroom. He
was famous for his folksy manner, his clever jokes, and
his disheveled wardrobe. Rice preferred a no nonsense approach and
(19:42):
kept strict order in his courtroom. Lincoln would have to
try to stay on the judge's good side while still
playing to his own strengths, and Lincoln was certainly a
strong lawyer. Dan Abrams and David Fisher, in their book
Lincoln's Last Trial write that quote his stirring use of
common language allowed him to forge a remarkable connection with
(20:04):
his audience. Many of the qualities that made Lincoln a
legendary president. His remarkable memory, his talent for distilling issues
to their cores, and most of all, his powerful way
with words were developed during his years in the courtroom.
But would these skills be enough to save Quinn Harrison.
(20:27):
The Sangamon County Courthouse, a two story brick building with
the facade of a Greek temple, sat on the east
side of the town's main square. The first floora held
county offices. The second held the courtroom, a high ceiling
spacious room with large windows. In the courthouse's attic in
a converted storeroom, Quinn Harrison sat awaiting his trial after
(20:50):
Greek's death. Quinn had gone into hiding afraid of retribution
from the Craftons. When Stephen Logan joined the defense, he
organized Quinn's surrender. The Harrison family hired private guards to
stand watch outside his makeshift cell. This was an an
unnecessary measure. All of Sangmun County was paying close attention
(21:11):
to the case, and many people had strong opinions both
for and against Quinn Harrison. Because of these strong opinions,
selecting a jury was not an easy process. On Wednesday,
August thirty, first potential jurors gathered in the courtroom. Illinois
law at the time required that jurors be quote white,
(21:33):
male property owning American citizens between the ages of twenty
one and sixty. Lincoln was known for taking jury selection
seriously because so much of his success came from the
connection he established with each juror throughout the course of
the trial. Finding the right jurors was crucial. After trying
thousands of cases, Lincoln had developed a number of theories
(21:55):
on what made for a good juror, some more rational,
like preferring younger men who might be less set in
their ways, and some more absurd. Lincoln did not like blonde,
blue eyed jurors because he thought they were indecisive, and
deferred to the prosecution. By the end of the day,
after questioning more than one hundred men, the defense and
(22:17):
prosecution managed to find their jury. Judge Rice dismissed the
jurors for the night with a warning not to discuss
the case with anyone. The next morning, Thursday, September one,
Quinn Harrison was led down from his attic cell. At
nine am the trial began. Neither side had much to
say for opening arguments. Per the court transcript quote, mister
(22:40):
Brodwell proceeded briefly to open the case of the prosecution,
merely reading the indictment and the statute applicable, and mister
Logan very briefly replied for the defense, stating their position.
With these riveting performances out of the way, it was
time to dive into testimony. The central issue of the
trial was self defense. Were Quinn Harrison's actions a reasonable
(23:03):
and necessary response to the threat Greek Crafton presented. To
answer this question, Both the prosecution and the defense tried
to recreate the scene at Short and Heart's drug store
on July sixteenth. Silas Livergood, a friend of the Crafton brothers,
appeared for the prosecution. Livergood had been in the drug
store on the sixteenth and seen the fight firsthand. Prosecutor
(23:26):
John Palmer walked Livergood patiently through the fight, and then
to give the jury a better picture, he asked Livergood
to demonstrate the positions Quinn and Greek had been in
at the moment of the stabbing. Livergood stepped down and
stood behind Palmer, who was playing Quinn. Facing the jury,
Livergood wrapped his left arm around Palmer's left arm, leaving
(23:48):
Palmer's right arm free. It was with his right hand,
Livergood explained that Quinn had struck out backwards with the knife.
Livergood's description didn't sound good for Quinn. Vergood did acknowledge
that he had heard John Crafton tell his brother to
quote whip Quinn, and admitted that even after Quinn had
(24:08):
said he didn't want to fight Greek had bodily dragged
him away from the counter, but at the moment he
had dealt Greek the fatal blow, Quinn, if Livergood was
to be believed, hadn't been in imminent danger. He had
just been restrained. John Crafton came to the stand next.
John claimed that his being in the drug store that
(24:30):
day was a coincidence. He'd just been there to pick
up some money that he believed had been left for
him there. He'd asked Benjamin Short, the owner, about the money.
When Short said that it may have been left with
his partner, who was out, John decided to stay and
wait for the partner's return. He had been surprised to
look up and see a fight beginning, he said, and
(24:50):
shocked to see that his brother was one of the participants.
Like Livergood, John claimed that Quinn had been in no
immediate danger before he stabbed Greek, although also admitted that
he hadn't seen the actual stabbing, But a moment after
the first blow, John said Quinn had tried to stab
his brother again. John had then stepped in to protect
(25:11):
Greek and received a deep cut on his right arm
for his trouble. Even now, his arm was in a
sling and he could barely move it. John's testimony was
clearly painful for him, and his story made a powerful impact,
but there were some problems with the prosecution's account of
the fight. During his cross examination of Silas Livergood, Stephen
(25:33):
Logan had gotten Livergood to admit that the only reason
that Quinn's right arm had been free to stab Greek
was because Greek, who had initially grabbed Quinn by both arms,
had let Quinn's right arm go. Why had Greek let
Quinn's right arm go in order to free up his
own right hand, which he then used to hit Greek
(25:54):
hard in the face. There was reason for Quinn to
be frightened, it seemed, especially because Greek was substantially larger
and stronger than him, a point the defense continually brought up,
even having Quinn's doctor testified to his lifelong frailty, and
the fight had never really been one on one. The
defense reminded the jurors Quinn had good reason to believe
(26:18):
that John Crafton and perhaps even Silas Livergood were there
to beat him up too. John Crafton had claimed that
he was only at the drug store by coincidence, but
the testimony of Benjamin Short, the drug store's owner who
appeared for the defense, raised questions about this story. Short
said that John had never asked him about any money
(26:38):
and also hadn't given any other explanation for why he
was there, and Short described John as much more than
a passive participant. When Short had tried to stop the fight,
the shopkeeper said John had grabbed him and told him
to let Greek whip Quinn. To further bolster their claimed
that Quinn was genuinely afraid for his life. Lincoln and
(27:00):
Logan wanted to prove that Greek had been threatening Quinn
for weeks, but when they introduced their first witness to
these threats, doctor John Allen, Palmer, quickly objected Allan's testimony.
Palmer argued to Judge Rice would be more prejudicial than
probative unless quote evidence was shown in connection with it
(27:20):
to bring knowledge of these threats to the defendant. If
Quinn hadn't heard these threats, then they were irrelevant, per
Palmer's argument. Lincoln and Logan fought back hard in an
extended argument that Judge Rice dismissed the jury for, but
ultimately the judge decided not to allow Allen's testimony. Lincoln
and Logan managed to get a related witness, Thomas White,
(27:43):
on the stand because White had directly told Quinn about
the threats Greek had made, but to get further testimony
of this nature admitted, the defense changed their approach. They
decided to call witnesses who had spoken to Greek Crafted
immediately before the fight. On the sixteenth, when the prosecution
again objected, the defense responded that these witnesses were there
(28:05):
to speak to Greek Crafton's intent, not Quinn Harrison's fears.
Jud Rice decided to allow the testimony. The defense brought
on multiple men who had spoken to Greek shortly before
the fight and heard him threaten to attack Quinn. Doctor
John Allen came back to the stand and discussed how
thirty minutes before the fight he saw Greek at another
(28:27):
store in town, and Greek had told him that he
was there lying in wait for Quinn. When Quinn did
not show, Alan said Greek left. Thanks to these witnesses,
the defense could paint a better picture of the atmosphere
immediately before the fight, Greek's determination, Quinn's anxious anticipation. There
(28:48):
was one final legal battle ahead of them. Lincoln and
Logan had gotten the threat testimony admitted by saying that
it spoke to Greek's state of mind before the fight.
Now they wanted to bring on a witness who could
speak to Greek's feelings after someone who had spoken to
Greek Crafton on his deathbed, the Reverend Peter Cartwright, had
(29:10):
heard some of Greek's last words, and these words were
sure to make waves if the defense could get Cartwright's
testimony admitted. The moment Logan asked Cartwright about what Greek
Crafton had said to him, John Palmer was on his feet,
objecting this was hearsay. Palmer said Greek Grafton was certainly
not available to be questioned on his words, the testimony
(29:33):
was inadmissible. Logan countered that these words were Greek's dying declaration,
a category of speech that is often an exception to
the hearsay rule on the belief that a dying person
will be honest. Judge Rice said that he wanted to
hear Cartwright's testimony out of the jury's earshot before ruling.
Once Cartwright told his story, Judge Rice took some time
(29:55):
to consider his decision. Then he began to speak. The
law could often be ambiguous or difficult to interpret. Rice
said dying declarations were one such gray area in the law.
There were specific criteria that admissible dying declarations had to meet,
and he just wasn't sure if this testimony met those criteria.
(30:18):
Hearing this, Abraham Lincoln jumped to his feet. This moment
would be burned into those who witnessed it. The court
reporter Robert hit later said, quote, I never saw a
demonstration of power manifested in any human being in my
life equal to that. Lincoln was furious. He believed that
Rice was gravely wrong. This testimony was admissible, and to
(30:43):
exclude it, he thought would be a miscarriage of justice.
Lincoln began to pace back and forth, passionately making his case.
He characterized the continued rulings against him, wrote his law
partner William Herndon, as not only unjust, but foolish, and
figuratively speaking, he peeled the court from head to foot.
(31:04):
He was brought up to the point of madness, alternately
furious and eloquent, pursuing the court with broad facts and
pointed inquiries in marked and rapid succession. When Lincoln was finished,
He composed himself and walked back to the defense table, saying, quote,
the deceased has a right to be heard Onlookers waited
(31:26):
with bated breath. Judd Rice wasn't known for his tolerance
for outbursts. Would he censure Lincoln. But Rice kept his
composure smoothly, telling the lawyers that before he had been
so rudely interrupted, he had actually been about to rule
the testimony admissible, although he wasn't sure it strictly met
(31:48):
the definition of a dying declaration. Rice said he wasn't
sure it didn't either. Observers didn't know whether to buy
the judge's story or not herndon a pined quote. Lincoln
so effectually badgered the judge that strange as it may seem,
he pretended to see the error in his former position
and finally reversed his decision in Lincoln's favor. But whatever
(32:11):
Rice's original intent, he had ruled and Reverend Cartwright could
deliver his testimony. Cartwright returned to the stand, this time
with the jury present. Cartwright was a fascinating witness for
many reasons. For one thing, he was Quinn Harrison's grandfather.
Usually that would have rendered his testimony suspect, but Cartwright's
(32:33):
public reputation far outweighed any personal entanglements he had with
the case. In eighteen fifty nine, Peter Cartwright was one
of the most famous preachers in the country, a leader
of the religious revival that would come to be known
as the Second Great Awakening, known as God's Plowman. Cartwright's
eighteen fifty seven book, Autobiography of Peter Cartwright The Backwoods Preacher,
(32:56):
which documented his decades spent energetically traveling a miast his
frontiers in search of people to convert, had won a
claim all across the country. Cartwright was not universally beloved.
He could be single minded and militant. One of his
most frequent opponents was Abraham Lincoln, who disliked the way
Cartwright mixed religion and politics. Lincoln and Cartwright had run
(33:20):
against each other for Congress in eighteen forty six. Lincoln won,
but even Lincoln could not deny Cartwright's integrity. That's why
when he heard what Cartwright had been told by Greek Crafton,
he had known that he needed to get the reverend
on the stand. Now, in front of a wrapped courtroom,
(33:40):
Cartwright told his story. After the fight, Greek Crafton had
summoned Cartwright to his bedside. The honest hour has come,
Cartwright recounted Greek, telling him and in a few moments,
I expect to stand before my final judge. Do you
think there is any mercy for me? Will you pray
for me? Cartwright, in reply expressed his quote deep and
(34:05):
heartfelt regret that this calamity had fallen upon Greek. The
dying man took a moment and then said, yes, I
have brought it upon myself, and I forgive Quinn. Cartwright
then conducted religious services, noting for the jury how Greek
had shown great composure. When Cartwright's prayers concluded, Greek repeated
(34:27):
his earlier words, I have brought it upon myself. He said,
I forgive Quinn, and I want it said to all
my friends that I have no enmity in my heart
against any man. Cartwright's words hung in the courtroom. Greek
had forgiven his killer. He had blamed himself, not Quinn,
(34:48):
for his own death. It was a powerful plea from
beyond the grave for mercy. Of course, whether or not
a victim forgives their killer before dying, ying does not
actually determine if the killer broke a law. In closing arguments,
the prosecution reminded the jury of the plain facts of
the case. Norman Broadwell began recapping the testimony of the
(35:12):
prosecution's witnesses for the jury, and then reminding jurors of
what exactly Illinois law said to use lethal force against
someone else and be justified. Broadwell explained that lethal force
must have been absolutely necessary. It must be the only
thing standing between you and your own death or serious injury.
(35:33):
That was not the situation Quinn Harrison was in. Broadwell argued,
he may have been frightened, but that didn't mean that
his life was truly in danger. Stephen Logan disagreed. In
his closing arguments, he portrayed Quinn Harrison as a man
with no other options when Greek Crafton attacked him. Quinn
had tried to resist, He'd told Greek he didn't want
(35:56):
to fight. He'd clung to the countertop, he called for help.
None of that had stopped the attack. It was only
after he had been pulled free and it appeared that
John Crafton might join the fray. Logan said that in
fear for his life, he had struck back with the
only weapon he had available to him. He asked the
jurors to put themselves in Quinn's shoes. Abraham Lincoln was
(36:22):
up next. Lincoln's closing arguments were legendary. At no time
were his eloquence, his intelligence, and his empathy so clearly
on display than in these moments. That afternoon. Lincoln didn't
focus just on Quinn. He spent much of his closing
argument talking about Greek. He had known Greek well, he
(36:44):
had mentored the young man. At one point, he spoke
of his own personal grief. Lincoln knew that he was
not alone in this sadness, but that grief, he said softly,
would not be healed by punishing another young man. Had
had no murderous intent. He had acted impulsively out of
(37:04):
a genuine belief that he might die. Punishing Quinn would
not bring Greek back, it would not heal the wounds,
and it would not accord with the law. As Lincoln concluded,
many in the courtroom had tears rolling down their cheeks.
John Palmer delivered the trial's final closing argument. Throughout the trial,
(37:28):
Palmer had been a calm, affable presence in the courtroom,
arguing his case, forcefully, of course, but never getting too personal.
After all, he knew and respected the defend Flowyer's But
for some reason, Lincoln's closing argument had set John Palmer off.
His first words were not about Gwyn Harrison, but about
(37:49):
Abraham Lincoln. Well, gentlemen, Palmer said, you have heard mister
Lincoln hones stay Lincoln, they call him. I believe, and
I suppose you think you have heard the honest truth,
or at least that mister Lincoln believes what he had
told you to be the truth. I tell you he
believes no such thing. That frank, ingenious face of his,
(38:14):
those looks and tones of such unsophisticated simplicity, those appeals
to your minds and consciences, as sworn jurors, are all
assumed for the occasion, gentlemen, all a mask. Gentlemen, you
have been listening for the last hour to an actor
who knows well how to play the role of honest
(38:36):
seeming for effect. Abraham Lincoln could take no more. He
stood and rebuked Palmer, saying, mister Palmer, you have known
me for years, and you know that not a word
of that language can be applied to me. Palmer stared,
at Lincoln hard and then deflated. Yes, mister Lincoln, I
(38:57):
do know it, and I take it all back, he said.
The two men shook hands. It was hard for observers
to understand what had just happened. Was Palmer really angry
or was he just trying by dramatic means to dispel
the spell that Lincoln's closing had cast over the courtroom.
(39:18):
Either way, the rest of Palmer's closing was much less exciting.
He spoke for three hours, according to the State Journal quote,
evincing great ingenuity in handling the testimony, interspersing many remarks
upon human nature and human passions, the duties of the citizens,
and the spirit of the law. He pushed back on
the defense's depiction of Quinn Harrison as a weak, frightened innocent,
(39:41):
describing all the times Quinn had provoked Greek crafton and
recounting how Quinn had told people he would strike back
if Greek tried anything. When Palmer concluded, Judge Rice instructed
the jury and then dismissed them to deliberate. It was
shortly after four pm on Siptem third, eighteen fifty nine.
(40:02):
It took the jury little more than an hour to
reach a verdict. Once everyone was back inside the courtroom,
the jury foreman handed the bailiff a piece of paper
with their decision written inside. The bailiff passed the paper
to Judge Rice, who read it aloud. On the charge
of murder for the death of Greek Crafton, the defendant,
(40:22):
Quinn Harrison was found not guilty, though the courtroom broke
into tears upon the judge's announcement. Not everyone was happy
about Quinn Harrison's acquittal. Greek Crafton's friends and family were furious.
They felt certain that Quinn had gotten away with murder.
(40:45):
Their anger over the issue eventually prompted local law enforcement
officers to arrest Benjamin Short, the drug store owner who
had tried to break up the fight, and charge him
as an accessory in Greek's murder. The charges were eventually dropped,
with the animal lingered. Perhaps because of this animosity, Quinn
Harrison never seemed to be comfortable in Pleasant Plains again.
(41:08):
He began a pattern of wandering, venturing into the frontier
for long spells. Even his eighteen sixty seven marriage to
a woman named Emmeline couldn't keep him in one place.
Though the couple had two children. They would eventually divorce
in eighteen ninety eight after Emmeline charged Quinn with desertion.
Quinn Harrison died in nineteen twenty in Missouri. Though the
(41:32):
trial had grown contentious by the end, the lawyers involved
all remained friends. Abraham Lincoln quickly forgave John Palmer for
his courtroom outburst. Two months after the trial ended, Lincoln
campaigned for Palmer to fill an empty congressional seat, describing
Palmer as quote good and true. Palmer lost this election,
(41:54):
that he would soon return Lincoln's political support, as would
two other lawyers from the trial. In May eighteen sixty,
the Republican Party held its presidential nominating convention in Chicago.
William Seward, a senator from New York, was considered the
front runner, but there were multiple other candidates, including Illinois's
own Abraham Lincoln, John Palmer, Norman Broadwell, and Stephen Logan.
(42:18):
All lobbied heavily for Lincoln, who emerged from the convention
as a surprise nominee. Logan then helped Lincoln raise thousands
of dollars to fund his campaign. Lincoln stayed close with
many of his Illinois connections during his time in office.
He asked Stephen Logan to edit his inaugural address. He
appointed John Palmer to be military governor of Kentucky after
(42:41):
the Civil War. These men would stand by Lincoln's side
even in death. On April fifteenth, eighteen sixty five, Stephen
Logan delivered a eulogy at the Springfield Memorial for Lincoln,
recording his legacy in a way that would resonate with
anyone who saw him in action at the Hair Trial. Quote.
(43:02):
When Lincoln believed his client was right, especially in difficult
and complicated cases, he was the strongest and most comprehensive
reasoner and lawyer I had ever met. Or if the
case was somewhat doubtful but could be decided either way
without violating any just, equitable, or moral principle, he was
very strong. But if he thought his client was wrong,
(43:26):
he would make very little effort. In other words, Lincoln
the lawyer was very much like Lincoln the president. That's
the story of Illinois v. Quinn Harrison. Stay with me
after the break to hear the amazing tale of just
how we know as much as we do about this trial.
(43:47):
For years, the shoe box sat in a garage, its
sides slightly sagging with damp its corners nibbled away by mice.
When the garage's owner moved from Fresno to Huntsville, Alabama,
he took the sho shoe box with him. It might
not have looked like much, but the box contained a
family heirloom. In nineteen eighty nine, after the owner died,
(44:08):
his widow presented the box to a group she thought
might be interested in its contents. The group couldn't believe
their luck. Inside the shoe box were one hundred handwritten pages,
carefully ordered and tied together with a yellow ribbon. It
was a transcript of Abraham Lincoln's last murder trial. The
(44:30):
man who had owned the transcript was Quinn Harrison's great grandson, William.
The transcript had been passed down from father to son
for four generations. After William's widow presented it to the
Lincoln Legal Papers, a research group dedicated to exploring Lincoln's
law career, the group made the transcript publicly available. It's
(44:50):
a remarkably rich document. The transcript transports you into the courtroom,
reporting on not just the words spoken, but the actions, movements,
and emotions of the participants and the onlookers. The transcript
lets us see Lincoln as a lawyer, just as if
he were speaking in front of us today. The existence
of this transcript is astonishing for a number of reasons.
(45:14):
Of course, there's the miracle of it surviving one hundred
and thirty years in non archival environments, but even more
than that, it's amazing that this transcript was even created.
At the time. Most trials, if they were recorded at all,
were just summarized. This kind of verbatim report is very unusual.
How did it come to be likely thanks at least
(45:36):
indirectly to Abraham Lincoln himself. The Illinois State Journal, aware
of Lincoln's growing fame and the high profile nature of
the case, hired a shorthand reporter to transcribe the trial.
They didn't have to look hard to find a good
shorthand man. Only a year earlier, Abraham Lincoln had hired
a young shorthand reporter named Robert R. Hit to transcribe
(45:58):
his debates with Stephen's Douglas. HiT's transcriptions had been instrumental
in spreading news of Lincoln's performance nationwide, and they'd helped
make hits reputation too, which is perhaps how the State
Journal selected him to cover the Harrison trial. Robert Hit
attended every day of the trial, making shorthand transcriptions and
then painstakingly copying the transcriptions out in long form each night.
(46:22):
He had to make multiple copies. Besides the reports that
he sent to the State Journal, Hit was also offering
copies for a price to trial participants. Abraham Lincoln subscribed,
paying Hit twenty seven dollars and fifty cents for his copy.
Greek Crafton's family subscribed too, though Hit charged them two
dollars and fifty cents less than he'd charged Lincoln. A
(46:44):
transcript could be helpful in the case of an appeal, so,
of course Quinn Harrison's family bought a copy as well,
which is how one hundred and sixty five years after
the Harrison trial ended, we could imagine ourselves in the
Sangamin County Courthouse with row seats to Abraham Lincoln's last
murder trial. Thank you for listening to History on Trial.
(47:07):
If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a rating
or review. It can help new listeners find the show.
My main sources for this episode were Dan Abrams and
David Fisher's book Lincoln's last trial, the murder case that
propelled him to the presidency, as well as the trial
transcript and other materials contained in the second edition of
the Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln Complete Documentary Edition, a
(47:31):
publication of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency edited by Martha L.
Behner and Colin Davis. For a complete bibliography, as well
as a transcript of the episode with citations, please visit
our website History on Trial podcast dot com. History on
Trial is written and hosted by me Mira Hayward. The
(47:52):
show is edited and produced by Jesse Funk, with supervising
producer Trevor Young and executive producers Dana Schwartz, Ali Xander Williams,
Matt Frederick, and Mira Hayward. Learn more about the show
at History on Trial podcast dot com and follow us
on Instagram at History on Trial and on Twitter at
(48:13):
Underscore History on Trial. Find more podcasts from iHeartRadio by
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