Deposition of Joseph Belknap regarding 5 March , manuscript copy by Jeremy Prestons Case" John Rowe diary 8, , pages Minutes of Robert Treat Paine's argument, by unidentified note taker, 29 October The second trial, Rex v. Wemms et al. The verdict was announced nine months to the day after the Massacre, on 5 December, by a jury that did not include a Boston resident. Six of the soldiers were acquitted while two Kilroy and Montgomery were found guilty, not of murder, but of the lesser charge of manslaughter.
The two convicted soldiers were able to avoid the death penalty by invoking "benefit of the clergy", a holdover from early English law which held that secular courts had no jurisdiction over clergymen, and which had become a loop-hole for first-time offenders. After "praying the clergy" the soldiers were branded-on the hand where the thumb meets the palm with the letter "M" for manslaughter-insuring that they could only receive the commutation once, and that the mark would be clearly visible during a handshake or while raising their palm on any future oath.
Fleeming, This pamphlet presents the proceedings of the trial of the soldiers and contains the testimonies and examinations of witnesses, arguments of several of the lawyers, charges of two judges to the jury, and the jury's verdicts regarding each soldier. Notes on the Boston Massacre trial relating to the trial of the eight soldiers, Notes on the trial of the British soldiers, circa November , by Peter Oliver Notes at the trial of British soldiers, circa November , by Samuel Quincy Notes on the Boston Massacre trials, by John Adams, , "seemed to come from He told me About four o'clock in the afternoon, preceeding the night on which he died, and he then particularly said, he forgave the man whoever he was that shot him, he was satisfied he had no malice, but fired to defend himself.
Patrick Carr's hearsay testimony was admitted, because it was believed that no one about to face final judgement would possibly lie. Samuel Adams tried to dismiss this hearsay testimony by saying Carr "probably died in the faith of a Roman Catholic," and was therefore not to be trusted by Protestant Bostonians. John Adams closed for the defense saying "the eight prisoners at the bar, had better be all acquitted, though we should admit them all to be guilty, than, that any one of them should by your verdict be found guilty, being innocent.
On December 5, six of the soldiers were acquitted; Kilroy was found guilty of manslaughter for killing Samuel Gray; and Montgomery was found guilty of manslaughter for killing Crispus Attucks. Justice Peter Oliver: "If upon the whole ye are in any reasonable doubt of their guilt, ye must then, agreeable to the rule of law, declare them innocent. The Massacre trials ended quietly. Samuel Adams wrote several articles in the Boston Gazette during December, , under the pseudonym "Vindex," that accused the soldiers of escaping with blood on their hands.
But the mood had changed in Boston since the Massacre. He turned his attentions to keeping the memory of the Massacre alive, organizing annual commemorations on March 5, a tradition that lasted until It was also Forrest who engaged John Adams in the case.
A decision was made to sever the trials of Captain Preston and that of his men, although several of his men argued against the severance. However, the defense could not risk the cross-arguments for the various defendants. Did the soldiers fire because Preston told them to, or did they fire ignoring their commanding officer?
The trials did not take place immediately. Thomas Gage, the commander of British troops in America, urged Thomas Hutchinson to delay the trials until feelings against the soldiers had cooled. Seven months passed between the Boston Massacre and the start of the trials on October 24, During this time a propaganda war broke out trying to seize upon the hearts and minds of the public and affecting public opinion in the colony as well as in the mother country.
But only about one-third of the deponents testified at any of the ensuing trials. A six-day trial was unusual in Massachusetts. Preston pleaded not guilty but did not testify. Defendants did not testify in their own behalf back then. The defense argued that Preston had not ordered the shooting. The prosecution called fifteen witnesses to but on cross examination their testimony appeared contradictory.
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