Murder in Victorian Scotland: The Trial of Madeleine Smith PDF
Preview Murder in Victorian Scotland: The Trial of Madeleine Smith
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData MacGowan,Douglas,1963– MurderinVictorianScotland : thetrialofMadeleineSmith / DouglasMacGowan. p. cm. Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN0–275–96431–0(alk.paper) 1. Smith,MadeleineHamilton,1835–1928. 2. Murder—Scotland— History—19thcentury. 3. Trials(Murder)—Scotland—History—19th century. 4. Poisoning—Scotland—Casestudies. I. Title. HV6535.G5S35 1999 364.15′23′0941443—dc21 99–13792 BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationDataisavailable. Copyright©1999byDouglasMacGowan Allrightsreserved.Noportionofthisbookmaybe reproduced,byanyprocessortechnique,withoutthe expresswrittenconsentofthepublisher. LibraryofCongressCatalogCardNumber:99–13792 ISBN:0–275–96431–0 Firstpublishedin1999 PraegerPublishers,88PostRoadWest,Westport,CT06881 AnimprintofGreenwoodPublishingGroup,Inc. www.praeger.com PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica Thepaperusedinthisbookcomplieswiththe PermanentPaperStandardissuedbytheNational InformationStandardsOrganization(Z39.48–1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 EmileL’Angelier MadeleineSmith Contents Acknowledgments vii Introduction ix PartI March23,1857 1 PartII Prelude 3 PartIII The1855Correspondence 11 PartIV The1856Correspondence 27 PartV The1857Correspondence 69 PartVI TheTrialoftheCentury 87 PartVII AftertheTrial 149 PartVIII WhattheWritersSaid 157 PartIX ABriefandFinalPuzzle 165 Bibliography 167 Index 169 Acknowledgments Iwouldliketothankthefollowingpersonswhoprovidedmewithinformation orresources,withoutwhichIcouldnothavecompletedthisbook:ClareCon- nellyforinsightintotheramificationsofMadeleineSmith’strial;CarolDo- chertyandIanWrightforthetouroftheBlythswoodSquarehouse;PeterDuff forinformationonthecurrentstatusofthenotprovenverdict;JohnLauperfor thecensusinformation;KayMunroforthenineteenth-centurymapsofGlas- gow;SallyRaesideforthenewspaperarticles;HeatherStaines,forallthehelp along the way; Louis Stott for information on the movie Madeleine and the Smith’shomeatRhu;myparentsandfamilyfortheirencouragementandsup- port;andJ.ChristopherWeimanfortheillustrations. Andspecialthankstomywife,April,myotherfemmefatale. Introduction Not proven is unique to Scotland; juries sitting for criminal trials there have threeoptionswhenreturningaverdict:guilty,notguilty,andnotproven.Both thenotguiltyandnotprovenverdictsallowthedefendanttogofree.Thenot provenverdictoftencarriesastigma,however,asitnotonlyindicatesthatthe prosecutionfailedtoproveitscase,butalsostatesthatthedefensefailedtocon- vincethejuryofthedefendant’sinnocence. Debate on retaining the “Scottish verdict,” which has fluctuated over the years,reachedapinnaclein1992,whenfamilymembersofhomicidevictims, outragedatseeingtheaccusedmurderersfreedduetoinadequateprosecution evidence,circulatedpetitionstoeliminatetheverdictfromtheScottishlegal system. Polls conducted at the time showed that jurors were only rarely in- structedontheprecisedifferencesbetweenanotguiltyandanotprovenverdict, andthatalmost50percentofScotsdidnotunderstandthelegalimplications orbasisofthenotprovenverdict. Theverdictremainsvalid,despitethe1992protests,althoughdebateonthe three-verdictsystemwillundoubtedlycontinue. MadeleineSmithwasnotthefirstdefendanttoreceiveanotprovenjudg- ment,norwouldshebethelast.Butshestandsasoneoftheearliestandstrong- est examples of an accused murderer whose celebrity extended long past the trial.
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