User:Lilyloftus/sandbox

On April 15, the Constable searches Smith's house and finds the weird remnants of him trying to cover up Caswell's presence in his home. April 17, he was arrested and charged with her death. The hearing was scheduled for April 19, but the judge got sick and it was postponed to April 22. The room was packed full of people but with few women in attendance; however, Judge Greene was still sick. So the hearing was delayed again. In his place Attorney Goodwin recorded the evidence for Greene. Smith was accused of causing Caswell's death. The jury and Constable had decided that he was guilty, but they just weren't sure which action did it. A descriptive account of her autopsy was given, and it was proven that typhoid fever caused her death due to the serious internal injuries from the procedure gone wrong. Women were used as witnesses to prove that Caswell had gone to Smith for an abortion. What tied Caswell to Smith was her seemingly identifying marker- her earrings. Everyone who testified seemed to remember that it was her because of that one characteristic. All of the evidence combined was enough for the court to agree that Smith probably murdered Caswell. He was charged with murder and was to be charged in Supreme Court later in the year. Some of the key witnesses were given surety to guarantee that they would testify against Smith in Supreme Court. Newspaper coverage on this case was huge, with coverage throughout New England. May of the next year, the Supreme Court trial happened. Key testimonies were William Long, Caswell's lover, and her sister Thais. Many of Caswell's clothing and other articles were found in Smith's home and were easily identified by Thais. This was crucial evidence against Smith.Throughout the trial, Long was scrutinized for his relations with Caswell, but he was not the main focus. The jury came to a verdict against Smith, and he was charged with second degree murder. He was given life in Maine state prison. However, his attorney was still hard at work. He was making an appeal to argue that his charge should not be murder, but rather manslaughter. During the original trial he made this argument, but the jury had ignored his challenge. March 20, 1851, a year after the Supreme Court trial, he filed an error in the trial, an appeal. There were many discrepancies in Maine state laws and federal statutes against abortion at the time. It was hard to come up with a decision relying on both because they were so different. After reviewing the appeal for nearly a year, April 1852, the Supreme Court decided that Smith had been improperly charged. The murder charge was overturned, and he had already spent enough time in prison to serve a manslaughter charge. He was set free.