Free The Mammoth Book of Celebrity Murders by Chris Ellis Page B

more deeply than some of the defendants. And so each man, terrified of doing otherwise, took their places on the witness
stand, in the courtroom of the old penitentiary.
    The defence council put up a brave defence but the harm was already done – when John Bingham put forth his closing statements he effectively put the rope round Mrs Surratt’s neck. He
accused Surratt of being as guilty as her son, encouraging him to commit an act of treachery against his country.
    On 29 June, with these words still ringing in their ears, the nine officers of the court retired to consider their verdicts against all of the accused. The verdicts were quickly reached, with
all but one being found guilty of treasonable conspiracy. Ned Spangler was found guilty of the lesser crime of aiding and abetting Booth in his bid to escape.
    After the verdicts the court then dispensed the sentences. Spangler was given six years hard labour. Dr Mudd, Arnold and O’Laughlin were given life sentences, though Mudd only avoided the
death penalty by one vote. The rest received the death penalty, including Mrs Surratt, although in her case five members of the commission signed a recommendation to President Johnson suggesting
her sentence be commuted to life imprisonment on the grounds of her age and sex; sadly this never came to pass. The President approved the death penalty in each case and the date of execution was
set for 7 July, although two years later when John Surratt was captured Johnson would claim that he never saw the document asking for clemency for Mrs Surratt and recalled the great reluctance he
felt at agreeing to her death. Although Holt continued to maintain that the President had discussed the clemency plea but had refused it, the mystery was never resolved.
    The procedures dictated that the accused should not know their fate until the day before the sentences were due to be carried out. Thus on 6 July the prisoners were told of their impending
executions on the scaffold. Hours later Mrs Surratt’s shocked lawyers heard the news only when they heard a young newsboy shouting out the headlines. In another twist, an opportunity to save
Mrs Surratt arrived when Anna Surratt visited the White House in the hope of securing her mother’s release. Hoping to see the President she was referred instead to Joseph Holt who turned her
away.
    At 1.15 p.m. on 7 July, a small crowd gathered in the courtyard outside the Washington Arsenal; it was a blisteringly warm day. Through a small doorway the condemned foursome marched toward the
scaffold, soldiers on either side of them, Mrs Surratt at times looking like she might faint. To add a sense of reality to the occasion the group walked past their own freshly dug graves, each with
a pine coffin beside it before climbing onto the scaffold. In contrast to the harsh realities of the day’s proceedings, chairs had been provided for the prisoners’ comfort.
    Even at this late stage, General Hancock, who was in overall charge of the proceedings, had expected a reprieve to be given for Mrs Surratt, and had made sure his cavalrymen were ready to pass
the instruction through to him rapidly when it came. The hangman, Christian Rath, who would tie the customary seven knots in the women’s noose, had tied only five, saving himself time when
the fully expected reprieve came through.
    But the reprieve never did come through and the instruction was given to proceed with the planned executions. Each person in turn had their hands tied behind their backs before a white hood was
placed over their heads. David Herold trembled violently as more restraints were tied around his legs. George Atzerodt managed a few brave last words, “Goodbye gentlemen, I hope we meet on
the other side.” Paine, the bravest of them all, seemed prepared for his own death. Standing tall he said, “Mrs Surratt is innocent. She doesn’t deserve to die with the rest of
us.” The hangman fully agreed, respecting Paine’s