Report of the case of John W. Webster, indicted for the murder of George Parkman, before the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts : including the hearing on the petition for a writ of error, the prisoner's confessional statements and application for a commutation of sentence, and an appendix containing several interesting matters never before published / by George Bemis.

  • Webster, John White, 1793-1850.
Date:
1850
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the case of John W. Webster, indicted for the murder of George Parkman, before the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts : including the hearing on the petition for a writ of error, the prisoner's confessional statements and application for a commutation of sentence, and an appendix containing several interesting matters never before published / by George Bemis. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

    62/662
    A string went round the body and leg, for the purpose, as it seemed, of lashing them together. These limbs were taken out and washed, and put with the others, and given into the charge of the officers. I saw the medical gentlemen exam- ining them, Sunday. I was at the Medical College, Sunday afternoon, when a pair of slippers and pantaloons, with spots of blood on them, were found by officers Butman and Heath. Dr. C. T. Jack- son was also present. Mr. Butman found the pants in a clothes'-press, at the head of the stairs leading to the laborato- ry. Dr. Jackson directed that they should be kept carefully, in order that Dr. Wyman might examine whether they had blood upon them ; and they were wrapt up in paper, and, I think, Mr. Butman took charge of them. A large knife, with a silver sheath or handle, was. also found by officer Heath, Sunday afternoon, when I was present. I was also there when a saw was found, with something on the handle, look- ing like prints of blood; a hand-saw, some twelve or fifteen inches long. I was present when the limbs were put together, by Dr. Lewis. I think it was on Monday morning. The general appearance of the body was that of Dr. Parkman. He was tall, and very slim. I should say, about five feet, ten and a half inches, high. He was straight, and small over the hips. He was light complexioned ; his hair, sandy ; his under jaw was prominent. I should not like to say pos- itively, that the parts of the body which I saw were Dr. Parkman's. [Objection was here made to a question put by Mr. Bemis, whether the witness had ever known Dr. Parkman to use profane language. On the statement being made, that it was proposed to connect the testimony with the witness's own ac- tions, or to implicate the defendant in an untrue statement, as would hereafter be proved, the objection was waived.] I have heard Dr. Parkman use severe language, but never, a profane word; and I have seen him under circumstances cal- culated to produce the greatest excitement. I remember hearing Professor Webster remind Mr. Littlefield that it was time, or nearly time, to ring the bell for lecture, when we were at the Medical College, on the Tuesday's examina- tion before the arrest. Cross-examined by Mr Sohier. —The morning after the arrest, I searched Professor Webster's house at Cambridge, in company with officers Clapp and Spurr, and officer Sanderson, of Cambridge. I made a second search, there, about the