The trial of William Freeman : for the murder of John G. Van Nest, including the evidence and the arguments of counsel, with the decision of the Supreme Court granting a new trial, and an account of the death of the prisoner, and of the post-mortem examination of his body by Amariah Brigham, M.D., and others / reported by Benjamin F. Hall.

Freeman, William, 1824-1847

Date:: 1848

Credit: The trial of William Freeman : for the murder of John G. Van Nest, including the evidence and the arguments of counsel, with the decision of the Supreme Court granting a new trial, and an account of the death of the prisoner, and of the post-mortem examination of his body by Amariah Brigham, M.D., and others / reported by Benjamin F. Hall. 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.)

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A. I probably was. They were among the most respectable people in the county. Q. When you said he ought to be Lynched, did you think that the pri- soner could not be brought to punishment in the ordinary way ? A. I did. Q. Was there any other reason for saying so ? A. There was. Q. Had you other reasons besides seeing the dead bodies and being ex- cited ? A. Yes. Q. What was your reason for thinking that Freeman heard when in jail ? A. His manner of treating what Mr. Holmes and myself said. Q. Was the cell dark ? A. It was rather dark; there was light enough. It was light enough to see Holmes' lips. Cross Examination.—Holmes and myself both talked some when we were in the jail. Q. In what tone of voice did you speak ? A. We spoke low, and the prisoner laughed. Q. Did he laugh aloud, or only smile ? A. He laughed out so that we could hear him. Q. Was that all there was in his manner that indicated that he heard you ? A. That was all there was in his manner. Re-Direct Examination.—We conversed together in his presence about Freeman. Q. What did you and Holmes say ? Objected to but allowed. A. Holmes said to me, after speaking loud, Bill begins to look old, doesn't he? I told him his beard was long; that he hadn't been shaved since he had been there. Bill laughed out so that we heard it. Holmes said, Bill, you are a hard case. He laughed at that. That was all that was said. Q. How far were you from the prisoner when you and Holmes made those remarks ? A. It was eight or ten feet. David Mills, sworn for the people, testified: I was foreman in the dye shop when Freeman was in the State Prison. I knew him there. He car- ried off yarn to the shop; was a good boy to work, but was partially deaf. I have noticed his expressions to-day. I don't discover any material altera- tion in his countenance. He looks paler than he did. I never discovered any thing that indicated insanity. [Witness further testified in substance as upon the traverse. See post.] Lewis Markham, sworn for the people, testified: I reside in Auburn,

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