Re: [CTRL] The Clintonesque Lizzie Borden
-Caveat Lector- On Fri, 5 Nov 1999, Bill Richer wrote: That's because, despite the evidence suggesting her guilt, the press favored Lizzie. There was just as much evidence pointing to others as being the culprit, especially "Uncle John" Morse, who just happened to have dropped in the day before and stayed the night... Anyone who does any extensive research into the Borden case (as I've been doing the past couple of months) quickly finds out that some sort of strange financial shenanigans were taking place in the weeks prior to the murders, in which "Uncle John" was in the middle... Dr. Bowen, who lived across the street, doesn't come off so well, either...the day before the murders, Mrs. Borden went to the good doctor complaining of illness (indeed, the whole household was ill, even the servant girl...the only person who didn't become ill was good old "Uncle John")...Mrs. Borden then revealed to the doctor her fear that 'someone' was trying to poison the familythe doctor basically told her not to be so foolish, and sent her home The next day, he was the first medical person on the scene after the bodies were discovered...and very quickly 'sedated' Lizzie with doses of morphine... Lizzie claimed her stepmother had gotten a postcard or letter right after breakfast, requesting the stepmother to attend a 'sick friend'...Lizzie used this as a defense, claiming she didn't know her stepmother was dead in the guest bedroom because she presumed her stepmother had gone out on the sick call... The letter was never found, and no one ever came forward claiming they'd sent it...so in the 'legend' of Lizzie Borden, this has been forwarded as an example of her many attempts to cover up her murder of her stepmother... And yet, it is right there in the police record, that the very afternoon of the murders, Dr. Bowen was seen in the kitchen, burning documents in the kitchen stovea police officer even asked him what he was doing, and Dr. Bowen's response was "oh, it's nothing", and amazingly the matter was pursued no further... As to the press favoring Lizzie...some did, and some didn't, and those that didn't were brutal, and didn't bother to check the validity of supposed eyewitness statements --- the most blatant case was of the Fall River Globe -- a 'liberal' Democrat newspaper -- printing a story claiming that the night before the murders, various passersby claimed they overheard her father arguing with her over the fact -- get this -- that 32-year-old Lizzie, who never had a male suitor, as far as anyone can determine -- was pregnant, obviously out of wedlock... Within a day, it was proven that the eyewitnesses named in that article did not in fact exist, neither were their home addresses real... The press divided along economic lines in the stance they took regarding Lizzie's guilt or innocenceAndrew Borden had been president of two banks, and on the board of directors of a couple of the major mills in townso the 'conservative' papers of a Republican bent tended to treat Lizzie very well, since she was considered 'on of their own'...the 'liberal' paper of a Democratic bent, on the other hand, tended to cast her as guilty, even before a trial was held Responding to the lawyers'cue, newspaper headlines and cartoons publicly vilified Blaisell for refusing to step down. Perhaps you can name these newspapers? Because in my research into the Borden murders, I've never seen one cartoon which 'vilified' Blaisdell, and the articles that supported the defense's stance only had relatively mild criticism of him. Gossip columnists painted the "accused" as a proper Victorian victim and More due the the feeling at the time that a proper lady of a good home would be incapable of such a heinous crime Remember, Lizzie WAS highly regarded in the community. She was an active church member, and taught Sunday School. Her most adamant support after she was arrested came from her minister and her fellow church members...indeed, it was a rare occurance that her minister didn't accompany her, leaning on his arm, to the inquest hearings and later trial. Outside the courtroom, Lizzie Borden enjoyed the status of a national celebrity and her "poll numbers" skyrocketed. Yes, the Borden murders are the American equivalent of the Jack-the-Ripper murders, in the way they caught the attention of the press. Like Clinton, her most visible and vocal supporters came from the organized women's movement of her day: the Women's Christian Temperance Movement Suffragettes and the Women's Auxiliary of the YMCA. To further her own public relations, Lizzie was always accompanied by two clergymen, Reverend Jubb and Reverend Buck. Who sincerely believed in her innocence. Trouble surfaced for Lizzie, though, when her friend Alice Russell gave grand jury testimony regarding a stained blue dress. At the inquest, Borden had testified that she'd worn a blue dress on the day of the murders, and that she had later
[CTRL] The Clintonesque Lizzie Borden
-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a prelude to war! The Clintonesque Lizzie Borden by Stephanie Herman Saturday, October 30, 1999 Lizzie Borden took an axe Gave her mother forty whacks And when she saw what she had done She gave her father forty-one. WHEN LIZZIE BORDEN'S parents were found dead in their home on August 4, 1892, a maniacally publicized investigation began, consisting of an inquest, preliminary hearing, and the convening of a grand jury, to determine if Borden should stand trial for murder. One hundred and six years before the criminal investigation and impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton, Borden's trial, evidence and defense tactics exhibited several macabre similarities. According to Borden biographer Ed Sams, Lizzie's foremost talent during the investigation was a now-familiar tendency to parse her words. At the inquest, for example, prosecuting attorney Hosea M. Knowlton asked Borden, "Were you always cordial with your stepmother?" Her Clintonesque response: "That depends upon one's idea of cordiality." The judge, impatient with her equivocations, suspended the inquest and moved for a preliminary hearing. Borden's attorneys hedged. They argued before the court and in the press that Blaisell was now presumably biased against their defendant for having heard the inquest testimony, and that he should disqualify himself from the case. The judge, well within his rights to do so, refused to step down. Defenders of his day might have argued that he was simply doing his job, but there were few of those. That's because, despite the evidence suggesting her guilt, the press favored Lizzie. Responding to the lawyers'cue, newspaper headlines and cartoons publicly vilified Blaisell for refusing to step down. Gossip columnists painted the "accused" as a proper Victorian victim and whipped the American people into a meringue of misguided support. Outside the courtroom, Lizzie Borden enjoyed the status of a national celebrity and her "poll numbers" skyrocketed. Like Clinton, her most visible and vocal supporters came from the organized women's movement of her day: the Women's Christian Temperance Movement Suffragettes and the Women's Auxiliary of the YMCA. To further her own public relations, Lizzie was always accompanied by two clergymen, Reverend Jubb and Reverend Buck. Trouble surfaced for Lizzie, though, when her friend Alice Russell gave grand jury testimony regarding a stained blue dress. At the inquest, Borden had testified that she'd worn a blue dress on the day of the murders, and that she had later changed. Investigators noted that Lizzie's clothes exhibited no blood stains that day, but Russell claimed she saw Lizzie burn the blue dress that presumably contained those incriminating blood stains. Might history have been recorded differently if the family maid had kept that dress in a safe place until investigators could examine it? Perhaps, but like modern-day FOBs, those close to Lizzie were willing to protect her from justice. The Borden's family friend, Dr. Bowen, was caught in the Borden's kitchen burning evidence in the wood stove, and the maid, known as "Maggie," accepted compensation to testify on behalf of her boss. In an effective bit of witness tampering, Maggie was apparently coached on the technique of parsing words. "Considering [Maggie's] circumlocutions on the witness stand, one only wonders what [she] withheld," writes Borden's biographer. "Testifying that 'she never did say that Lizzie was crying' is not the same as saying Lizzie cried, just as 'not saying one single word that was not true' is not the same as telling the truth." Historians are still baffled that Borden's friends and acquaintances would knowingly protect an axe murderer, just as it baffled us a century later when so many White House staffers remained loyal to the president. Sometimes juries surprise us. Borden's apparently didn't think that 81 whacks constituted an impeachable offense. Stephanie Herman is regular columnist for the American Partisan. **COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substancenot soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no
