A trial for nine of the suspects…
March 1891 CE
The defendants are represented by Lionel Adams of the law firm Adams and O'Malley, and the state by district attorney Charles A. Luzenberg.
Jury selection had been a time-consuming process: Hundreds of prospective jurors were rejected before twelve people were found who were not opposed to capital punishment, were not openly prejudiced against Italians, and were not of Italian descent themselves.
Much of the evidence presented at trial is weak or contradictory.
The murder had taken place on a poorly lit street on a damp night, in a notoriously corrupt city, and the eyewitness testimony is unreliable.
Suspects are identified by witnesses who had not seen their faces, but only their clothing.
Captain Bill O'Connor, the witness who claimed to have heard Hennessy blame "Dagoes" for the assassination, is not called to testify.
There are numerous other discrepancies and improprieties.
At one point, two employees of the defense law firm are arrested for attempting to bribe prospective jurors.
Afterward, when federal district attorney William Grant looks into the case, he will report that the evidence against the men was "exceedingly unsatisfactory" and inconclusive.
He will find no evidence linking any of the lynched men to the Mafia, or to any attempts to bribe the jury.
The bribery charges will eventually be dismissed.
Mantranga and another man, Bastian Incardona, are found not guilty by directed verdict, as no evidence has been presented against them.
The jury declares four of the defendants not guilty, and asks the judge to declare a mistrial for the other three, as they cannot agree on a verdict.
The six who are acquitted were not released, but are held pending an additional charge of "lying in wait" with intent to commit murder.
Luzenberg admits that without a murder conviction, he will be forced to drop the "lying in wait" charges, but all nine men are returned to the prison—a decision that will prove fatal for some of them.
The jurors were given the option to leave by a side door, but chose to walk out the front door and face the angry crowd. Several defended their decision to reporters, arguing that they had "reasonable doubt" and had done what they thought was right.[34] Some were harassed, threatened, fired from their jobs, and otherwise penalized for failing to convict the Italians
Groups
Commodities
Regions
Northern North America
View →Subregions
