Closing Argument of Onias Skinner, 29 May 1845, Copy [State of Illinois v. Williams et al.]
Source Note
, Closing Argument, [, Hancock Co., IL], 29 May [1845], State of IL v. Williams et al. (Hancock Co., IL, Circuit Court 1845). Copied [29 May–20 June 1845]; handwriting of and printed text; thirty-one pages; Wilford Wood Museum, Bountiful, UT; images in Joseph Smith Murder Trial Papers, 1844–1845, CHL.
by other means;— they were disbanded at the same time & in the same manner the troops were— they had arms in their hands— they had sworn to do the act— they left here with that declared intention, that very day; and any body of them could [page torn]ly have returnd from the North the South West or even the South— by way of the timber from which the mob came & where they were first seen & have done the act they had declared, the same day, they would do, & you are bound under these facts <to believe> that they or some of them did do it. This, is a presumption of law & one you <are> bound to receive. another presumption in favor of the defts is, the mob were first seen on the road approaching the jail — that is another direction from or the Shanties— & you will presume they came from the region of . If you meet a man on the way from his house, you presume he came from home until, you know to the contrary. Another presumption that the troops did not do the act is, no man saw them on the way f[page torn] from or the Shanties to the jail; and will any man believe that, that body of men could have travelled 15 miles in broad day, when persons were passing in all directions, without being met, noticed & known by [p. 20]