Closing Argument of Onias Skinner, 29 May 1845 [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); unidentified handwriting, possibly ; docket by , [, Hancock Co., IL, ca. 29 May 1845]; eight pages; Mormon Trial Notes, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, Springfield, IL. Includes docket.
he should be here in the morning, a◊◊◊◊◊ Shantees at noon, here again in the afternoon and with this family at in the evening—
The Smiths might have been killed by men with whom had no connection— the said that he heard divers men to kill — Willson [John Wilson] heard many men make such threats— may not the murder have been committed by some of these men— the law presumes and you are bound to, that when a person is found killed in within the reach of persons making threats to kill them him, that the person making the threat was the one who committed the murder— threat The men making these threats had the ability of to carry them into execution— None of these deft made such threats, and if they did, they had not the ability to carry them into execution If the men had committed the murder they would have approached the jail from the direction of — the men who killed the Smiths came in from the road— and you must presume that they came from rather than — Did or come on to to fan the flam[e] and in and prepare for the C[arthage] Greys for the murder of the Smiths— They was no consert between [p. [10]]