Report of the Trial of Abraham Prescott, For the Murder of Mrs Sally..
A Rare Somnambulism (Sleepwalking) and Insanity Defense: McDade 770 [Trial]. Prescott, Abraham [1815-1836], Defendant. Report of the Trial of Abraham Prescott, For the Murder of Mrs. Sally Cochran, Of Pembroke, June 23, 1833. Executed at Hopkinton, January 6, 1836. Manchester, NH: Daily Mirror Office, 1869. 46 pp. Octavo (8-1/4" x 5-1/4"; 21 x 13.3 cm). Stab-stitched pamphlet in self-wrappers. Moderate toning, very light foxing, light soiling to exterior, light edgewear and a few small tears to front wrapper, which is separated but secured by thread. $450. * First and only edition. Abraham Prescott, 18 years old at the time, had lived and worked with the Cochran family for several years. In January 1833, he had attacked both Chauncey and Sally Cochran in their sleep with an axe, an incident the couple dismissed as an "unhappy occurrence of somnambulism" and did not press charges. Months later, in June 1833, Prescott bludgeoned Sally Cochran to death with a wooden stake while they were picking strawberries. Prescott's defense attorneys argued that he committed the murder while sleepwalking and was not mentally responsible for his actions. Extensive testimony from medical experts and family members was presented to support claims of his troubled past, history of sleep disturbances, and hereditary insanity. Despite a vigorous defense, the jury was unconvinced by the sleepwalking plea, a novel legal strategy at the time. Prescott was found guilty in two separate trials and sentenced to death. The case garnered significant public attention and the controversy surrounding his mental state and eventual public execution led to the founding of New Hampshire's first mental institution. According to McDade, "the defense was one of the best for that time on the subject of insanity," but the jury was unconvinced and Prescott was hanged. McDade notes that there is "much interesting information in this case on the superstitions and treatment of the weak-minded." An historical account offering insight into 19th-century law, societal attitudes toward mental illness, and the justice system of that era. McDade, The Annals of Murder 770.
Price: $450.00
Book number 83004