Boston Massacre

We the jury find the defendant, Not Guilty!

Today is the last day of the trial. We have heard all of the witnesses and now we know that we must deliberate. I know that some of the "witnesses" are liars. Some make valid points and I know without a doubt in my mind that Captain Preston is an innocent man and that his men were provoked. As I listened to the witnesses, here is what I came to believe:

The witnesses for the prosecution have very different stories as do some of the witnesses for the defense. Ebenezer Hinkley testified to the fact that the crowd became rowdy and accosted to guards with sticks and other flying objects. He claims he saw Montgomery gets hit before he fired the first shot and said he was approximately 16 feet away from Captain Preston and never heard the man give the order to fire. The were lapses in time between each shot. This seems to be a general consensus between many of the witnesses.

I think that William Wyatt is a bloody liar. His story conflict with just about every other witness that was presented. I think he was brought forth by the prosecution to condemn Captain Preston. Theodore Bliss offered one of the most helpful testimonies in the whole case. He was a witness for the prosecution but he cooraborated Captain Preston's deposition. He testified to the rowdiness of the crowd and the fact that the guards were provoked and said he never heard an order to fire.

When the witnesses for the defense were presented, I heard Richard Palmes bring Theodore Bliss' testimony and Captain Preston's together. He testified that he heard the Captain refuse to give the order to fire and that he actually stood in front of his soldiers. After the first shot was fired, he heard someone say fire but could not distinguish who. I think that Jane Whitehouse is lying

for the prosecution. She seems to try to implicate a 3rd party that wasn't the captain nor on of his men.

Preston's deposition seems to be nothing but the truth if not exaggerated

to some extent. He states that the crowd became unruly and that he never gave the order to fire. Why would a man give the order to fire when standing between his men and the crowd as he stated and several witnesses concurred? After the danger to their well-being became to much and they were stuck, the men took it upon themselves