Includes bibliographical references (pages 220-251) and index.
Contents:
Introduction -- The secret marriage -- The sacred marriage -- A world of concern for Harris -- Working up a case on Harris -- Wellman states his case against Harris -- The prosecution case-week one -- The prosecution case-week two -- The defense case-day one -- The defense case-day two -- Taylor sums up -- Wellman sums up, the jury speaks -- New evidence? -- The Raines commission -- The curtain falls -- Epilogue : the Harris case today.
Summary:
As Ted Bundy was to the 20th century, so Carlyle Harris was to the 19th. Harris was a charismatic, handsome young medical student with an insatiable appetite. His trail of debauched women ended with Helen Potts, a beautiful young woman of wealth and privilege who was determined to keep herself pure for marriage. Unable to conquer her by other means, Harris talked her into a secret marriage under assumed names, and when threatened with exposure, he poisoned her. The resulting trial garnered national headlines and launched the careers of two of New York's most famous prosecutors, Francis L. Wellman and William Travers Jerome. It also spurred vigorous debate about Harris's guilt or innocence, the value of circumstantial evidence, the worth of expert testimony, and the advisability of the death penalty. Six Capsules traces Harris's crime and his subsequent trial and highlights what has been overlooked - the decisive role that the second-class status of women in Victorian Era culture played in this tragedy. The Harris case is all but forgotten today, but Six Capsules seeks to recover this important milestone in American legal history.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.