Arguably, a popular defense against murder (though never legally codified) was that the victim deserved to be killed. Last week I saw an example of this, as I attended a trial re-enactment sponsored by the National Park Service at the Ft. Smith National Historic Site in Ft. Smith. The trial, based on the actual transcript, was United States vs. Charles H. Bullard (1889), a young black man accused of murdering Walker Bean (similarly black) in 1899 near Ft. Gibson. This was one of the last trials held in the old court house and also one of the last before the Supreme Court was granted review jurisdiction over Parker's court.

There could be little doubt as to Bullard's guilt, as many witnesses observed him shooting Bean (who worked as a section hand for the MKT).And immediately after the shooting Bullard turned himself in to the local Indian Police.

A number of issues came up at the trial. Since Bullard was seen walking through town while carrying an old army musket just prior to the shooting, would this be evidence of premeditation? The witnesses seemed to think not, as evidently there was nothing unusual about a person strolling about town carrying a loaded gun. The defense showed that Bean was carrying a pocket pistol, and seemed to be reaching for it when Bullard shot him--is this grounds for self defense? The witnesses didn't think it at all unusual that Bean was armed, even though he was at the time performing heavy manual labor in straightening out a section of the Katy track. Again, people seemed to be routinely armed, to the point that the presence of weapons could not be deemed to be much of a factor either way in establishing premeditation or pleading self defense.

Defense attorney J. Warren Reed then tried to present a number of witnesses to Bean's character, showing that he was something of the town bully and a generally dangerous man. But Judge Parker (and I think properly) excluded alll such testimony as irrelevant to the charged crime.

The jury originally dealocked, whereupon Judge Parket issued an early version of what is now known as the "Allen charge," instructing the jury to try harder and for the minority to respect the views of the majority. At that, the jury reconsidered and found Bullard guilty, whereupon Parker sentenced him to hang.

But what's interesting is that Reed then filed an appeal for clemency, and prominent among the signers of this petition recommending mercy was Judge Parker himself. It seems that as a matter of law he could not allow precisely the testimony about Bean's dangerous demeanor that as a man of conscience he later considered crucial in mediating the punishment. Bullard eventually received a full pardon.

--meursault