The evidence that sealed Mrs. Surratt's fate

[Thomas Thorne]

No was ever tried for treason for killing Lincoln. The 8 who were tried in 1865 were charged with conspiring to kill Lincoln,Johnson,Seward and Grant. That their conspiring was also deemed malicious,unlawful and traitorous was verbiage on the part of the prosecution. John Surratt was tried for murder. Subsequent efforts to try him for treason were voided because the treason charges were made after the expiration of the statute of limitations for treason.

In the cabinet debates over the prosecution of Jefferson Davis for involvement in the Lincoln conspiracy and treason ,the consensus of opinion was that while Davis could be tried by a military commission for conspiracy in the assassination, he could only be tried in a civil court for treason. There was talk of 2 separate trials-1 military and 1 civil.

It would have been impossible to convict Mary Surratt of treason for arranging to have the "shooting irons" picked up by JWB based solely on the testimony of John Lloyd. Treason, the only crime defined in the Constitution, requires the testimony of two or more witnesses to the "same overt act or confession in open court."

I don't know how many people corroborated Weichmann's testimony about Mrs. S conferring with JWB behind closed doors but I don't see how such activities could constitute an "overt act" unless people overheard what they said and testified they were plotting to kidnap or kill Lincoln and the others.
Tom