Thomas F. Harney

[KateH.]

There were witnesses at the trial who testified to the childlike demeanor of David Herold. But making a statement inside a courtroom does not make the statement true. You should be well aware of that, Mr. Fazio.

There was no extended amount of time to prepare a defense case for Herold. Even if there were months on end to plot and plan, the defense still would have been inadequate because of the fact that Herold had been captured with the assassin of President Lincoln. He had aided the escape of John Wilkes Booth. There was little chance for his survival. The idea that Herold had the mentality of an 11 year old and thus was like clay in the hands of the manipulating Booth seemed to be the one desperate reason the defense could conjuror to save him from the gallows. However, look at the rest of Herold's life and suddenly there is little truth behind the aforementioned claim.

Of the four men (Herold, Booth, Powell, and Atzerodt) Herold had the highest level of education. He also worked on and off in the pharmaceutical field and was smart enough to be trusted with the task of guide and, as some researchers are now thinking, point man on assassination night. Remember that Booth's underground ring of Confederates wasn't open to all who supported the CSA. For example, Weichmann was never allowed to join. Furthermore, read the statement Herold gave upon his arrest. Although he had been running from the law for the past twelve days, he still gave a confusing and conflicting testimony meant to throw government officials off the trail leading to his guilt. He blended fact with fiction seamlessly by focusing on some aspects of the manhunt (meeting Booth at Soper's Hill and having been at the tavern with Lloyd) but avoiding others (going to the Surratt Tavern after meeting Booth and not naming Thomas Jones).

Going back to the defense testimonies, read closely and you will find undertones of suspicion within them. Many of the witnesses use the same words (or variations of the same words) to describe Herold. Francis Walsh said that Herold "was light and trifling in a great many things, more like a boy than a man." James Nokes said, "I have always looked upon him as a light and trifling boy...All his conversations were light and trifling." Dr. Charles Davis said, "He is trifling." Dr. Samuel A. H. McKim also called Herold "light." The first three men also remembered how Herold "was easily persuaded and led, more than is usually the case with young men of his age," "more easily influenced by those around him than the generality of young men of his age," and had the tendency to be "very easily persuaded and led." This consistence in word choice, which also appeared in the testimonies of the afflicted girls during the Salem Witch Trials, shows that the witnesses could have been coached on what to say by a ringleader before taking the stand.

To conclude, there is also strong evidence that David Herold did not have the mentality of an 11 year old. Instead, that ploy was used to exhibit the reason why execution would not be a fitting punishment in such a case. While that tactic failed to sway the opinions of jury, it seems to have swayed the opinions of historians ever since the hangman's noose tightened around Mr. Herold's neck.