John Surratt's real parents?

[L Verge]

(02-28-2015 03:26 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(02-28-2015 08:13 AM)Gene C Wrote:  He claimed he did not know of the gravity of her real situation until it was to late for him to do anything about it.

(02-28-2015 02:52 PM)Thomas Thorne Wrote:  The idea of a intelligent young man like John Surratt not reading a newspaper while hiding in Canada or only reading Canadian journals which overlooked the most sensational crime story of the age with the lurid fillip of a woman facing a capital murder charge staggers the imagination.

Just curious if anyone has an opinion - what did he think he might have done about it? If John Surratt had come to Washington, surrendered to authorities, and been put on trial with the others, would it have made a difference in his mother's verdict/execution?

I have debated this for over fifty years, and I personally believe that Mrs. Surratt would have still been executed because she (like the three men who hanged) were still involved with Booth up to within mere hours of the assassination. On the other hand, her son would fall in the category of Arnold, O'Laughlen, and Mudd who had no dealings with Booth (supposedly) once the kidnap was aborted. Following that "selection criteria," young Surratt would have been eligible for prison.