Where was John Surratt on April 14, 1865 ?

[RJNorton]

(10-13-2017 11:17 PM)SSlater Wrote:  Why can't we accept Gen. E. G. Lee's statements that he sent Surratt to Elmira, on a spy mission, and that Surratt was in Elmira on April 14, 1865? It seems that we accept the word of known liars and "unsure" egotists without hesitation. There must be additional information that I can't find. Help!

John, do you have Michael Shein's book on John Surratt? If so, please see pp. 276-277. The major point (as I see it) of what Shein writes is that, in the John Surratt trial, Judge George P. Fisher made the decision to exclude Lee's testimony "that Surratt was in Elmira to surveil the prison."

I asked this once before - why did Judge Fisher reject the admission of Lee's orders into the trial record? Was there something suspicious about them that the judge deemed inadmissible? Was the judge skeptical of the Elmira story?

There must be some reason why Lee was never allowed to substantiate in court that Surratt was in Elmira.