The Flimsy Case Against Mary Surratt

[wpbinzel]

Regardless of your position on the civil versus military tribunal question, if you have not read (or if it has been a while since you have) Thomas Reed Turner's article, "What Type of Trial? A Civil Versus a Military Trial for the Lincoln Assassination Conspirators," I highly recommend it to all. It was published in 1982 in the Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association. The article does not argue the legal question one way or the other (although Professor Reed views the decision to use of a military commission to have been "unwise"), but provides some excellent insight into the historic context and perspective of the time.

The article may be found at:
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jala/262986...w=fulltext