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John Fazio · 11-15-2014, 05:34 PM

(11-14-2014 10:54 PM)Gene C Wrote: [quote='KateH.' pid='40569' dateline='1416005418']
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

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.
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I'm not so sure. I believe these witnesses thought Herold was a few bricks shy of a full load. They met him and talked with him. I don't think Herold had the mentality of an 11 year old, but I can believe he was immature for his age, a Booth groupie who got caught up in knowing a celebrity and enjoyed being seen with him. He didn't have the sense that Arnold & O'Laughlen had to get out of the conspiracy. Booth probably had a stronger influence on him than he did the others. Any attention Booth gave him would make him feel important, as his father had died in Oct, of 64'. I imagine Herold was also interrogated pretty hard, and it's no wonder his story may have been inconsistent, he was scared to death.

And John, do you think the number of people involved in the grand conspiracy may be like a lot of copperhead subversive activities. Lot's of people show up at the meetings and talk big in front of their friends, but none really will do anything. (Kind of like church - the old 80/20 rule. It's the same 20% of the people who do 80% of the work.)

Gene:

In response to your question, yes, I do believe that some of the operatives were more bluster than action. But perhaps more importantly is the sheer difficulty of engineering multiple assassinations. So much has to go right for success. An assassin must first be certain of the victim's whereabouts at the appointed time (recall, in this connection, Grant's sudden and unexpect exit from the city) ; he (or she) has to be at the right place at the right time; he has to take account of others, e.g. unanticipated company or crowds, security personnel, etc.; he may have to have help from confederates or a back-up plan; he has to be properly armed; he has to have an escape plan in place, etc. Remember Murphy's Law. And remember that everything that could have gone wrong with the other assassins DID go wrong. Powell did not succeed in killing Seward; indeed, his revolver misfired, a 1 in 100 chance! Atzerodt and Herold encountered an insurmountable problem at the Kirkwood (probably security or a somnolent Johnson). Stanton's would-be assassin encountered a broken doorbell and messengers from Ford's Theatre, causing him to bolt from the Secretary's porch. Grant's assassin (on the train) was stymied by a locked car door and an alert brakeman and didn't have his heart in it anyway, as evidenced by the letter he sent Grant a couple of days later. Further, recall that even Booth would have been dead meat if Rathbone's grip on his jacket had been a little stronger. Still further, the Confederates were at the end of their tether; they simply did not have many quality hit-men left, which is one reason they had to make do with a bunch of amateurs like Booth and his team, the back-up for Harney and his team. It is no surprise, therefore, that the attempted Friday Night Massacre had limited success. With a little good luck (a tougher, more determined Forbes; Parker in the passageway, where he was supposed to be), they might have had no success.

John