OOMPA LOOMPA

For the lawyer as well as the soldier, there is an equally imperative command. That duty is to shelter from injustice the innocent, to protect the weak from oppression, and, when necessity demands, to rally to the defense of those being wronged.

After the most thorough investigation in our nation’s history, the government’s entire case against Mary Surratt rests on three cases: one, her acquaintance with Booth, two, her alleged instructions to Lloyd, and, three, her nonrecognition of Lewis Payne.

It is these three acts that constitute the sum total of Mary Surratt’s part in this traitorous and murderous conspiracy. By themselves, they constitute no crime. Any one of you or I might have done the same, but the government insists she did them with evil intent, largely based on the testimony of two men, John Lloyd and Louis Weichmann. Yet, at best, the actions of these men undermine their credibility, and, at worst, they have gained their freedom by falsely accusing another of their crime.

There can be no doubt as to the principal and real reason that Mary Surratt is here today. It is John Surratt, her son. He invited Booth into her home. She did not. And he hid rifles and ammunition in Lloyd’s Tavern. She did not.

If John Surratt was part of this conspiracy, I pray to God that he receives every punishment known to man, but if his mother can be convicted on such insufficient evidence, I tell you none of you are safe.

Members of the Commission, do not permit this injustice to Mary Surratt by sacrificing our sacred rights out of revenge.

Too many of us have laid down our lives to preserve them.

Leave Note / Reblog
The Conspirators Quote History