The Time Abraham Lincoln Stopped a Murder Trial in its Tracks -- The story of Archibald Fisher - missing from Springfield, Illinois. The Trailor brothers were the last to see him alive and despite no body they were arrested. To save his life, Henry confessed: He claimed that his brothers, Archibald and William, had clubbed Fisher to death and had taken all of his money. Henry insisted that he had taken no part
in the murder. Rather, he had simply helped his brothers dump the body in the woods.
The courtroom, muggy from the summer humidity, was packed with spectators. Called to the stand, Henry Trailor repeated his confession, claiming that he had helped dispose of Fisher's body. Additional evidence was provided by a local woman who had seen two of the Trailor boys walk into the woods with Fisher—only to see them return alone. Furthermore, investigators claimed they had found human hair in the area near the buggy tracks. The tracks themselves, they noted, had led suspiciously to the pond, as if somebody had tried to dump something. When the prosecutor rested his case, it seemed like there was no hope for the Trailor brothers.
But the defense had a secret weapon—a 32-year-old lawyer named Abraham Lincoln. The future president calmly stood up and called his one and only witness to the stand.
Guess who?
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