4. Mary, Age 13 – Slave Executed For Murder Of Master’s Child
Mary, a 13-year-old Missouri slave, was hanged in 1838 after she was convicted of killing a two-year-old white child. After he inherited Mary, owner John Abraham assigned her to babysit his daughter, Vienna Jane. Although Mary was described as “remarkably fond of children,” she was accused of murder when Vienna Jane’s body was found in a nearby stream. It was soon determined the child had been struck on the head and thrown into the water, where she drowned.
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Mary confessed to the murder, but only after she was tied to a log and interrogated by the sheriff, who threatened to whip her. Mary was tried for murder, and the judge took note of her young age, advising the jury unless it could find evidence that the young slave had “sufficient mind to know what act would be a crime or otherwise, they shall find for the defendant.” Of course, being 1838 and Missouri, the jury ruled against her and sentenced the child to death.
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