1 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:18,319 Speaker 1: In February of sixteen seventy three, Thomas Cornell Junior was 2 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:22,480 Speaker 1: in loads of trouble. His mother, Rebecca Cornell, was dead, 3 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:26,720 Speaker 1: her body charred terribly in a tragic house fire. It 4 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:30,800 Speaker 1: was initially ruled an accident by a coroner's jury in Portsmouth, 5 00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:34,360 Speaker 1: Rhode Island, but then after Thomas's uncle was visited by 6 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:38,680 Speaker 1: Rebecca's ghost, he sounded the alarm about her death. Her 7 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 1: body was reexamined and a new coroner's jury claimed to 8 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:45,800 Speaker 1: find a small fatal wound on her stomach, mostly hidden 9 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:49,040 Speaker 1: by the burned flesh around it. The matrons who dressed 10 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:53,400 Speaker 1: the corpse for burial hadn't noticed it before. Thomas and 11 00:00:53,479 --> 00:00:57,360 Speaker 1: his mother did seem to have a strained relationship. She 12 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:02,160 Speaker 1: couldn't stand his wife, Sarah, and she was Rebecca might 13 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:10,919 Speaker 1: have also been in poor health, But on February sixteenth, 14 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 1: that second coroner's jury ruled that Rebecca's death was a 15 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:19,240 Speaker 1: suspicious one, and a surprise witness would soon solidify the 16 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:24,679 Speaker 1: Colony of Rhode Island's case against Thomas Cornell. Thomas first 17 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:27,840 Speaker 1: faced a murder indictment, and he would then go to trial. 18 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:31,039 Speaker 1: That trial would take place at a tavern called the 19 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:33,040 Speaker 1: White Horse in Newport, Rhode Island. 20 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:45,720 Speaker 2: So usually they would do two stories for a tavern 21 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:47,440 Speaker 2: because there would be some rooms that they would rent 22 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:50,720 Speaker 2: out to travelers. And you can see from the beams 23 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:54,680 Speaker 2: going across the ceiling they're quite thick, quite in their 24 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:58,320 Speaker 2: original I'm actually surprised that the height, but that might 25 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:01,880 Speaker 2: have been lifted over time because normally you would get 26 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 2: a second story that would be very low. Hard to 27 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:09,040 Speaker 2: say whether or not that built in is original. Certainly 28 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:12,799 Speaker 2: the woodwork is not, but that could be dating from 29 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:17,880 Speaker 2: the nineteenth century, but the size of the fireplace is 30 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:20,200 Speaker 2: very indicative of a seventeenth century building. 31 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:24,079 Speaker 1: The White Horse actually still exists. It's now a wonderful restaurant. 32 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,280 Speaker 1: Carrie Nolty and I went there on a November night. 33 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:29,960 Speaker 3: This is a narrow circace. 34 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:43,760 Speaker 4: Oh wow, Well, so this would have been what the 35 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:44,880 Speaker 4: fireplace was like. 36 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:50,320 Speaker 3: Actually probably smaller the central chimney stack, so. 37 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:53,200 Speaker 2: They built around it, which is what I think that 38 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:56,160 Speaker 2: they did with the Cornell House. I think they had 39 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:58,240 Speaker 2: the one room originally because they had to have something 40 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:02,000 Speaker 2: for all the elements that they were exposed to on 41 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:05,399 Speaker 2: this island. I think it was really two rooms at 42 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:07,519 Speaker 2: the time when we came back for then on community 43 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:08,120 Speaker 2: to take pots. 44 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:17,239 Speaker 1: Yeah, back in late February of sixteen seventy three, one 45 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:21,359 Speaker 1: of Rebecca Cornell's friends, a man named John Russell, talked 46 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:26,520 Speaker 1: with investigators. Portsmouth historian Gloria Schmidt says that John recounted 47 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:30,640 Speaker 1: a story that really helped clarify the relationship between mother 48 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:33,639 Speaker 1: and son, and it was really bad news for Thomas 49 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:34,440 Speaker 1: Cornell Junior. 50 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:39,120 Speaker 5: I think, you know, at that particular point, they start 51 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 5: getting testimony from other people. So on February the twentieth, 52 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:48,720 Speaker 5: John Russell, who was from Dartmouth, toms to say, you 53 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 5: know what, she told me that she would be made 54 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:52,440 Speaker 5: away with. 55 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:57,360 Speaker 1: That's seventeenth century speak for I'm afraid that I'll be murdered. 56 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:03,160 Speaker 5: And so that's the second thing that makes things suspicious. 57 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:06,800 Speaker 5: So the you know, the first was the ghostly witness, 58 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:12,000 Speaker 5: and the second was the John Russell saying, look, she 59 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:13,840 Speaker 5: told me that she didn't want to be in this 60 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 5: household and that she feared that she would be done 61 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:21,480 Speaker 5: away with. But she she's constantly complaining to people, so 62 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:25,680 Speaker 5: this is not unusual. But he says, look, you know, 63 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:27,839 Speaker 5: I just want to share this with you, and there's 64 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:29,039 Speaker 5: a deposition from him. 65 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:32,880 Speaker 1: So Rebecca really thought that someone in her family might 66 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:36,040 Speaker 1: kill her if she stayed there much longer? Was there 67 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:40,680 Speaker 1: that much acrimony between Thomas and Rebecca? Historia Nel Darby 68 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 1: says that violence between mother and son isn't all that unusual. 69 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:49,640 Speaker 1: It can be the warped reaction of a frustrated violent person. 70 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:52,680 Speaker 6: Well, then, obviously, if you're going to hit someone or 71 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:55,520 Speaker 6: and plet violence on someone, you're more likely to do 72 00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:57,960 Speaker 6: it on your mother because she's going to. 73 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:01,279 Speaker 4: Be weaker than you, or weaker than your other parents. 74 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:04,720 Speaker 5: So there's that kind of reasoning behind it that this 75 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:06,799 Speaker 5: violence from a young man. 76 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:08,440 Speaker 3: You kind of understand. 77 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:10,920 Speaker 6: Why relationships might become so fractured living in a very 78 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:12,400 Speaker 6: kind of close. 79 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:15,919 Speaker 5: Confines where that violence does belover and sometimes become fatal. 80 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:20,800 Speaker 1: So was this over the money Thomas owed his mother, 81 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:26,279 Speaker 1: or specifically their family property. Portsmouth historian Ann Burns says 82 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:27,479 Speaker 1: she doesn't think so. 83 00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:30,960 Speaker 7: Well, then property had already been transferred into his knee. 84 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:35,040 Speaker 1: Anne believes that if Thomas and Sarah didn't properly take 85 00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:38,440 Speaker 1: care of the aging Rebecca, then Rebecca might have been 86 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:41,839 Speaker 1: willing to reneg on the agreement and take the property back. 87 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:47,120 Speaker 7: Was it the fear that she could leave because part 88 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:50,960 Speaker 7: of the agreement for the property being transferred into his 89 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:53,760 Speaker 7: name was that Thomas moved in onto the property and 90 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:55,720 Speaker 7: took care of it and took care of his mother. 91 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 1: Anne wonders if Rebecca's relatives might have brought that up 92 00:05:59,640 --> 00:06:03,039 Speaker 1: if Rebecca had tried to leave the home, maybe they'd 93 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:07,000 Speaker 1: insisted that she refused to leave Thomas the property because 94 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:10,520 Speaker 1: elder abuse certainly shouldn't be rewarded. 95 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:13,280 Speaker 7: I'm kind of thinking like her brother would have been 96 00:06:13,279 --> 00:06:15,599 Speaker 7: the one that said, you know, the deal was, you 97 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:18,719 Speaker 7: took care of your mom. She's not here anymore. Did 98 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:21,280 Speaker 7: that give him a reason to contest the property transfer 99 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:21,880 Speaker 7: into his name? 100 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:25,520 Speaker 1: And Anne has another interesting theory, one that hasn't shown 101 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:28,359 Speaker 1: up in historical records, so there's no way to actually 102 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:33,560 Speaker 1: verify it, and it centers on John Briggs, Rebecca's younger brother. 103 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:36,679 Speaker 7: Did John Briggs or what of the siblings have something 104 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:39,560 Speaker 7: to gain by Rebecca passing away? 105 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:42,920 Speaker 1: We don't know. What we do know is that Rebecca 106 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:48,240 Speaker 1: Cornell sounded miserable before she died. Friends and neighbors began 107 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:52,960 Speaker 1: offering their recollections in depositions for the colony, as prosecutors 108 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:56,440 Speaker 1: began to put together an indictment against Thomas. 109 00:06:56,839 --> 00:07:01,520 Speaker 5: And when you look at the deposition and there are 110 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:06,480 Speaker 5: things like I'm too cold, I don't have enough covers, 111 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:10,360 Speaker 5: I have to do all these chores on my own. 112 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:13,760 Speaker 5: He promised, you know, to take care of some of these, 113 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:15,960 Speaker 5: and I have to take care of the pigs myself. 114 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:19,600 Speaker 5: I don't have enough food to eat. 115 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:24,840 Speaker 1: Witnesses repeated Rebecca's complaints against Sarah Earl, her daughter in law. 116 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:28,600 Speaker 5: You know, my daughter in law is a maniac, you know, 117 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:30,760 Speaker 5: all of these types of things. 118 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:34,760 Speaker 1: Remember that Rebecca had claimed that Sarah had once threatened 119 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:37,040 Speaker 1: one of her own step sons with an axe. But 120 00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:40,200 Speaker 1: Gloria points out that no one else testified to seeing 121 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:45,480 Speaker 1: Sarah act violently to anyone, including Rebecca or her own children. 122 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:51,320 Speaker 5: Well, the testimony for that is from Rebecca, So you 123 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:54,800 Speaker 5: don't have anybody else, you know, saying that Sarah was 124 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:58,880 Speaker 5: doing that. So I don't know whether we rebelieve Rebecca, 125 00:07:59,280 --> 00:07:59,520 Speaker 5: you know. 126 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:05,080 Speaker 1: But also Rebecca seemed very sad much of the time. 127 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:08,920 Speaker 1: Anne Burns and Gloria Schmidt say it might not have 128 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:11,240 Speaker 1: been because of Thomas and Sarah. 129 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:15,200 Speaker 8: And the only person who provided any possible support that 130 00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:18,200 Speaker 8: her brother was innocent was his sister, who said, a 131 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:20,480 Speaker 8: couple of years ago, you know, basically I came to 132 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:21,559 Speaker 8: visit her mother. 133 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:24,120 Speaker 7: The daughter had been going through a really hard time 134 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:26,680 Speaker 7: and had some dark thoughts about ending her life, and 135 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:30,240 Speaker 7: Rebecca Cornell did, well, so have I had those dark thoughts? 136 00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:33,480 Speaker 5: You know, she would complain, but that she would also 137 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:36,280 Speaker 5: tell people that there were times in which she was depressed, 138 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 5: Like she told her daughter. Her daughter had shared with 139 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:43,320 Speaker 5: her that she had had been, you know, ill and 140 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:48,160 Speaker 5: had been despondent, and Rebecca says, well, you know, I've 141 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:51,319 Speaker 5: been through periods like that too, and you just you know, 142 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:54,600 Speaker 5: have to, you know, flee from the devil, and the 143 00:08:54,640 --> 00:08:57,480 Speaker 5: devil will flee from you type thing. You know. 144 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:01,000 Speaker 7: She talked about a pen night you're using to stab herself, 145 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:03,880 Speaker 7: and then she said, but I pray to God and 146 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:07,440 Speaker 7: he makes me come back and everything's going to be okay, 147 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:09,040 Speaker 7: and I'm going to be okay, and you're going to 148 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:15,120 Speaker 7: be okay. So the daughter provided the testimony that maybe 149 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:17,440 Speaker 7: her mother actually committed suicide. 150 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:21,960 Speaker 5: She spoke of it before so she does admit that 151 00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:25,720 Speaker 5: she's gone through periods where she's been depressed. So there's 152 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:29,720 Speaker 5: some that question, well, was there something that triggered at 153 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:34,839 Speaker 5: a suicide attempt? So there's so many different angles from 154 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:39,760 Speaker 5: what these different depositions add to it. To me, it's 155 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:41,000 Speaker 5: really very unclear. 156 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:46,440 Speaker 1: And if this story seems unclear, now just wait. There 157 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:50,880 Speaker 1: was a tremendous amount of reasonable doubt. It should probably 158 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:53,720 Speaker 1: have been unclear for the coroner's jury and for the 159 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:58,000 Speaker 1: court's jury. But based on the depositions, Thomas was presented 160 00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:01,439 Speaker 1: as an abusive, neglectful so yun who wanted to get 161 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:04,880 Speaker 1: rid of his mother to finally have some autonomy like 162 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:11,200 Speaker 1: other men in colonial America. But now Thomas Cornell had 163 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:15,000 Speaker 1: no autonomy. He sat in jail waiting for the wheels 164 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:28,559 Speaker 1: of justice to grind. Now, let's talk about a modern 165 00:10:28,640 --> 00:10:32,120 Speaker 1: case filled with reasonable doubt, one that led not just 166 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:37,160 Speaker 1: to a wrongful conviction but also a wrongful execution. Cameron 167 00:10:37,400 --> 00:10:42,200 Speaker 1: Todd Willingham. Author David Gran wrote an incredible piece in 168 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:45,000 Speaker 1: two thousand and nine about Willingham for The New Yorker 169 00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:49,000 Speaker 1: called Trial by Fire. That's in reference to the nineteen 170 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:52,160 Speaker 1: ninety one house fire that killed Willingham's two year old 171 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:55,319 Speaker 1: daughter and one year old twins in northeast Texas. 172 00:10:55,880 --> 00:11:01,560 Speaker 9: Willingham with somebody who had been arrested for allegedly setting 173 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:06,320 Speaker 9: of fire that had killed his three children in his house. 174 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:11,240 Speaker 1: Arson investigators came into the Willingham house and found evidence 175 00:11:11,320 --> 00:11:14,640 Speaker 1: of what they believed were the telltale signs of arson. 176 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:19,280 Speaker 1: So during Willingham's trial, the experts presented this evidence, and 177 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:24,080 Speaker 1: there were also disclosures that Willingham had abused his wife. Eventually, 178 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:27,200 Speaker 1: even she came to believe he was guilty of killing 179 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:31,560 Speaker 1: their kids. Based on this evidence. Willingham was convicted and 180 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:33,880 Speaker 1: sentenced to execution. 181 00:11:34,559 --> 00:11:38,880 Speaker 9: But before he went to the death chamber, a arson 182 00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:42,640 Speaker 9: investigator looked at the case and reviewed the evidence, and 183 00:11:42,679 --> 00:11:46,520 Speaker 9: he was one of the leading scientists of fire in 184 00:11:46,559 --> 00:11:51,120 Speaker 9: the country, you know, really advanced scientists, and he looked 185 00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:54,120 Speaker 9: at the evidence of the arson investigators had used and 186 00:11:54,160 --> 00:11:56,840 Speaker 9: he's like, a lot of his stuff holds up the 187 00:11:56,920 --> 00:11:58,160 Speaker 9: scientific scrutiny. 188 00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:03,000 Speaker 1: Grant says that back then, arson investigators often had very 189 00:12:03,040 --> 00:12:07,840 Speaker 1: little scientific training. They were trained, but not officially educated, 190 00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:11,080 Speaker 1: like receiving folklore from mentors. 191 00:12:10,880 --> 00:12:13,160 Speaker 9: And so for example, they had gone into the house 192 00:12:13,679 --> 00:12:17,880 Speaker 9: and they had looked at spidery glass on the windows, 193 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:21,200 Speaker 9: and they believed if he saw the spidery glass on 194 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:24,720 Speaker 9: the window, it was an indication that a fire had 195 00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:29,640 Speaker 9: accelerated because of an accelerant, that it clearly intensified in 196 00:12:29,679 --> 00:12:31,560 Speaker 9: heat and it caused this fire. 197 00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:36,520 Speaker 1: Arson. Investigators in Willingham's case believed that the spidery glass 198 00:12:36,760 --> 00:12:40,319 Speaker 1: was a sign that someone had used some kind of accelerant, 199 00:12:40,840 --> 00:12:42,480 Speaker 1: a clear sign of arson. 200 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:46,080 Speaker 9: But as this scientist who was later reviewing the case knew, 201 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:48,760 Speaker 9: there had been an instance where there had been a 202 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:53,400 Speaker 9: forest fire and when many investigators had gotten to these 203 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:57,360 Speaker 9: houses in this forest fire, they had seen this spidery 204 00:12:57,440 --> 00:13:00,200 Speaker 9: glass kind of looked like, you know, almost like you 205 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:03,960 Speaker 9: fracture your wingshield. And so they went back to the 206 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:09,199 Speaker 9: laboratory and what they learned was, well, actually the spider 207 00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:15,360 Speaker 9: glass isn't cause from intensifying heat, just the opposite. It 208 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:18,880 Speaker 9: was caused by when the firefighters arrived and they actually 209 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:23,200 Speaker 9: blasted cold water onto the houses to put out the fire. 210 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:26,360 Speaker 9: So it was actually the sudden cooling. So this is 211 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:30,439 Speaker 9: just one example of a theory that was completely bunked. 212 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:34,120 Speaker 1: There was nothing in Willingham's house that indicated that the 213 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:37,560 Speaker 1: fire had been started on purpose, and if it had, 214 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:40,040 Speaker 1: there was no proof that he was the one who 215 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:43,560 Speaker 1: did it. Graham says that the scientist was anxious to 216 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:47,160 Speaker 1: follow his report before Willingham's execution, which was set for 217 00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:48,120 Speaker 1: two thousand and four. 218 00:13:48,679 --> 00:13:51,880 Speaker 9: He is just terrified that an innocent man is going 219 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:55,000 Speaker 9: to be executed, because that was really the main evidence 220 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:58,360 Speaker 9: that had convicted this man of this crime. And you know, 221 00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:01,000 Speaker 9: he puts out a report showing how this is bunk, 222 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:03,920 Speaker 9: but there's no scientific evidence to sustain this. 223 00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:08,680 Speaker 1: All of that, and still the execution moved forward. 224 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:14,480 Speaker 9: And subsequently, you know, leading fire investigators and scientists from 225 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:17,920 Speaker 9: across the country have reviewed this case and found that 226 00:14:18,040 --> 00:14:21,400 Speaker 9: there is no credible evidence of evidents at all indicate 227 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:25,680 Speaker 9: that this was an intentionally set fire. People have compared it. 228 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:28,840 Speaker 9: When leading scientists reviewed the case, you know, compared it 229 00:14:28,880 --> 00:14:30,239 Speaker 9: to witchcraft and folklore. 230 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:39,440 Speaker 1: Witchcraft sounds familiar. Wrongful convictions are an epidemic around the world, 231 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:43,000 Speaker 1: but in America, our justice system is plagued by them. 232 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:46,840 Speaker 1: Maurice Shama is a reporter with the Marshall Project. He 233 00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:50,080 Speaker 1: says that one of the issues with forensic arson experts 234 00:14:50,280 --> 00:14:52,720 Speaker 1: is that they might not be experts at all. 235 00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:56,480 Speaker 10: Sort in the absence of professionalized law enforcement, there's a 236 00:14:56,520 --> 00:14:59,480 Speaker 10: lot of room for people to sort of lay claim 237 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:03,080 Speaker 10: to special access to knowledge and truth that can be 238 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:06,080 Speaker 10: very convincing if they're a convincing person. I should say 239 00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:12,080 Speaker 10: that even in the late twentieth century, you had arson 240 00:15:12,160 --> 00:15:16,360 Speaker 10: investigators with very little training saying the fire speaks to me, 241 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:20,760 Speaker 10: you know, and using this very like witchy cosmic language 242 00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:23,480 Speaker 10: around their skills, and come to find out that this 243 00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:27,240 Speaker 10: was often bullshit, and that innocent people went to prison 244 00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:33,320 Speaker 10: for accidental fires because there was sort of a fraudulent 245 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:35,520 Speaker 10: claim that it was set intentionally. 246 00:15:36,040 --> 00:15:39,280 Speaker 1: Investigators need to look for motives to solve crimes, and 247 00:15:39,320 --> 00:15:42,400 Speaker 1: they need to consider clues that are left behind. But 248 00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:46,480 Speaker 1: Marie says that solving a crime shouldn't risk actual justice 249 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:50,960 Speaker 1: for the survivors or the victims, and innocent people shouldn't suffer. 250 00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:52,880 Speaker 10: But I also think that we need to be sort 251 00:15:52,920 --> 00:15:56,000 Speaker 10: of careful and humble, because I mean, this case in 252 00:15:56,160 --> 00:16:00,120 Speaker 10: sixteen hundreds just sounds like a lot of tragedies in 253 00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:05,200 Speaker 10: the last fifty years where gossip about the relationship between 254 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:09,480 Speaker 10: family members leads to a motive, a sense of a motive, 255 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:11,440 Speaker 10: and then once you have that motive in your head, 256 00:16:11,640 --> 00:16:14,320 Speaker 10: you can kind of find evidence to support it because 257 00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:16,600 Speaker 10: human relationships are complex. 258 00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:21,320 Speaker 1: They certainly are, and in the sixteen hundreds that was 259 00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:28,720 Speaker 1: definitely true, especially in the frigid New England winters. Thomas 260 00:16:28,720 --> 00:16:32,000 Speaker 1: Cornell had really struggled along with his wife, who had 261 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:37,360 Speaker 1: to raise their children, and Rebecca Cornell clearly struggled. Now 262 00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:40,760 Speaker 1: that we've heard more evidence, I asked relative Caring Nolty 263 00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:45,280 Speaker 1: what she thinks murder or accident or even suicide. 264 00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:47,280 Speaker 3: Do you see any way that this could have been 265 00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:48,000 Speaker 3: in an accident? 266 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:51,520 Speaker 2: She catches fire, she's got the needle, she accidentally hurts herself, 267 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:56,600 Speaker 2: The fire could have been an accident. There's absolutely a 268 00:16:56,680 --> 00:16:59,480 Speaker 2: chance that that could have been an accident. You can 269 00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:05,240 Speaker 2: get a piece of SAP that explodes and sparks out, 270 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:10,280 Speaker 2: and you know she's sleeping or she's already dead. Because 271 00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:12,960 Speaker 2: one of the things that they do in the trial 272 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:16,920 Speaker 2: transcript is that they interview friends, neighbors, and her children, 273 00:17:17,840 --> 00:17:21,600 Speaker 2: and they find out that she had at several times 274 00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:24,240 Speaker 2: talked about potentially killing herself. 275 00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:27,879 Speaker 1: I asked Carrie why Rebecca might have taken her own life. 276 00:17:28,560 --> 00:17:32,320 Speaker 1: She says, maybe because of Thomas's treatment of her. It 277 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:36,320 Speaker 1: does sound like he said some very hurtful things to her. 278 00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:39,880 Speaker 2: She's treated so horribly by her son. At one point, 279 00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:42,879 Speaker 2: her son tells her, your name doth stink about the island. 280 00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:51,240 Speaker 2: And she is commiserating with my direct ancestor, Rebecca Junior 281 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:56,480 Speaker 2: at one point, who had smallpox and had lost a 282 00:17:56,600 --> 00:17:59,639 Speaker 2: child and had been expressing to her mother that she 283 00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:02,640 Speaker 2: just sometimes felt like ending it all, and her mother 284 00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:05,359 Speaker 2: was saying, I have also felt that sometimes, you know, 285 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:08,080 Speaker 2: when I thought of my lot in life and how 286 00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:10,960 Speaker 2: difficult it's been, and then I just put my faith 287 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:14,040 Speaker 2: in the Lord, and he sustains me, and then I 288 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:14,920 Speaker 2: am satisfied. 289 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:19,640 Speaker 1: Carrie brings up Rebecca's complaints how heartbreaking they were. 290 00:18:20,119 --> 00:18:23,359 Speaker 2: At one point, she's forced to chase her own pigs 291 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:25,880 Speaker 2: that have escaped their pen and she falls. 292 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:27,880 Speaker 3: This is a seventy year old. 293 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:30,959 Speaker 2: Woman, and she's just crying and she's upset, and she 294 00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:33,120 Speaker 2: is saying, I want to end it all. And then 295 00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:37,120 Speaker 2: again she turns to her faith in these transcripts, which 296 00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:41,359 Speaker 2: is hearsay, of course, and says, the Lord comes to 297 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:44,719 Speaker 2: me and then I am satisfied and I'm able to 298 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:46,960 Speaker 2: move on and stuff. So it seems as though she 299 00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:53,199 Speaker 2: has perhaps a flair for the dramatic, but also that 300 00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:57,560 Speaker 2: she is trying to commiserate with other people when they 301 00:18:57,560 --> 00:19:01,119 Speaker 2: are expressing doubts being a good n doing it in 302 00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:06,399 Speaker 2: regards to her daughter, and also expressing frustration at her lot. 303 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:10,520 Speaker 1: Carrie thinks that Rebecca had finally realized that her life 304 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:13,880 Speaker 1: wasn't what it was supposed to be. She wasn't being 305 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:17,160 Speaker 1: cared for properly, and her son didn't respect her. 306 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:19,560 Speaker 2: At one point, she says that she never would have 307 00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:23,320 Speaker 2: set up the inheritance agreement the way that it's set 308 00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:27,000 Speaker 2: up now if she knew that Thomas Junior's first wife 309 00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:30,960 Speaker 2: was going to die. So it seems like the first 310 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:35,639 Speaker 2: wife was some kind of a buffer between them, that 311 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:44,960 Speaker 2: there might have been some long standing friction there. It 312 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:49,720 Speaker 2: just seems so shocking that that would be considered evidence, 313 00:19:50,560 --> 00:19:53,480 Speaker 2: that that would somehow like this person got indicted. 314 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:55,600 Speaker 6: Also, you know it was at one time, you know 315 00:19:55,640 --> 00:19:58,080 Speaker 6: it was an accident, and no that changes after the 316 00:19:58,080 --> 00:19:58,560 Speaker 6: ghost thing. 317 00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:02,840 Speaker 5: Like there's so many any components just from like an 318 00:20:02,880 --> 00:20:06,760 Speaker 5: administrative decision making thing. 319 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:10,320 Speaker 3: That I'm like, what, and of course I'm looking at it. 320 00:20:10,359 --> 00:20:11,760 Speaker 3: From twenty twenty three. 321 00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:15,720 Speaker 1: It sounds like Thomas Cornell might have been an abuser 322 00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:21,160 Speaker 1: and neglectful, even cruel, but none of that necessarily made 323 00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:25,440 Speaker 1: him a killer. But then his wife offered some evidence 324 00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:28,520 Speaker 1: that seemed to cast even more suspicion on her husband, 325 00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:30,920 Speaker 1: and it had to do with the fact that Rebecca 326 00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:33,280 Speaker 1: Cornell was a proficient weaver. 327 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:50,320 Speaker 2: One of the things that we get from the reports 328 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:53,959 Speaker 2: is that Thomas is seen and this is actually, I 329 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:56,600 Speaker 2: want to say, this is his wife who says this, 330 00:20:56,800 --> 00:20:59,639 Speaker 2: Sarah Earle, that he comes out of her room and 331 00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:04,280 Speaker 2: he's actually winding yarn on a spindle as he comes 332 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:06,080 Speaker 2: out of her room. 333 00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:10,000 Speaker 1: We don't know much about this story. If it's true, 334 00:21:10,119 --> 00:21:14,320 Speaker 1: then that's incriminating. Remember we've said that an iron spindle 335 00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:18,120 Speaker 1: could be very sharp, and if this were murder, then 336 00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:21,040 Speaker 1: it could have been the murder weapon. It also could 337 00:21:21,080 --> 00:21:23,520 Speaker 1: have been nothing. Maybe he was just helping his mother 338 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:31,199 Speaker 1: wind yarn. Regardless, in this circumstance, it was suspicious. The 339 00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:35,199 Speaker 1: prosecutors for the Colony of Rhode Island finished interviewing witnesses 340 00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:38,520 Speaker 1: for depositions. Then they convened a grand jury. 341 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:41,680 Speaker 2: And part of what gets them to convene a grand 342 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:48,600 Speaker 2: jury to indict Thomas is the spectral evidence that John 343 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:53,960 Speaker 2: Briggs has where his sister comes to him and says, look, 344 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:58,000 Speaker 2: how I am burned with fire. The other thing is 345 00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:02,240 Speaker 2: that she had spoken to someone in months prior. We 346 00:22:02,359 --> 00:22:05,199 Speaker 2: don't know exactly when, but she had said, I am 347 00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:08,040 Speaker 2: afraid that I will be made off with before the year, 348 00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:10,840 Speaker 2: and I'm planning on moving in with one of my 349 00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:11,840 Speaker 2: other sons. 350 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:17,640 Speaker 3: But she didn't point to Toma's directly in that statement. No, Wow, 351 00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:19,160 Speaker 3: who else would it be? 352 00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:20,200 Speaker 2: Yes, exactly. 353 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:25,800 Speaker 3: Okay, So he's indicted for what first degree murder? 354 00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:28,480 Speaker 2: First degree murder for murdering his mother. 355 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:32,560 Speaker 3: And I'm assuming Sarah Earl is flipping out at this point. 356 00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:37,320 Speaker 2: She's kids, sure, she's pregnant. She is, She's a few 357 00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:41,240 Speaker 2: months after all of this is concluded, she gives birth. 358 00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:53,959 Speaker 1: In the spring of sixteen seventy three, Thomas Cornell Junior 359 00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:57,200 Speaker 1: went on trial at the White Horse Inn in Newport 360 00:22:57,440 --> 00:23:01,200 Speaker 1: for murdering his mother. The plethora of witnesses who testified 361 00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:05,520 Speaker 1: virtually all leaned toward the prosecution. As you can imagine 362 00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:07,560 Speaker 1: from what we've been hearing, there was a lot of 363 00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:10,800 Speaker 1: hearsay in the trial. There was even one instance that 364 00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:15,840 Speaker 1: was particularly egregious hearsay of hearsay, but oh boy, was 365 00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:20,400 Speaker 1: a damaging Carrie Nulty and Gloria Schmidt say it sounded 366 00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:24,480 Speaker 1: like to someone that Sarah and Thomas were colluding. 367 00:23:26,119 --> 00:23:30,760 Speaker 2: One of their neighbors reported that another neighbor told her 368 00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:36,160 Speaker 2: that she had been at the prison and heard Thomas 369 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:38,880 Speaker 2: and Sarah go into a separate room, but she could 370 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:41,879 Speaker 2: overhear them and they said to each other, if you 371 00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:45,359 Speaker 2: keep my counsel, I will keep yours. 372 00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:51,119 Speaker 5: It sounded like a conspiracy. Someone said, well, you know, 373 00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:54,119 Speaker 5: I won't talk about you and you don't talk about 374 00:23:54,119 --> 00:23:58,600 Speaker 5: me type thing. But we don't know you know much 375 00:23:58,800 --> 00:23:59,800 Speaker 5: about it other than. 376 00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:04,880 Speaker 2: That, now small town gossip. You already think somebody is guilty, 377 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:06,679 Speaker 2: and you could be the kind of person that just 378 00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:10,560 Speaker 2: makes something up but could also be true. 379 00:24:11,359 --> 00:24:15,200 Speaker 1: What do we think about that? Sarah Earle did seem 380 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:19,600 Speaker 1: very sneaky, But what if they weren't even talking about 381 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:22,639 Speaker 1: covering up a murder? Who knows what they were discussing 382 00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:27,479 Speaker 1: exactly Regardless Thomas Cornell was in a bad position before 383 00:24:27,520 --> 00:24:30,679 Speaker 1: the trial and during the trial because he had no 384 00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:34,880 Speaker 1: real representation, no one was really defending him. 385 00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:38,840 Speaker 5: They were taking depositions from either people that heard something 386 00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:43,800 Speaker 5: from Rebecca or they had been there that night and 387 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:48,119 Speaker 5: had seen something. So they had depositions from Sarah and 388 00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:51,160 Speaker 5: from the boys, not all of the boys, I think 389 00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:54,240 Speaker 5: you know, one or two of the boys, and from 390 00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:57,800 Speaker 5: this Henry Strait that was the border that had gone 391 00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:01,080 Speaker 5: into the room. And so those the people that they 392 00:25:01,080 --> 00:25:02,800 Speaker 5: were taking the depositions from. 393 00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:06,399 Speaker 1: Prosecutors even traveled to New York to take a deposition 394 00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:09,240 Speaker 1: from one of Rebecca's daughters who still lived in the 395 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:13,040 Speaker 1: Bronx area. And during all this time there was infighting 396 00:25:13,119 --> 00:25:17,879 Speaker 1: between Cornell family members. Thomas's brother, William Cornell, had never 397 00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:21,639 Speaker 1: liked his second sister in law, Sarah, and now before 398 00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:25,840 Speaker 1: the trial was even over, everyone was anticipating a guilty verdict. 399 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:30,320 Speaker 5: They know there are problems between William and the rest 400 00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:33,359 Speaker 5: of the family if he's trying to get Sarah tried. 401 00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:39,720 Speaker 5: There's also the whole matter of the fact that because 402 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:45,600 Speaker 5: Thomas was considered a murderer, he could not inherit the 403 00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:49,840 Speaker 5: property and so there were all kinds of fights with 404 00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:58,040 Speaker 5: people who would be custodians of the sons, or Sarah's 405 00:25:58,520 --> 00:26:01,919 Speaker 5: part of her for her dowry, for her husband, and 406 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:05,680 Speaker 5: all those kinds of things. Normally, the town would come 407 00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:09,000 Speaker 5: in and the town would take that property from someone 408 00:26:09,040 --> 00:26:12,560 Speaker 5: who was a murderer, so that a murderer could not 409 00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:14,560 Speaker 5: benefit from their crime. 410 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:18,359 Speaker 1: A big question that needed to be settled quickly was 411 00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:22,480 Speaker 1: who would get the property if Thomas Cornell were found guilty. 412 00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:26,480 Speaker 1: Maybe not Sarah and the kids. 413 00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:31,120 Speaker 5: Who does it go to do the Thomas's children who 414 00:26:31,119 --> 00:26:33,840 Speaker 5: are innocent and get any part of it. You know, 415 00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:38,040 Speaker 5: they have uncles that are guardians for them, and so 416 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:43,080 Speaker 5: who is protecting them. There was always a problem when 417 00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:46,520 Speaker 5: you had a household. The eldest son would gain the 418 00:26:46,560 --> 00:26:49,800 Speaker 5: property and the others would have to try and find 419 00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:54,560 Speaker 5: their own way. So it was messy anyway with any death, 420 00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:59,760 Speaker 5: But in this situation, they couldn't go from Rebecca to 421 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:02,679 Speaker 5: Tom and then from Thomas to his children if he 422 00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:04,120 Speaker 5: was considered a murderer. 423 00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:12,720 Speaker 1: We're lucky to have these depositions from the late sixteen hundreds. 424 00:27:13,040 --> 00:27:17,400 Speaker 1: Besides offering specific details about the case, their existence alone 425 00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:21,000 Speaker 1: tells us a lot about the case's importance at the time, 426 00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:24,600 Speaker 1: and of course this was the first and maybe last 427 00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:27,960 Speaker 1: trial in which a ghost was an important witness. But 428 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:31,879 Speaker 1: in addition to specifics of this case, the depositions also 429 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:35,320 Speaker 1: show us how murder trials in the seventeenth century worked. 430 00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:38,560 Speaker 5: It's not like we have today, where you have a 431 00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:42,040 Speaker 5: trial and the witnesses come and you have cross examination 432 00:27:42,440 --> 00:27:45,800 Speaker 5: or something like that. It wasn't like that. They would 433 00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:49,800 Speaker 5: go to different people and get a deposition, and then 434 00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:52,520 Speaker 5: they would add all that up and the jury would 435 00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:55,159 Speaker 5: look at the depositions or here the depositions. Some of 436 00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:58,040 Speaker 5: them may not have been able to read, so they 437 00:27:58,080 --> 00:28:01,720 Speaker 5: would be presented the testimony any of these people. Nobody 438 00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:05,439 Speaker 5: was ever cross examined. And Thomas never had a lawyer. 439 00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:09,720 Speaker 5: He never had anybody. He couldn't say that's not true, 440 00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:13,280 Speaker 5: or that's a lie, or he didn't have that choice. 441 00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:17,439 Speaker 1: Sounds like a sham. Frankly, I asked carry noulty to 442 00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:18,760 Speaker 1: shorthand this for us. 443 00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:25,640 Speaker 3: So how does this go? This trial? Essentially, so it. 444 00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:28,080 Speaker 2: Doesn't go well for Thomas. So it seems from the 445 00:28:28,119 --> 00:28:30,560 Speaker 2: record that he has the right and he does take 446 00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:34,040 Speaker 2: the right to challenge a lot of the potential jurors 447 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:37,159 Speaker 2: on the jury because you know, he's too close to me, 448 00:28:37,400 --> 00:28:40,360 Speaker 2: he's part of my family, he's you know, he's always 449 00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:42,160 Speaker 2: hated me, et cetera, et cetera. 450 00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:42,760 Speaker 3: Everybody knows. 451 00:28:43,280 --> 00:28:46,400 Speaker 2: But finally they come to a group of people who 452 00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:48,720 Speaker 2: are going to be the jury that he can no 453 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:51,960 Speaker 2: longer argue against that there's not really any problem with. 454 00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:55,560 Speaker 1: Then the depositions from loads of people are read for 455 00:28:55,640 --> 00:29:00,040 Speaker 1: the jury, loads of hearsay. 456 00:28:59,120 --> 00:29:04,240 Speaker 2: Lots of interview, use of friends' neighbors, them talking about 457 00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:08,560 Speaker 2: what they've heard Rebecca say that she was afraid and 458 00:29:08,600 --> 00:29:11,560 Speaker 2: that her son was always cross with her and using 459 00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:12,440 Speaker 2: terrible words. 460 00:29:12,840 --> 00:29:17,000 Speaker 1: Witnesses claimed that Sarah and Thomas treated Rebecca so poorly 461 00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:19,640 Speaker 1: that the children started treating her poorly too. 462 00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:24,400 Speaker 2: His wife was treating her terribly, and what grief she 463 00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:27,240 Speaker 2: had over it, that she was going to move the 464 00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:29,800 Speaker 2: report about that she was afraid that she was going 465 00:29:29,840 --> 00:29:30,600 Speaker 2: to be made off with. 466 00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:37,600 Speaker 5: Mostly hearsay, so a lot of the testimony that works 467 00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:42,120 Speaker 5: against him are her comments about how he mistreats her, 468 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:46,600 Speaker 5: and she tells lots of people about things that she 469 00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:49,960 Speaker 5: wants to complain about. You know, when I look at 470 00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:55,280 Speaker 5: the transcript of their deposition type things, most of them 471 00:29:55,360 --> 00:29:59,520 Speaker 5: are talking about his not treating her as well as 472 00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:00,200 Speaker 5: he could good. 473 00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:04,400 Speaker 1: I asked Carrie Nolty again about the physical evidence. How 474 00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:07,440 Speaker 1: could the matrons have missed the wound the first time around, 475 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:11,000 Speaker 1: even if there was a wound, What if it was 476 00:30:11,080 --> 00:30:12,640 Speaker 1: simply decomposition. 477 00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:15,360 Speaker 2: It seems like it was. So it was two women 478 00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:18,280 Speaker 2: that laid out the body at first, and one of 479 00:30:18,320 --> 00:30:20,960 Speaker 2: them was I believe Sarah Earl's mother. 480 00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:26,080 Speaker 1: So Sarah's mother was one of those matrons. I'm not 481 00:30:26,120 --> 00:30:30,120 Speaker 1: sure that means anything, but it could mean something, and 482 00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:33,320 Speaker 1: it does speak to how close knit the community was. 483 00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:39,920 Speaker 1: Thomas did try to defend himself by using the depositions. 484 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:42,960 Speaker 1: There was so much there to choose from that perhaps 485 00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:44,800 Speaker 1: he could connect the dots differently. 486 00:30:45,480 --> 00:30:49,680 Speaker 2: They hear all of this testimony that Rebecca had been suicidal, 487 00:30:49,840 --> 00:30:51,800 Speaker 2: that there was a black dog that leapt out of 488 00:30:51,800 --> 00:30:54,560 Speaker 2: the room, that it was the implication that it was 489 00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:58,640 Speaker 2: God himself, you know, passing judgment on Rebecca for being 490 00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:03,120 Speaker 2: a bad mother, but therefore not burning down the house 491 00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:06,240 Speaker 2: because she caught fire, and not burning the clothes etc. 492 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:10,000 Speaker 1: But the negative certainly outweighed the positive. 493 00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:14,040 Speaker 2: Rebecca was in distress that Thomas owed her money, that 494 00:31:14,160 --> 00:31:16,880 Speaker 2: he was withholding her rent, that he was saying things 495 00:31:16,960 --> 00:31:19,160 Speaker 2: like your name stink about the island. 496 00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:25,160 Speaker 1: And then one witness reported something awful that Thomas supposedly said. 497 00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:31,040 Speaker 2: After she died. He remarked to a neighbor that in life, 498 00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:34,480 Speaker 2: my mother wanted a good fire, and I guess the 499 00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:40,520 Speaker 2: Lord hath provided for now she has it. Yeah, exactly, 500 00:31:41,320 --> 00:31:44,640 Speaker 2: I mean, my goodness, wow. 501 00:31:44,960 --> 00:31:48,920 Speaker 1: If that's true, then Thomas really disliked his mother, regardless 502 00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:53,160 Speaker 1: of his guilt. It all framed Thomas Cornell very poorly, 503 00:31:53,920 --> 00:31:56,840 Speaker 1: and soon the jury reached a verdict. 504 00:31:57,560 --> 00:32:00,760 Speaker 2: So he is found guilty. And a lot of people 505 00:32:01,360 --> 00:32:04,680 Speaker 2: like to make the point that this was spectral evidence 506 00:32:04,800 --> 00:32:07,400 Speaker 2: and that that's why he was convicted, and it was 507 00:32:07,400 --> 00:32:10,200 Speaker 2: a precursor to the Salem witch trials, and it was 508 00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:13,080 Speaker 2: used as a reference in the Salem witch trials. The 509 00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:18,440 Speaker 2: spectral evidence, yes, this particular case was, However, which part. 510 00:32:18,320 --> 00:32:22,600 Speaker 3: John Riggs and his sister's ghost or Sarah Earle and 511 00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:24,560 Speaker 3: the dog the ghost. 512 00:32:24,760 --> 00:32:27,800 Speaker 2: The spectral evidence of the ghost is the one because 513 00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:33,680 Speaker 2: Sarah Earl Cornell's testimony was not under oath. Everybody else's was, 514 00:32:34,760 --> 00:32:37,520 Speaker 2: so people like to say that that's you know, it 515 00:32:37,600 --> 00:32:40,920 Speaker 2: was completely unjust because of that. But it's very clear 516 00:32:41,120 --> 00:32:44,400 Speaker 2: from the record to me that they used the spectral 517 00:32:44,400 --> 00:32:47,200 Speaker 2: evidence as a way of convening a grand jury to 518 00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:51,280 Speaker 2: find the initial charges, and then that in conjunction with 519 00:32:51,560 --> 00:32:55,360 Speaker 2: the rest of what was reported, that she was afraid 520 00:32:55,400 --> 00:32:58,360 Speaker 2: that some harm would come to her, that there was 521 00:32:58,520 --> 00:33:00,520 Speaker 2: tension about find Nancy's. 522 00:33:01,640 --> 00:33:05,600 Speaker 1: Okay, now let's talk about ghosts. I do believe in them, 523 00:33:05,680 --> 00:33:09,040 Speaker 1: but I'm not sure I believe in them in this case, 524 00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:10,880 Speaker 1: and neither does Carrie. 525 00:33:11,840 --> 00:33:15,120 Speaker 2: To me, the spectral I mean, whether or not you 526 00:33:15,160 --> 00:33:17,880 Speaker 2: believe in ghosts. I think we can all agree that people, 527 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:22,240 Speaker 2: especially families, you know, things weigh heavily on you. And 528 00:33:22,760 --> 00:33:25,960 Speaker 2: you can wake up and have a dream about something 529 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:29,160 Speaker 2: that tells you something that you may have known internally 530 00:33:30,040 --> 00:33:33,560 Speaker 2: but you hadn't really verbalized it or really had it 531 00:33:33,600 --> 00:33:35,840 Speaker 2: come to the front of your mind. That to me 532 00:33:36,440 --> 00:33:39,840 Speaker 2: seems like what happened with John Briggs. If I was 533 00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:44,360 Speaker 2: going to be very rational about it. 534 00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:46,920 Speaker 1: It actually doesn't matter if Rebecca Cornell visited her brother 535 00:33:47,040 --> 00:33:50,600 Speaker 1: in spectral form. The ghost didn't even accuse her own 536 00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:55,120 Speaker 1: son of doing anything. Anne Burne says, all that matters 537 00:33:55,320 --> 00:33:57,560 Speaker 1: is that the jury believed the evidence. 538 00:33:58,200 --> 00:34:01,120 Speaker 7: He got convicted on gossip and people taking sides like, 539 00:34:01,440 --> 00:34:03,360 Speaker 7: you know, it's like elder abuse. So they they're taking 540 00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:06,800 Speaker 7: the side of the you know, poor elderly mom who 541 00:34:06,880 --> 00:34:08,840 Speaker 7: isn't being taken care of the way she should be, 542 00:34:09,040 --> 00:34:11,680 Speaker 7: Like she's not being fed well, and she could he 543 00:34:11,719 --> 00:34:14,160 Speaker 7: wouldn't hire and made for her, and you know, he 544 00:34:14,200 --> 00:34:16,319 Speaker 7: wouldn't warm her bed before she got in, and then 545 00:34:16,360 --> 00:34:18,719 Speaker 7: she would complain to anybody who would listen. And they 546 00:34:18,760 --> 00:34:21,120 Speaker 7: came forward and said, yes, he's a terrible hun he's 547 00:34:21,160 --> 00:34:24,319 Speaker 7: a terrible fun But did that account. 548 00:34:23,960 --> 00:34:32,759 Speaker 1: From her her? So Thomas Cornell was convicted. Now what 549 00:34:33,440 --> 00:34:36,719 Speaker 1: murder convictions in the sixteen hundreds were rare, and when 550 00:34:36,760 --> 00:34:40,800 Speaker 1: there were convictions, they weren't typically involving people like Thomas, 551 00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:44,440 Speaker 1: someone with no criminal record. He and Sarah Earle were 552 00:34:44,440 --> 00:34:47,759 Speaker 1: both from good families in New England and now he 553 00:34:47,880 --> 00:34:52,560 Speaker 1: faced a hanging. But Thomas seemed more worried about what 554 00:34:52,600 --> 00:34:56,520 Speaker 1: would happen after his execution, How would his family be 555 00:34:56,600 --> 00:34:57,319 Speaker 1: taken care of? 556 00:34:57,960 --> 00:35:00,440 Speaker 2: So one of the interesting things about probate at this 557 00:35:00,640 --> 00:35:04,319 Speaker 2: time period in this place is that if you die 558 00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:08,480 Speaker 2: by suicide or if you commit a crime and are hanged, 559 00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:14,000 Speaker 2: then you forfeit your property and then they can parcel 560 00:35:14,040 --> 00:35:15,160 Speaker 2: it out or. 561 00:35:15,080 --> 00:35:18,320 Speaker 1: The Colony of Rhode Island could take it over. None 562 00:35:18,320 --> 00:35:20,480 Speaker 1: of that would have been good news for the Cornells. 563 00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:24,440 Speaker 1: A murder conviction was terrible, but if Rebecca had taken 564 00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:27,040 Speaker 1: her own life, that would have also been bad for them. 565 00:35:27,480 --> 00:35:29,879 Speaker 1: So maybe that was the cover up. 566 00:35:30,480 --> 00:35:35,439 Speaker 2: The question is, did Rebecca die by suicide and her 567 00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:37,719 Speaker 2: son burned her body to cover it up so that 568 00:35:37,760 --> 00:35:42,040 Speaker 2: he wouldn't lose any of his inheritance that he had 569 00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:46,440 Speaker 2: been waiting so long for, or did either Thomas or 570 00:35:46,520 --> 00:35:50,920 Speaker 2: Sarah kill Rebecca and then cover it up so that 571 00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:55,120 Speaker 2: again they wouldn't have to pay for it, either by 572 00:35:55,719 --> 00:35:59,120 Speaker 2: being hanged or by losing the property. 573 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:03,240 Speaker 1: Burns and I can't shake the idea that John Briggs 574 00:36:03,400 --> 00:36:07,600 Speaker 1: started all of this. Was it really just based on 575 00:36:07,680 --> 00:36:10,600 Speaker 1: a ghost and was he really telling the truth? 576 00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:14,759 Speaker 7: What did John Briggs have to gain from creating this drama? 577 00:36:14,840 --> 00:36:17,160 Speaker 7: He could have just let it go. Like the whole 578 00:36:17,239 --> 00:36:21,040 Speaker 7: thing is that John Briggs. 579 00:36:20,080 --> 00:36:24,000 Speaker 6: Brought this to the authorities. He is to me the 580 00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:27,080 Speaker 6: most curious person of all of this. Why did he 581 00:36:27,200 --> 00:36:29,600 Speaker 6: feel the need to go to the authorities and have 582 00:36:29,640 --> 00:36:31,799 Speaker 6: them reexamine her body? What did he have to gain? 583 00:36:32,040 --> 00:36:33,040 Speaker 7: Who was he mad at? 584 00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:33,279 Speaker 5: Like? 585 00:36:33,440 --> 00:36:36,320 Speaker 1: You know, did you think remember that John Briggs was 586 00:36:36,360 --> 00:36:39,400 Speaker 1: a founder of Portsmouth, one of the most esteemed people 587 00:36:39,440 --> 00:36:46,160 Speaker 1: in New England. Ultimately, Anne Burns and Gloria Schmidt believe 588 00:36:46,360 --> 00:36:49,000 Speaker 1: that Thomas Cornell was railroaded. 589 00:36:52,680 --> 00:36:55,760 Speaker 7: Was Thomas Cornell Junior just a scapegoat of the time, 590 00:36:56,480 --> 00:37:00,120 Speaker 7: Let's hold somebody accountable, Let's, you know, show that you 591 00:37:00,160 --> 00:37:01,840 Speaker 7: can't commit murder and get away with it. 592 00:37:02,840 --> 00:37:06,520 Speaker 5: I almost think that he was convicted of being a 593 00:37:06,560 --> 00:37:11,359 Speaker 5: poor son rather than an eyewitness saying, you know, he 594 00:37:11,400 --> 00:37:15,200 Speaker 5: committed this crime. It was more while he didn't do 595 00:37:15,280 --> 00:37:20,120 Speaker 5: her right, those kinds of comments are I think, what 596 00:37:20,960 --> 00:37:25,319 Speaker 5: has the jury thinking? You know, there's something wrong here. 597 00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:29,680 Speaker 1: So Thomas Cornell Junior was set to die by the news. 598 00:37:30,239 --> 00:37:34,120 Speaker 1: But remember he allegedly had that conversation with his wife 599 00:37:34,160 --> 00:37:38,960 Speaker 1: in jail, that one about keeping secrets, And soon Sarah 600 00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:43,800 Speaker 1: Earle would face accusations of her own. This story isn't 601 00:37:43,800 --> 00:38:04,319 Speaker 1: over yet. On the final episode of this season of 602 00:38:04,400 --> 00:38:06,719 Speaker 1: tenfold More Wicked on exactly right. 603 00:38:08,680 --> 00:38:11,080 Speaker 7: I think her exact words were, a great black dog 604 00:38:11,239 --> 00:38:12,879 Speaker 7: leaped out of the doorway at them. 605 00:38:13,080 --> 00:38:15,640 Speaker 8: I interpreted that as her trying to claim in court 606 00:38:15,680 --> 00:38:17,320 Speaker 8: that our mother in law was a witch. 607 00:38:17,719 --> 00:38:25,320 Speaker 5: Thomas Junior's brother sought to have Sarah pride for the murder. 608 00:38:24,920 --> 00:38:27,719 Speaker 2: And that's not her mother. It's an old woman that 609 00:38:27,800 --> 00:38:28,560 Speaker 2: just won't die. 610 00:38:28,680 --> 00:38:30,759 Speaker 3: We don't think there's anything that's been missing in. 611 00:38:30,640 --> 00:38:36,000 Speaker 2: This case, right, No, But in the sense that both Wikipash, 612 00:38:36,040 --> 00:38:40,640 Speaker 2: the former servant, and Sarah were arrested, was there conspiracy? 613 00:38:41,239 --> 00:38:45,160 Speaker 7: It was like a gossip mongering festival against this guy. 614 00:38:45,480 --> 00:38:47,520 Speaker 7: You know, they wanted to find somebody guilty. 615 00:38:47,800 --> 00:38:49,920 Speaker 10: In the conversations I have with people, we've reached a 616 00:38:49,960 --> 00:38:53,879 Speaker 10: tipping point where there is an awareness of innocent people 617 00:38:53,920 --> 00:38:55,920 Speaker 10: being in prison and that this is a tragedy and 618 00:38:55,960 --> 00:38:58,000 Speaker 10: that this is not something we as a society want. 619 00:38:58,760 --> 00:39:03,120 Speaker 10: But then the second question that immediately follows is well, 620 00:39:03,120 --> 00:39:04,160 Speaker 10: what are we going to do about it? 621 00:39:10,280 --> 00:39:13,160 Speaker 1: If you love true crime, check out my books American 622 00:39:13,200 --> 00:39:16,080 Speaker 1: Sherlock and All That Is Wicked. I also have an 623 00:39:16,080 --> 00:39:19,480 Speaker 1: audio book called The Ghost Club. I can't wait to 624 00:39:19,480 --> 00:39:22,600 Speaker 1: tell you the real story about the world's most famous 625 00:39:22,600 --> 00:39:25,560 Speaker 1: ghost hunter, who was the head of the world's most 626 00:39:25,600 --> 00:39:30,400 Speaker 1: famous ghost club, and how he investigated England's most famous 627 00:39:30,480 --> 00:39:36,200 Speaker 1: haunted house. This has been an exactly right tenfold more 628 00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:41,480 Speaker 1: media production producer Jason Whaling, Senior producer Alexis and Morosi, 629 00:39:41,920 --> 00:39:47,840 Speaker 1: Consulting producer Kyle Ryan, researcher Nicole Brown, sound designer Eric Friend, 630 00:39:48,200 --> 00:39:53,480 Speaker 1: additional sound design by Nicholas Mooney's composer Curtis Heath, artwork 631 00:39:53,640 --> 00:39:58,560 Speaker 1: Nick Toga. Executive producers Georgia hart Stark, Karen Kilgarriff and 632 00:39:58,680 --> 00:40:03,840 Speaker 1: Danielle Kramer. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook at tenfold 633 00:40:03,920 --> 00:40:04,520 Speaker 1: more Wicked