Speaker 1: In July eighteen eighty one, a man walked into a
Speaker 1: train station, pulled out a gun, and shot the president
Speaker 1: of the United States, President James Garfield didn't die right away.
Speaker 1: For more than two months, he lingered between life and death,
Speaker 1: eventually dying in September eighteen eighty one. The American public
Speaker 1: was a heartbroken and furious. They called for Garfield's assassin,
Speaker 1: a man named Charles Getteau, to be punished, to be
Speaker 1: thrown to wild dogs, to be burned alive, to be
Speaker 1: shot like he had shot Garfield. But as the government
Speaker 1: began to prepare for Getou's trial, a problem emerged. Getaux,
Speaker 1: many medical experts believed, was insane. If this was the case,
Speaker 1: was he responsible for his actions? And if he wasn't responsible,
Speaker 1: how could the public get the closure or the vengeance
Speaker 1: that they longed for. In the end, many wondered could
Speaker 1: the justice system truly deliver justice in a case like this?
Speaker 1: This was the question at the heart of Getou's trial.
Speaker 1: The country had never seen a trial like it. The
Speaker 1: crime was so great, the evidence was so compelling, and
Speaker 1: yet the defendant was so troubled, telling the court that
Speaker 1: God had told him to kill Garfield. Americans watched with
Speaker 1: bated breath as Guetou's trial unfolded in the fall of
Speaker 1: eighteen eighty one, each moment more shocking than the last.
Speaker 1: Would Getou be set free, would Garfield be avenged? What
Speaker 1: would the verdict mean for the country. Though Getou's trial
Speaker 1: was extraordinary, it wasn't unique. Throughout American history, important trials
Speaker 1: have always raised questions, questions about good and evil, about
Speaker 1: truth and justice, and about who we are as a nation.
Speaker 1: My name is Mira Hayward, and I'll be diving into
Speaker 1: the stories of these trials in my new podcast, History
Speaker 1: on Trial. Every episode will cover a different trial from
Speaker 1: American history, revealing the real people behind the headlines, and
Speaker 1: examining how the legal battles of the past have shaped
Speaker 1: our present. To hear these astonishing trial stories, listen and
Speaker 1: subscribe to History on Trial, out February eighth, on the
Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
Speaker 1: favorite shows.