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Albert Jackson Tirrell (1824–1880) was a man whose
trial
In law, a trial is a coming together of Party (law), parties to a :wikt:dispute, dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence (law), evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to Adjudication, adjudicate claims or d ...
for the
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
of the
prostitute
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...
for whom he had left his wife scandalized
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
society in 1846. He used
sleepwalking
Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism or noctambulism, is a phenomenon of combined sleep and wakefulness. It is classified as a sleep disorder belonging to the parasomnia family. It occurs during slow wave stage of sleep, in a state of low ...
as a
defense
Defense or defence may refer to:
Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups
* Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare
* Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks
* Defense industr ...
against charges of murder, marking the first time in
American legal history that this defense was successful in a murder prosecution.
Background
Tirrell was the son of a family in
Weymouth, Massachusetts ("To Work Is to Conquer")
, image_map = Norfolk County Massachusetts incorporated and unincorporated areas Weymouth highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250px
, map_caption = Location in Norfolk County in Massa ...
, married and living with his wife and two children. He was known to be unfaithful, and in 1845 he left his wife to be with Maria Bickford (also married and also in her early 20s), a prostitute living in a Boston
brothel
A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...
. Tirrell fell in love with her, his affection was returned and they became constant companions,
living together as husband and wife.
Although they were constantly together and traveled together using different names, she never abandoned her profession, much to his dislike.
Early one morning, after loud noises emanating from her rooms, Bickford was found brutally murdered. Tirrell, having last been seen with her, was accused of her murder. His parents hired
Rufus Choate
Rufus Choate (October 1, 1799July 13, 1859) was an American lawyer, orator, and Senator who represented Massachusetts as a member of the Whig Party. He is regarded as one of the greatest American lawyers of the 19th century, arguing over a th ...
, a famous Boston
attorney
Attorney may refer to:
* Lawyer
** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions
* Attorney, one who has power of attorney
* ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film
See also
* Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...
who was noted for the innovative defense strategies he employed to
acquit
In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...
his clients.
Circumstances
On October 27, 1845, Tirrell was alleged to have visited Bickford's bedroom after that evening's last customer had left and, using a razor, slit her throat from ear to ear, so brutally that her head was nearly severed from her body.
He also allegedly set three fires in the brothel, which awakened the owner, who discovered the body of Bickford and called the police. As several people had witnessed the entrance and leaving of the brothel by Tirrell, the police began a search but Tirrell had fled. He was arrested on December 6 in
, and returned to Boston for trial.
Public outrage was fed by sensational newspaper accounts describing the evidence against Tirrell. Not only had he left his wife to live with Bickford and was under a charge of adultery, he had been seen on the premises in the hours before the body was found. A bloody razor lay near her body, bits of Tirrell's clothing and his cane were at the crime scene, and fires had been set nearby as if to destroy evidence.
Trial
Although many witnesses could testify to Tirrell's affair with Bickford and to the presence of Tirrell at the brothel that evening, there were no
eyewitness
Eyewitness or eye witness may refer to:
Witness
* Witness, someone who has knowledge acquired through first-hand experience
** Eyewitness memory
** Eyewitness testimony
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Eyewitness'' (1956 film), a Britis ...
es to the actual crime. Choate emphasized to the jury that no matter how overwhelming the evidence of Tirrell's presence at the brothel that evening, the evidence was all
circumstantial, as no one had seen Tirrell kill Bickford. Moreover, Choate argued, Tirrell had no
motive
Motive(s) or The Motive(s) may refer to:
* Motive (law)
Film and television
* Motives (film), ''Motives'' (film), a 2004 thriller
* The Motive (film), ''The Motive'' (film), 2017
* Motive (TV series), ''Motive'' (TV series), a 2013 Canadian TV ser ...
to kill Bickford.
Choate set forth two possible explanations for the jury to consider. The first was that Bickford could have committed suicide, that there was no proof that she did not "in the frenzy of the moment, with giant strength, let out the scream of life..."
However, the brutality of the slashing made this explanation implausible, so Choate turned to an alternative explanation, that Tirrell, as a habitual sleepwalker, could have murdered Bickford under the influence of a nightmare or a
trance
Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...
. In the 1840s there were no medical explanations for sleepwalking and medical experts differed over its cause. With
oratorial flourish, Choate read to the jury popular treatises with descriptions of violence attributed to sleepwalking, while reminding them that if they returned a guilty verdict, Tirrell would certainly be
executed
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
even if there existed a remote chance that he was innocent. Meanwhile, the Boston newspapers
sensationalized
In journalism and mass media, sensationalism is a type of editorial tactic. Events and topics in news stories are selected and worded to excite the greatest number of readers and viewers. This style of news reporting encourages biased or emotion ...
the trial, arguing that Tirrell was guilty.
After less than two hours of deliberation, on March 30, 1846, the jury returned its verdict of not guilty.
Significance
Rufus Choate convinced the jury that Tirrell did not cut Bickford's throat, or, if he did so, he did it while
sleepwalking
Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism or noctambulism, is a phenomenon of combined sleep and wakefulness. It is classified as a sleep disorder belonging to the parasomnia family. It occurs during slow wave stage of sleep, in a state of low ...
, under the '
insanity
Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to ...
of sleep.'
Choate successfully used the same 'insanity of sleep' defense in a second trial to acquit Tirrell on the
arson
Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...
charges for setting fire to the brothel.
These acquittals were the first in the history of American law in which sleepwalking was successfully used as a defense.
Follow-up
After being acquitted, Tirrell attempted unsuccessfully to get half of Choate's
legal fees
Attorney's fee is a chiefly United States term for compensation for legal services performed by an Lawyer, attorney (lawyer or law firm) for a client, in or out of court. It may be an hourly, flat-rate or contingent fee. Recent studies suggest that ...
refunded on the grounds that his innocence had been obvious. After the notoriety generated by these trials died down, Tirrell lived the remainder of his life in obscurity. Nonetheless, the trials became famous for Choate's successful use of the sleepwalking defense.
Footnotes
External links
Extractions from “The Prostitute and the Somnambulist” Albert Jackson Tirrell – trials for murder, arson and adulteryBroken Dreams
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tirrell, Albert
1824 births
1880 deaths
Crimes against sex workers in the United States
People acquitted by reason of insanity
People acquitted of murder
People from Weymouth, Massachusetts