278:. Their defense tried to focused on sentimental issues, trying to create a reasonable doubt in the minds of the jurors. They showed the jury that, due to a smallpox vaccination that ended up harming him, Fairbanks did not have the use of his right arm and was sickly in general. They suggested, though Fairbanks later strongly denied it, that the lovers had a murder-suicide pact. The defense lawyers also tried to show the government witnesses were not trustworthy and that Fales had become unbalanced after reading too many romantic novels. The trial concluded on the evening on August 7. The next day, August 8, the jury found him guilty and he was sentenced to death.
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267:. More than 30 witnesses testified that they had heard him make threats against Fales and her parents. Sullivan also presented evidence that suggested Fales could not have inflicted all of her own wounds and demonstrated that Fairbanks borrowed the murder weapon from a field hand that morning. The Fairbanks' family physician, Dr. Kitteridge, testified at the trial about Fales' wounds but was indicted for perjury.
228:, was called to the scene and reported the incident in the next edition of his weekly newspaper under the headline "MELANCHOLY CATASTROPHE!" Fairbanks was too injured to be moved, and was left to recuperate at the Fales' home. He did not attend Fales' funeral, but 2,000 others did, probably making it the largest crowd ever assembled in Dedham up to that time. He was eventually removed by
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with helping
Fairbanks escape. Those who testified for the government were acquitted, as were Whiting and Farrington. Ebenezer Fairbanks and Sisk were found guilty and sentenced to four months in jail while Davis got two months. Timothy Gay Jr., the jailkeeper, was charged with being complicit with the escape but this was later disproved. He was, however, turned out of office.
363:, published a sermon in which he wondered if Fairbanks' hanging and the "riot and confusion" at the end of the day were caused by a hellish legion "of obstreperous, incarnate fiends, who paraded the streets of this peaceful village. Other authors also jumped in as well, publishing a large number of poems and broadsides reflecting on Fales and Fairbanks.
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On
September 10, 1801, he was returned to Dedham from the Boston jail and was hanged. To ensure that he would not escape again, he was accompanied by a civil escort to the border of Dedham and Roxbury. Then, once they crossed over into Norfolk County, he was accompanied by a corps of cavalry plus two
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Jason had told a friend that "planned to meet Betsey, in order to have the matter settled" and that he "either intended to violate her chastity, or carry her to
Wrentham, to be married, for he had waited long enough." On May 18, 1801, Fales met Fairbanks in a "birch grove next to 'Mason’s Pasture'"
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was published by the Boston firm
Russell and Cutler. It was 87 pages long and was issued over the course of several months, making it "the first demonstrably popular trial report published in early national New England." A number of books and pamphlets would be written about the case in the months
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Fales was stabbed 11 times, including once in the back, and her throat was slashed. Fairbanks staggered to her home, covered in blood, and told her family that she had committed suicide. He also told them that he had also attempted to take his own life, but was unable to, and that accounted for his
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After
Fairbanks was dead, attention then turned to those who helped him escape. Stephen Fairbanks, two black men named Jacques and Sam, and Henry Dukeham all testified for the commonwealth. Isaac Whiting, Reuben Farrington, Ebenezer Fairbanks, Edward Sisk, and a person named Davis were all charged
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In addition to the military presence, "the 10,000 people who showed up at the Town Common to witness the execution were five times the town’s population at the time." One resident counted 711 carriages driving down Spring Street towards the gallows that morning. It set a new record for the largest
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wounds which left him "still alive, but in a most deplorable situation." Fales' family rushed to their daughter where they found her "writhing in her blood" with her body "cruelly mangled." She was conscious and took a small sip of water, but died soon thereafter in her mother's arms.
324:. Surprised to have been pursued so far, he said he would have ridden another 400 miles had he known. Fairbanks was not returned to Dedham, the site of his previous escape, but was instead brought to the Suffolk County Jail in Boston.
213:. They carried on a "desultory and somewhat ambiguous relationship" marked by Fales' parents' disapproval, Fairbanks' poor health, and Fales continually breaking up with Fairbanks and then taking him back again.
194:, was convicted of the murder and sentenced to death but escaped from jail before he could be hanged. He was recaptured, returned to Dedham, and hanged before a crowd of 10,000. The case made national headlines.
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The Solemn
Declaration of the Late Unfortunate Jason Fairbanks,. From the Original Manuscript, composed and signed by himself, a very short time before his death, To Which is Added Some Account of his Life and
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on East Street in Dedham and was courting
Elizabeth Fales, two years his junior at 18. They both came from old and respected Dedham families and met while attending a signing school at the
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Fairbanks was arraigned the next day, August 5, and the trial opened on the sixth. Interest in the case involving two prominent families was so great that the trial was moved from
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drew up a petition calling for his capture declaring that "the stain of blood is upon this land" and that "no honest man's eyes must sleep in Dedham this night."
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The murder, trial, and the escape set off a media firestorm. One newspaper implored readers to "Stop the
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On the night of August 17, Fairbanks escaped from jail along with several others. A $ 1,000 bounty offered for his capture.
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while waiting for a steamer to bring him to Canada. He was eating his breakfast when he was discovered by Seth
Wheelock of
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Pillars of Salt, Monuments of Grace: New
England Crime Literature and the Origins of American Popular Culture, 1674-1860
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across the street. When that venue proved to still be too small, the trial again moved to the Town Common.
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shot back the next day. The political potshots and retorts continued in the days that followed.
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Report of the Trial of Jason Fairbanks, on an Indictment for the Murder of Miss Elizabeth Fales
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and years to come including "one of the earliest novels based on an actual murder case," the
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and told him that she could not marry him. The pasture was about 400 yards from Fales' home.
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Hanson believes Fairbanks was also suffering from an undiagnosed case of tuberculosis.
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553:"The Story of Jason Fairbanks: Trial Reports and the Rise of Sentimental Fiction"
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companies of cavalry and an infantry unit to stand guard at the actual scaffold.
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The south face of the courthouse in Dedham Square, as it appeared in 1839.
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where he remained until the grand jury indicted him on August 4, 1801.
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Within days of the execution the first of four installments of the
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263:Prosecuting the case was the then-Attorney General
718:. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 188.
487:. Boston, Massachusetts: Russell and Cutler. 1801.
383:Fales lived on Cedar Street, near the modern day
347:Life of Jason Fairbanks: A Novel Founded on Fact.
531:Herman Mann (1801). "Melancholy Catastrophe!".
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783:Historical Journal of Massachusetts
430:Parr, James L. (January 14, 2023).
1152:Norfolk County Correctional Center
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1584:1801 murders in the United States
1574:Deaths by person in Massachusetts
1368:First Church of Christ, Scientist
211:First Church and Parish in Dedham
1564:History of Dedham, Massachusetts
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1538:Stony Brook Reservation Parkways
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774:Freeman, Dale H. (Winter 1998).
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224:The editor of the local paper,
186:took place on May 18, 1801, in
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396:Fairbanks was a descendant of
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755:Hanson, Robert Brand (1976).
1594:19th-century American trials
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761:. Dedham Historical Society.
282:Escape, capture, and hanging
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1011:People from colonial Dedham
432:"The Paul Family of Dedham"
316:, Captain Henry Tisdale of
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258:First Parish Meetinghouse
1300:Moseley's on the Charles
914:Death of Elizabeth Fales
551:Daniel A. Cohen (1993).
270:Defending Fairbanks was
240:Trial of Jason Fairbanks
198:Death of Elizabeth Fales
184:death of Elizabeth Fales
1579:Trials in Massachusetts
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1016:Signers of the Covenant
956:Deacons at First Church
513:. Daily News Transcript
310:Skeensborough, New York
1112:Dedham Community House
919:The Massachusetts Game
714:Cohen, Daniel (1993).
359:, the minister at the
318:the Springfield Parish
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1416:Dedham Public Schools
1107:Daniel Slattery house
827:Dedham, Massachusetts
322:Hadley, Massachusetts
303:Independent Chronicle
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188:Dedham, Massachusetts
64:Dedham, Massachusetts
1487:Old Village Cemetery
1358:Allin Congregational
1265:Blue Ribbon Barbecue
1142:Fisher-Whiting House
880:Settlers' lifestyles
509:Sean Murphy (2006).
320:, and Moses Holt of
124:Settlers' lifestyles
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1421:Noble and Greenough
1305:National Amusements
1227:Horse Thief Society
1201:Samuel Dexter House
1097:601-603 High Street
563:(2). Archived from
557:Legal Studies Forum
295:Columbian Centinel,
234:Norfolk County Jail
129:American Revolution
1472:Brookdale Cemetery
1411:Dedham High School
1232:James Joyce Ramble
1222:Historical Society
1136:Jonathan Fairbanks
991:Military personnel
924:Sacco and Vanzetti
580:, p. 177-178.
398:Jonathan Fairbanks
272:Harrison Gray Otis
254:the new courthouse
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1186:Pillar of Liberty
1147:Museum of Bad Art
725:978-0-19-507584-7
533:Columbian Minerva
332:crowd in Dedham.
301:, the Republican
190:. Her boyfriend,
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39:History of Dedham
16:(Redirected from
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1462:Mother Brook
1426:Rashi School
1363:First Church
1191:Powder House
1006:Sportspeople
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863:2000–present
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98:2000–present
58:Main article
1315:Papa Gino's
1285:Dedham Bank
1255:Ames Tavern
1001:Politicians
904:David Brown
749:Works cited
739:Hanson 1976
702:Hanson 1976
667:Hanson 1976
646:Hanson 1976
617:Hanson 1976
578:Hanson 1976
472:Hanson 1976
361:West Church
288:Fisher Ames
276:John Lowell
226:Herman Mann
51:Fisher Ames
1558:Categories
1388:St. Paul's
1378:St. Mary's
1270:Chess King
1242:Businesses
1166:Courthouse
1031:Government
789:(1): 1–26.
517:2006-11-30
417:References
352:Character.
1452:Avery Oak
1403:Education
1160:1817 jail
1156:1795 jail
1102:Broad Oak
1084:Buildings
981:Educators
885:Civil War
858:1900–1999
853:1800–1899
848:1700–1799
843:1635–1699
438:April 29,
385:Paul Park
144:Education
134:Civil War
93:1900–1999
88:1800–1899
83:1700–1799
78:1635–1699
1350:Churches
870:Timeline
825:Town of
314:Medfield
114:Timeline
106:By topic
32:a series
30:Part of
1382:History
1275:Cortera
1021:Writers
986:Lawyers
966:Artists
835:History
256:to the
232:to the
70:By year
1059:Police
976:Clergy
948:People
722:
336:Legacy
230:litter
34:on the
779:(PDF)
371:Notes
1340:WZBR
1335:WYDN
1330:WFXT
1325:WAMG
890:Rail
720:ISBN
440:2023
274:and
182:The
139:Rail
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1158:;
787:26
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