Trial of Lincoln Assassins, 1865

In the turmoil that followed the assassination, scores of suspected accomplices were arrested and thrown into prison. All the people who were discovered to have had anything to do with the assassination or anyone with the slightest contact with Booth or Herold on their flight were put behind bars. The suspects were narrowed down to just eight prisoners (seven men and one woman): Samuel Arnold, George Atzerodt, David Herold, Samuel Mudd, Michael O'Laughlen, Lewis Powell, Edmund Spangler (a Ford's stagehand who had given Booth's horse to Peanuts Burroughs to hold), and Mary Surratt. The eight suspects were tried by a military tribunal. The trial lasted for about seven weeks, with 366 witnesses testifying. Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold, and George Atzerodt were sentenced to death by hanging; Samuel Mudd, Samuel Arnold, and Michael O'Laughlen were sentenced to life in prison. Edmund Spangler was sentenced to imprisonment for six years

Restrictions Only for Ireland and United Kingdom

Accomplices Assassins Atzerodt Conspiracy Conspirators Herold Mudd Spangler Surratt Suspects Tribunal

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