Closing Argument of Onias Skinner, 29 May 1845, Copy [State of Illinois v. Williams et al.]
Source Note
, Closing Argument, [, Hancock Co., IL], 29 May [1845], State of IL v. Williams et al. (Hancock Co., IL, Circuit Court 1845). Copied [29 May–20 June 1845]; handwriting of and printed text; thirty-one pages; Wilford Wood Museum, Bountiful, UT; images in Joseph Smith Murder Trial Papers, 1844–1845, CHL.
ed by the prosecution is broken or wanting the whole fails. If you believe the act could have been committed by other means— if any presumption exists by which the act could have been done without the agency of these defendants, you are bound by the law & your oaths to them.
But, thinks he has at least one strong hold & by that he expects to prey upon your pride, your fears & your prejudices if; you have any. He tells you that your is ruined unless these men are convicted— that men abroad fear to Come here— that your is regarded the theatre of mobs, riots & rebellion, & that the whole & are highly incensed & prejudiced against you. Now, by what means was this prejudice gotten up & how & by whom is it promulgated? It come from the of the — his extra & special extra messages— his public & private letters— the Register, the organ of his administration— the lying book of [William] Daniels & caricature engravings calculated to excite exaspera[page torn] prejudice the public mind against the & these defts; all of which is based upon the statments of a few malignant individuals & the affidavits of this Daniels, who showed himself while [p. 22]