Kelesie Cotner

ENGL111

July 8, 2019

Was Lizzie Borden guilty?

Robertson, Cara W. “Representing Miss Lizzie: Cultural Convictions in the Trial of Lizzie Borden.” Yale JL & Human. 8 (1996): 351.

This article addresses the different cultural convictions which were used in the examination and determination of the case involving Lizzie Borden. These convictions are used to determine whether Lizzie was guilty or not. The study which was conducted by Cara W. Robertson examines how the hearing was conducted and how Lizzie was represented during the hearing. This involves the different testimonies that she made and the way she conducted herself during the hearing. This study is important as it provided first-hand information regarding the case as it was presented during the hearing making it relevant to examine whether Lizzie was innocent in the case.

Carlson, A. Cheree. “The Lizzie Borden murder trial: womanhood as asset and liability (Fall River, 1892).” Historical Journal of Massachusetts 38.2 (2010): 17.

This article addresses the aspect of gender in murder cases. In this case, the author tries to explore the possibilities that Lizzie was capable of undertaking such an act based on her gender. During this study, Carlson, A. Cheree examined the different aspects surrounding Lizzie’s case and the context in which it was based. Also, the author related the case with several other similar cases undertaken during that time and evaluated the way evidence was conducted and presented in a court of law. This study is relevant as it enables the examination of the evidence concerning the case and how the evidence influenced the ruling of the case.

Carlisle, Marcia R. “What Made Lizzie Borden Kill? | AMERICAN HERITAGE. Americanheritage.Com, 1992,
https://www.americanheritage.com/what-made-lizzie-
borden-kill.

In this article, the author tries to explore the relationship that Lizzie maintained with her parents and the reasons as to which would have influenced her to undertake their murder. Such aspects are considered in determining whether she was guilty of the act. In this case, the author examines the different reasons as to why she would have resorted to killing. This study is relevant as it gives an insight into the different aspects which would have motivated Lizzie to kill her parents. These aspects can be used in determining whether Lizzie is guilty of the murder or not.

Blakemore, Erin. “Why We’re So Obsessed With Lizzie Borden’s 40 Whacks | JSTOR Daily. JSTOR Daily, 2017,
https://daily.jstor.org/why-were-so-obsessed-with-lizzie-bordens-40- whacks/
.

This article addresses the reasons as to why Lizzie’s murder case is still considered relevant in history. This aspect is based on the fact that the case was associated with numerous controversies related to the execution of the murder as well as the ruling of the case. The study examines the different activities which were undertaken during the murder and how such activities are related to the nature of women. This research provides literature on the different aspects of women and violence over the years. This study is relevant as it examines different aspects which can be used to relate to Lizzie’s case and how such aspects can be used to prove her innocence.

Schofield, Ann. “Lizzie Borden Took an Axe: History, Feminism, and American Culture.” American Studies 34.1 (1993): 91-103.

In this article, the author examines the role of feminism in American culture. This aspect tries to explain what really influenced Lizzie to undertake the murder of her parents in a cultural perspective. It also explores the roles associated with feminism in society and how such aspects are associated with aspects such as violence. It also examines how the murder reflects on the cultural values or goals and world view of the American culture as portrayed in the twentieth century. The study examines the different versions of Lizzie’s murder case and how such aspects influence the ruling of the case. This study is important as it relates to the murder case with the different aspects which might have influenced the incidence.

Canales, Lilliana. “A Trial With A Twist: Lizzie Borden – Stmu History Media”. Stmuhistorymedia.Org, 2018,
https://stmuhistorymedia.org/a-trial-with-a-twist-lizzie-
borden/.

This article examines the twist which was involved in Lizzie’s murder case. It also examines the circumstances surrounding the case making it be one unique case, with a great twist. The author of the article gives an account of the different incidences which were recorded during the incidence and the evidence provided during the trial. The research provides the different accounts about the activities which surrounded murder where the evidence from the witnesses and Lizzie herself which was considered very contradicting. This research is relevant as it gives evidence from different witnesses who explain her behavior after the incident and which was used to make the ruling.

Thompson, Megan et al. “The Enduring Fascination With Accused ax-murderer Lizzie Borden”. PBS Newshour, 2019,
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/the-enduring-fascination-
with-accused-ax-murderer-Lizzie-Borden.

This article examines the fascination associated with the murder case involving Lizzie and which has made it remain relevant over the years. This involves the examination of new evidence on the case. The article shows a video examining the possibilities involving Lizzie with the execution of the murder. This video is relevant as it explains why the murder is perceived to be very fascinating through the use of visual evidence as it considered as the first trial in the nineteenth century making the case to be relevant even after a hundred years.

GAJANAN, MAHITA. “Did Lizzie Borden Really Take An Ax? The True Story Behind The Movie Lizzie”. Time, 2018,
https://time.com/5395515/lizzie-borden-history-chloe- Sevigny-Kristen-Stewart/
.

This article examines the evidence provided in the movie Lizzie and how it depicts the truth behind the murder. This involves the fiction regarding the events which led to the murder of Lizzie’s parents. It involves the rumors regarding the case and which were developed after Lizzie was acquitted. Also, the article examines the different aspects portrayed in the movie and how such aspects portray the events which were associated with Lizzie’s murder case. This article is relevant as it gives a glimpse of the events which were perceived to lead to the murder incidence giving a glimpse of the factors which made Lizzie to be found guilty of the murder.

McCune, Sarah Lirley. “Lizzie Borden on Trial: Murder, Ethnicity, and Gender by Joseph A. Conforti.” Register of the Kentucky Historical Society 115.1 (2017): 105-107.

The research analyzes the fascinating monograph of the murders of Andrew and Abby Borden. The study examines the crimes after its occurrence in 1892. The researcher is the first historian to deal in the sensational and controversial case that was popular among writers and who sought to guide readers through the evidence. Based on the research, comfort fails to demonstrate ethnicity, class, and gender. The prosecutors were reluctant to pass a ruling on the case because they doubted the possibility of the conviction. An analysis of the case reveals that the jury had the best possible outcome because they established that the case that was presented had an extricable association to the fact that Lizzie was a respectable native-born white lady who hailed from a prominent family. This study is essential because it provides vital information that helps establish whether Lizzie Borden was guilty or not.

Roggenkamp, Karen. “Lizzie Borden, Spinster on Trial: Journalism, Literature, and the Borden Trial.” The Centrality of Crime Fiction in American Literary Culture. Routledge, 2017. 31-52.

The research analyzes Julian Ralph’s trial report in the New York sun. Based on the study, Ralphs articulates that the fact that the case was held as a public hearing articulates on the marginal status of the spinsters and portrays Lizzie Borden as an innocent woman who stands at the mercy of an inconsiderate group of people especially women who seek her conviction. The research examines evidence extracted from pieces of newspaper written by Elizabeth Stuart and Katharine green. The research emphasizes attitudes of spinsters and its relation to Lizzie Borden’s character. This study is important because it provides resourceful information on the circumstances that surround the conviction of Lizzie Borden.

Kelesie Cotner

Dr. Anne Acker

Engl111

Jukly 24,2019

Was Lizzie Borden Guilt

The infamous murders of Andrew Borden and her step mother Abby Borden as well as the 1892 trial of the primary suspect Lizzie Borden, have been the subject of reimagination more than 125 years later. Andrew Borden the father of Lizzie Borden was a prosperous real estate owner and Abby Borden was his second wife. Despite the mystery surrounding the gruesome deaths of both Mr. and Ms. Borden in their home in complete daylight. Amidst the town’s activities by a rogue human agency, the evidence against Lizzie Borden is strong enough to warrant speculation that she was responsible for the murders. This paper will be an attempt at proving the guilt of Lizzie Borden while taking into consideration of the local history and circumstantial e evidence related to the gruesome crime. The extreme violence of the crime was at odds with the Victorian motion of “true womanhood” which Lizzie embodied by her class, race, and faith. Whoever killed Mrs. Borden knocked her down at the first blow before hacking her back eighteen times with a hatchet (Tho 19/1033). Mr. Borden was attacked approximately ninety minutes later as he was sleeping. He was brutally chopped beyond recognition. The police were initially looking for a suspect outside the home, someone who was maybe Portuguese, Irish, or French Canadian who had moved into the mill town. They even began to look for someone that Mr. Borden could have patiently made upset and they wanted revenge on him. Lizzie was an upright, native born, church going woman from a wealthy family. Member of her church and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTCU) even attested to her incorruptibly (McC15/1 1033).

The Borden’s were not a close-knit family and little affection passed between any of its members. In fact, the family decisions had grown so deep that by the time Mr. And Mrs. Borden were murdered, the family rarely ate together at the family dinner table. However, Lizzie was very close to her father. She gave him a gold ring after graduating from high school and he always wore it, he was murdered wearing it (sch93/1 1033). The killing if an couple in an quiet home, especially in such a gruesome manner, was unheard of in their small town and any family member would have been the last suspect to the killing of a family member.

Lizzie was unable to maintain a consistent story about her whereabouts. Her initial report was about a violent confrontation her father had with a mysterious man the morning of the murder was invalidated when all the circumstance surrounding possible suspects were found to be unlikely. The investigation began at the home when it was discovered that only someone familiar with the home could have murdered the Border’s without being detected since every door of the hose had been locked. The only people resent in the house at the time of the murders were Lizzie and Bridget Sullivan, the house keeper. Lizzie became a primary suspect when she was discovered to have been untruthful about where she was in-between the two murders during the first interview. She stated that she was in the barn loft looking for iron to make sinkers after which she stayed to eat pears although investigations showed no footprints in or out of the barn and the heat made it unlikely that any woman would be in the loft for an reason (Caj14/1 1033). She also said that she did not have any idea about the whereabouts of her stepmother. She claims not seeing or hearing anything during the time of the murders were suspicious as well since her step mother was murdered un an upstairs guest room while Lizzie was downstairs. Whereas the first part is contentious, modern investigators disbelieve the claim that she did not hear the sound of Abby Borden’s body falling to the ground after the violent attack given the proximity of the murder scene. (Tho 19.1 1033)

Lizzie’s relationship with her step-mother were not the best and there was always tention between the two of them. Lizzie Borden was comfortably provided for and lived in her father’s house. However, the maid stated that Lizzie frequently initiated disputes about money and the family’s residence. Despite the position and the affluence of Mr. Borden, the family had moved to the house on Second Street which lacked many of the amenities that other families of similar would have demanded. Lizzie thought that the modest house in a middle-class neighborhood was not fitting and that they should move to the The Hills, a more affluent part of the town (Caj 14/1 10033). After her acquittal, Borden returned to the fall River and promptly bought a house in the where she had wanted to be.