Trial
A former Philadelphia policeman named William Westervelt, a known associate of Bill Mosher, was arrested and held in connection with the case. He was tried in 1875 for kidnapping. Though Westervelt was a friend and perhaps a confidant of Mosher (while in prison awaiting trial he had told Christian Ross that Charley had been alive at the time of Mosher's death), there was virtually no evidence to tie him to the crime itself. Walter, for one, insisted that Westervelt was not one of the men in the carriage that took them away. Westervelt, perhaps inevitably, was found to be innocent of the kidnapping. However, he was found guilty of a lesser conspiracy charge and served six years in prison. He always maintained his own innocence and swore that he did not know where Charley was.
Read more about this topic: Charley Ross
Famous quotes containing the word trial:
“In government offices which are sensitive to the vehemence and passion of mass sentiment public men have no sure tenure. They are in effect perpetual office seekers, always on trial for their political lives, always required to court their restless constituents.”
—Walter Lippmann (1889–1974)
“Going to trial with a lawyer who considers your whole life-style a Crime in Progress is not a happy prospect.”
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“Looks like we got a trial ahead of us. But it’s not the first time. We’ve had to go it alone before, and we’ll have to go it alone again. We’re tough. We’ve had to be tough ever since Brother Brigham led our people across the plain. Well, they survived and I dang it, we’ll, well, we’ll survive too. Now put out your fires and get to your wagons.”
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