June 20

Did you find the acquittal of O. J. Simpson troubling? Have you resigned yourself to the fact that Phil Spector will probably walk? Does it seem as if the vast majority of high profile violent crimes go unpunished? Incidents of this sort have been happening for a very long time. On the 20th in 1893 poor little orphan Lizzie Borden was acquitted after her jury deliberated less than one hour. While the prosecutor’s opening statement may have begun ‘Lizzie Borden took an axe…’ it is unclear if Lizzie’s defense counsel offered a cute little rhyming epigram as a rebuttal.