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The day Dr. Samuel Mudd was convicted as a conspirator in
the Lincoln assassination was the day his family began what
is now a 135-year effort to clear his name. Although Mudd was
eventually pardoned by President Andrew Johnson, the conviction
still stands.
During the Franklin Roosevelt administration, Mudd's grandson,
Dr. Richard Mudd, petitioned Congress and the President to review
his grandfather's case and reverse the conviction. His argument
was that the military court that tried the conspirators had
no jurisdiction over civilians; that the evidence was not sufficient
to convict; and, that Mudd was just a country doctor fulfilling
his Hippocratic oath by helping a stranger who needed medical
assistance. Although in this case this stranger had murdered
Abraham Lincoln just six hours before being treated by Dr. Mudd.
This book by Edward Steers examines the evidence available
at the time, as well as new information. Steers concludes that
Mudd was involved with Booth in a plot to kidnap Lincoln, but
the plot turned into a conspiracy to murder.
First, Steers submits that neither the President nor Congress
has the legal authority to set aside Mudd's conviction. Mudd
was found guilty by a court that had legal jurisdiction, even
though it was a military court. And, by accepting Johnson's
presidential pardon, any further action to change the court's
findings is moot. Mudd's pardon was just--a pardon--it did
not change the court's guilty verdict.
Second, looking at the original court transcripts, Steers
explains how Mudd lied about not knowing who Booth was or what
Booth had done. There are several documented instances of Mudd
and Booth having met previously, and it was Mudd who introduced
Booth to those who would hide him during his escape. In addition,
Mudd was a known Confederate sympathizer and Confederate operative.
Mudd's house served as a safe-house on a route used to smuggle
medicines, goods, and people into Virginia from Maryland's
Eastern Shore.
And third, there is a statement damaging to Mudd in the confession
of another conspirator, George Atzerodt. This was found recently
among the papers of Atzerodt's defense attorney. In the confession,
Atzerodt states, "I am certain that Dr. Mudd knew all about
it, as Booth sent liquors and provisions for the trip...about
two weeks before the murder, to Dr. Mudd's."
Steers argues that the military court had legal jurisdiction
in this case, and that Mudd is guilty. In spite of this, the
Mudd family continues to attempt to clear the name of their
ancestor. Although it was misinterpreted by the press at the
time, in response to their plea, both Presidents Carter and
Reagan wrote that they had no authority to reverse Mudd's guilty
verdict. But in 1997, Representative Steny Hoyer of the Mudd
family's Congressional District in Maryland, attempted to pass
legislation to set aside Mudd's conviction. Steers says Mudd
was allowed due process and that he was justly convicted. "The
good doctor had his day in court, both military and civil,
and despite the concerted efforts and good intentions of his
defenders--his name is still Mudd."
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