The Trial Begins

Abstract

This chapter discusses Amelia Norman's attempt to hang herself in her cell on the morning of her trial on January 15, 1844 in the Court of Sessions in the Tombs. It cites Lydia Maria Child, who stated that the defection of Amelia's lawyer, Thomas Warner, had proved too much for a spirit that had so long been under the pressure of extreme despondency. It also talks about the three judges who made up the Court of Sessions and sat on the top tier of a high platform, dwarfing the lawyers who performed beneath them. The chapter highlights Frederick Augustus Tallmadge, who served as the presiding judge, and two aldermen, Elijah F. Purdy and David Vandervoort, the three city officials that formed the Court of Sessions during Amelia's trial. It reveals that Purdy was the acting mayor when Amelia had unsuccessfully appealed a seduction complaint against Henry Ballard after he had her arrested for prostitution.