“…I am as innocent ‘an an unborn child'” were the last words of Catherine Snow before she was hanged in Newfoundland after being convicted of her husband’s murder in 1833. The verdict by an all-male jury was based on circumstantial evidence, including her known infidelities, and prejudice. While she admitted that she was “a wretched woman,” she proclaimed her innocence in her husband’s death. According to a CBS News report here, the case troubled jurists for years. A modern-day jury, with new perspectives and equipped with current understandings of wrongful conviction, has reviewed the evidence and has acquitted Snow.
While this piece was filed on April Fools Day, unfortunately there was no indication that it was a prank report. It’s a reminder of the importance of supporting tangible evidence in cases based solely on circumstantial evidence. According to the story, Snow was the last woman hanged in Newfoundland and a very early recorded case of wrongful conviction.
