JLF head John Hood has a guest column in the Charlotte Observer on a highly publicized Charlotte murder:

The public couldn’t get enough of the murder trial. Spectators mobbed the courthouse while reporters jostled to interview witnesses, attorneys, and relatives of the victim and accused. When the jury produced a surprising acquittal, much of the community erupted in shock and fury, some questioning the very legitimacy of the justice system.

This description could fit one of many notorious cases making national news in recent years. But the trial I mean happened in Charlotte more than a century ago. Robert and William Simpson were brothers who lived near Mint Hill. They were tall, powerfully built farmers – generally well liked but sometimes violent after they’d been drinking, especially “Big Bill” Simpson. Among their neighbors were prosperous farmer Henry Hartis and his son Will, who had his own reputation as a brawler.

You can read the rest of John’s column here and discover his family relationship to the case.