Essay On Mary Surratt's Assassination

On July 7, 1865, Mary Surratt walked to her death. Because of her supposed involvement in Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, Mary was sentenced to death by hanging (Kingseed). Mary transferred binoculars and shooting irons to her tavern for Booth, lied to the authorities claiming to not know Lewis Powell, and her son, John H. Surratt Jr., was a confederate spy and was suspected of helping with the president’s assassination. This evidence was enough for Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, the official in charge of locating and capturing Lincoln’s killer and conspirators, to condemn Mary Surratt to death. There have been many arguments and opinions over the years about whether or not Mary’s sentence was justified. But, while Mary had a strong connection to John Wilkes Booth’s, she should have been imprisoned rather than hanged for her involvement assassination plot. Mary’s crime was insignificant compared to other’s. Dr. Samuel Mudd provided refuge and medical treatment for John W. Booth while Booth was on the run. Mudd discovered Booth’s crime but did not report it to the authorities. Instead, he continued to provide refuge for Booth and then led the authorities in the wrong direction when Booth left. But, despite these extreme crimes, Mudd was only sentenced to life in prison. Mudd ended up only served four …show more content…
She provided shooting irons and delivered a package for Booth the day of the assassination (Swanson 22). She also lied to the officials claiming to not know Lewis Powell, who showed up at her door while officers were inspecting her boardinghouse. In addition to those crimes, her reaction changed the second time she was told about Lincoln’s death. The first time, she was not surprised but her second reaction was to be surprised (Kingseed). This could also be considered lying to an officer. Surratt did help Booth and lied to officers which qualifies her for prison