People v. William Freeman (1847)

{
  "id": "MLC-T-LAW-005409",
  "term": "People v. William Freeman (1847)",
  "field": "Law",
  "definition": "A New York murder prosecution from the 1840s in which attorney William Seward defended William Freeman, a Black and Native American man charged with killing a family in Auburn, by arguing he was insane from brain injuries suffered in prison. Freeman was convicted and sentenced to death after the trial court excluded expert testimony on his sanity, and in 1847 the New York Supreme Court reversed and ordered a new trial. He died of tuberculosis in prison before it could be held.",
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/law/people-v-william-freeman-1847/"
}