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Wednesday, May 28, 2003 7:00 PM The Trial Process During the Molly Maguire Era Howard T. Crown |
Author of "A Molly Maguire on Trial" and co-authour of "A guide to the Molly Maguires", Howard Crown will provided many insights into one of the most controversial cases in the Molly Maguire saga, the Thomas Munley Trial, which was a prime example of how an Irish worker could be sent to the gallows in the 1870s on evidence that would never be accepted today. Tohomas Munley was the first of the Molly Maguires to be convicted in Schuylkill County in 1876. A study of the case reveals problems with the trial, jury make-up and witness testimony. The activities of James McParlan are also called into question. He demonstrates how a huge corporation controlled the criminal justice system in at least four Pennsylvania counties and activiely prosecuted this and subsequent Mollie trials to their own desired end. They even went to the point of having thier own private police force patrolling the coal region.
During his three-year tour of duty with the 11th Airborne Dividion, HT Crown came across the story of the murder of Frank Langdon in Audenreid, presented as one example of civil disturbances during the Civil War. Later, while working in Wilkes Barre in 1972, he first came in contact with the history of coal mining and the story of the Molly Maguires. The chasing of the ghosts of the Molly Maguires had begun, spurred on by making acquaintance of direct descendants of the people involved such as Alice Wayne, granddaughter of John Kehoe, and her son Joe. They gave an aura of reality to John Kehoe and the others, and brought the Molly Maguires to life.