The Proceedings on the King's Commissions of the Peace, And Oyer..
- 1743
1743. London: Printed, and sold by M. Cooper, 1743.. London: Printed, and sold by M. Cooper, 1743. A Schoolyard Fight Turns Deadly [Trials]. [Great Britain]. Chetwynd, William, Defendant. The Proceedings on the King's Commissions of the Peace, And Oyer and Terminer, Held for the City of London, And County of Middlesex, On the 12th, 13th, 14th, And 17th of October, 1743. Number VIII. Part III. Containing the Trial of William Chetwynd, Gent. For the Murder of Mr Ricketts, &c. London: Printed, and sold by M. Cooper, 1743. [ii], 303-318, [2] pp. With a final advertisement leaf. Quarto (9" x 7"). Disbound stab-stitched pamphlet, leaves separating along spine. Moderate toning, light soiling to exterior, small clean tear to lower outside corner of first leaf, trimming to top-edge just touching page numbers of a few leaves. $100. * Only edition, issued both serially and as an individual item. Chetwynd, who was about fifteen years old, stabbed his schoolmate with his pocket knife when the other boy tried to take a piece of his cake. The trial hinged on whether this constituted murder or manslaughter under common law; the jury could not decide and referred the matter to the judges. Chetwynd was eventually convicted of manslaughter and burned on the hand. This account includes an appendix with summaries of six cases cited in the Chetwynd trial. English Short-Title Catalogue N22301.