Ashford v Thornton was an 1818 English legal case in the Court of King's Bench that upheld the right of the defendant, on a private appeal from an acquittal for murder, to trial by battle. In 1817, Abraham Thornton was charged with the murder of Mary Ashford. Thornton met Ashford at a dance, and walked with her from the event. The next morning, Ashford was found drowned in a pit, with little outward signs of violence. Although public opinion was heavily against Thornton, the jury quickly acquitted him, and also found him not guilty of rape. Mary's brother, William Ashford, launched an appeal, and Thornton was rearrested. Thornton claimed the right to trial by battle, a medieval usage which had never been repealed by Parliament. Ashford argued that the evidence against Thornton was overwhelming, and that he was thus ineligible to wager battle. The court decided that the evidence against Thornton was not overwhelming, and that trial by battle was a permissible option under law; thus Thornton was granted trial by battle. Ashford declined the offer of battle and Thornton was freed from custody. Appeals such as Ashford's were abolished by statute the following year, and with them the right to trial by battle. Thornton emigrated to the United States, where he died about 1860.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1190:

The Third Crusade: Frederick I Barbarossa drowned in the Saleph River in Anatolia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_I%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor

1838:

More than 25 Australian Aborigines were massacred near Inverell, New South Wales. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myall_Creek_massacre

1935:

American physician Bob Smith had his last alcoholic drink, marking the traditional founding date of Alcoholics Anonymous. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholics_Anonymous

1957:

In the Canadian federal election, the Progressive Conservative Party led by John Diefenbaker won a plurality of the seats in the Canadian House of Commons, bringing an end to 22 years of Liberal Party rule. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_federal_election%2C_1957

1965:

The Battle of Dong Xoai, one of the largest battles in the Vietnam War, began, with the Viet Cong eventually defeating the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dong_Xoai

2008:

War in Afghanistan: An airstrike by the United States resulted in the deaths of eleven paramilitary troops of the Pakistan Army Frontier Corps and eight Taliban fighters in Pakistan's tribal areas. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gora_Prai_airstrike

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

deltiology (n): The study and collection of postcards http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/deltiology

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Most joyful let the Poet be;

It is through him that all men see. --William Ellery Channing (poet) http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Ellery_Channing_%28poet%29