Surratt's Trial

Surratt's Trial involved Mary Surratt, who was accused of being part of the conspiracy to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. She was charged with complicity in the plot, mainly because she was found to have rented a room to some of the conspirators. The trial took place before a military commission, as it happened during a time of national crisis. Despite her protests of innocence, she was convicted and sentenced to death. Her trial raised questions about justice and the limits of military authority during wartime, and she was executed in July 1865.