0:03

In July eighteen eighty one,

0:06

a man walked into a train station, pulled

0:09

out a gun, and shot the president

0:12

of the United States, President

0:14

James Garfield didn't die right away.

0:17

For more than two months, he lingered

0:19

between life and death, eventually

0:22

dying in September eighteen eighty one.

0:25

The American public was a heartbroken

0:28

and furious. They

0:30

called for Garfield's assassin, a

0:32

man named Charles Getteau, to be

0:34

punished, to be thrown to wild

0:37

dogs, to be burned alive,

0:39

to be shot like he had shot

0:42

Garfield. But as the government

0:44

began to prepare for Getou's trial, a

0:47

problem emerged. Getaux,

0:49

many medical experts believed, was

0:52

insane. If this was

0:54

the case, was he responsible

0:56

for his actions? And if

0:58

he wasn't responsible, how could

1:01

the public get the closure or the

1:03

vengeance that they longed for.

1:06

In the end, many wondered could

1:08

the justice system truly deliver justice

1:10

in a case like this?

1:13

This was the question at the heart of Getou's

1:15

trial. The country had

1:17

never seen a trial like it. The

1:20

crime was so great, the

1:22

evidence was so compelling, and

1:24

yet the defendant was so troubled,

1:28

telling the court that God had told

1:30

him to kill Garfield. Americans

1:33

watched with bated breath as Getou's

1:35

trial unfolded in the fall of eighteen

1:37

eighty one, each moment more

1:40

shocking than the last. Would

1:42

Getou be set free, would Garfield

1:45

be avenged? What would the verdict

1:47

mean for the country. Though

1:49

Getou's trial was extraordinary,

1:52

it wasn't unique. Throughout

1:54

American history, important trials

1:57

have always raised questions

2:00

about good and evil, about

2:02

truth and justice, and about

2:04

who we are as a nation. My

2:07

name is Mira Hayward, and I'll be

2:10

diving into the stories of these trials

2:12

in my new podcast, History on

2:14

Trial. Every episode

2:17

will cover a different trial from American

2:19

history, revealing the real people

2:21

behind the headlines, and examining

2:23

how the legal battles of the past have

2:25

shaped our present. To

2:28

hear these astonishing trial stories,

2:30

listen and subscribe to History on

2:32

Trial, out February eighth,

2:35

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

2:37

or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.