NCJ Number
154034
Date Published
1994
Length
444 pages
Annotation
This book places the murder trial of Albert Patrick, a young lawyer accused of murdering William Marsh Rice, founder of Rice University, in his New York Apartment in 1900, in its political, economic, and social context.
Abstract
The case captured the essence of the society in which it occurred, namely wealth and ambition, as Rice was apparently chloroformed after his will had been forged to give Patrick his huge estate. The author recounts the trial and the events leading up to it, the various appeals, and the eventual outcome. Some of the issues raised in this historical account include the influence of the popular press, the purchase of expert witnesses, the problems of multiple appeals, the inadequacy of penal institutions, the issue of the death penalty, and the advantages of wealth.