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Reason First: The Mystery and Intrigue of the Lizzie Borden Murder Case

For over a century, Lizzie Borden’s case has captivated the mind’s of the populace. Will the fascination endure?

By Skyler SaundersPublished 4 years ago 3 min read
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The tale of the murders of Lizzie Borden’s parents has been circulated for over a century ad infinitum. Like the schoolyard rhyme that is attached to the case, it has become a seemingly endless song about mystery and intrigue.

Jurors found Borden to be not guilty of the charges of murder for her father, her step-mother, and the duality of both homicides in Fall River, Massachusetts.

This attention paid to this case extends through the decades because of the controversial verdict. People are more split over the Lizzie Borden case than most political topics. What makes the idea almost fun is the detective without a badge investigating that the murders invoke. The details of the case could paint a picture of clean and clear innocence or damning guilt. No one truly knows what happened to Andrew Jackson Borden and Abby Durfee Gray. History is sometimes like a sheet pulled back to reveal the obvious truth. Other times, it is a cloak that shrouds the mind in misunderstanding and confusion. With Lizzie Borden, the latter seems to be the case.

The story goes deeper, though. On a moral level, Lizzie Borden’s not guilty verdict had to be weighed considering her ethical background. A woman of upper middle class standards could have never committed parricide. However, she could’ve very well been the most genteel and ladylike person on the planet and hacked her parents to death with a hatchet (not an axe).

Borden’s trial became sensationalized in publications like The Boston Daily Globe. The news spread around the country. But why? A young woman in the fight for her freedom or even her life engendered an outpouring of support and denunciation simultaneously.

It leaves to the imagination the fight that Lizzie put up after she received her acquittal. Did she set up campaigns to find the real murderer(s) who struck down her parents? What did she do to campaign for the real killer(s) to be brought to justice? History is silent. The noise is with the legions of people who have turned the entire affair into something exotic, over the top and even maudlin. The sentimentality does not come from the murdered but the alleged murderer. People feel like she was caught in between a poor situation that befell her loved ones.

But the fact remains that the justice system involved presenting evidence that Lizzie Borden in fact had a significant role in the slayings. Medical experts showed the exact strike areas that impacted the bodies of Jackson and Abby. A juror fell out as if he had ingested chloroform from the sight of the demonstration in court.

For justice to reign supreme over the land, it required that Lizzie Borden be set loose to go on about her life. The evidence brought against her remained circumstantial. No hard proof ever surfaced against her.

Ethics should have taken more care in presenting more pure evidence. With the objectivity of the case, the verdict may have been different. Borden will forever be immortalized in fiction, drama, and nonfiction works. Her infamy has become more like fame as the home where the man and wife had been slain is now a bed and breakfast.

Whatever the reason for the murderers to not step forward, should give one pause. The accused Lizzie Borden will forever be a source of conjecture as to what she did (or didn’t do) on that fateful morning. With renewed evidence and facts that would back up the claims for Lizzie Borden’s guilt, she will always be not guilty. So, for those who seek justice continue to dig. Continue to lift every carpet corner and to flash a light under the skirts of history. Now, of course, this would be an arduous task as everyone involved in the case is now dead. Let that only serve to work smarter to see that truth is made real.

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About the Creator

Skyler Saunders

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