Lizzie Borden

12 Pages 3069 Words

The Burden of Proof: Lizzie Borden
“Lizzie Borden took an axe
And gave her mother forty whacks;
When she saw what she had done
She gave her father forty – one.”
This classic children’s rhyme was designed after the trial of Lizzie Borden, where she was found not guilty. While the jury let her go, the public has always been skeptical. Most believe that she committed the murders, but there are also people out there who believe that Lizzie Borden was innocent after all. Another rhyme written years later, however, may not be as well known goes…
“An unknown subject took a hatchet
And gave Lizzie Borden’s stepmother nineteen whacks;
Ninety minutes after that deed was done
He or she gave Borden’s father ten plus one.”
(Douglas 81)
This sets the scene a bit more of what happened. Nonetheless, the author of this rhyme was unbiased for he or she did not point the finger at Lizzie Borden. They simply stated the facts of what happened. In fact all of the people involved and the story is rather open and shut. There has not been much variation to it over the years, which is surprising. However, when it comes to the evidence it becomes fuzzy.
One of the victims was Andrew Jackson Borden. He lived his entire life in Fall River, Massachusetts. In fact ancestors of his from the past generations had actually founded the town of Fall River. He, however, was a self-made wealthy man. Instead of inheriting riches he built himself up. Andrew Borden began his life on the lower rung of the social ladder and worked his way up high until his untimely death. Throughout his life he was married two times. The first time was to a woman by the name of Susan Morse. She was the woman who birthed his only children, Emma and Elizabeth Borden. Susan Morse passed away at an early age leaving Andrew to soon remarry to Abby Gray.
The other victim of this horrendous crime was Abby Gray. She married Andrew Borden at the ag...