Colonial America's Oldest Unsolved Murder

NPR ^ | June 24, 2013 | Linton Weeks

[Pearls Before Swine]

Murder, hunting accident, who can tell?

[Salvavida]

Dueling was an accepted practice of settling disputes. Therefore, it cannot be murder. Where there is no law, there is no sin.

[PhiloBedo]

Calling a dueling death a murder is a misnomer, especially since dueling was not illegal at the time.

[null and void]

In 1624 was a fatality from a duel legally considered a murder?

[Conspiracy Guy]

I though George Harrison died of Brain cancer.

[null and void]

I’m going to have to type faster if I want to get the question in before the answers!

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

hey said he was the victim in what was perhaps Colonial America's oldest unsolved murder.

If it was a duel, it wasn't murder. And if we know who was dueling with him it is not unsolved.

[JoeProBono]

[Lancey Howard]

In 1624 was a fatality from a duel legally considered a murder?

Of course not, but this is NPR and the narrative is "unsolved murder". Dramatic license, I guess.

[Mastador1]

He’s not dead, he’s a Buddhist, and you they keep coming back until they get it right. There is no way he got it right this last time!

[Lee'sGhost]

Don’t know about the no sin part, but agree with no murder.

[EternalVigilance]

Wow. He looks like George Harrison.

[afraidfortherepublic]

ping

[Portcall24]

I don’t believe at that time it was considered murder. Frankly a little fist fighting in politics wouldn’t be all bad. Might straighten out some of the idiots that have more money than brains.

[Truthsearcher]

Looks like it’s neither “unsolved” nor a “murder”. Who’s writing headlines at NPR?

[puppypusher]

Dueling was not considered to be murder.It was said to be a way for Gentleman to settle disagreements.

[JackOfVA]

Under English law at the time, death during a duel was murder. However, it was rarely prosecuted.

In 1624, I believe the colonies followed English common law and hence a murder was committed. That the murder was not prosecuted does not reclassify it; rather it represents an acknowledgement that a jury conviction was almost impossible to obtain under those circumstances.

[Venturer]

The guy who shot him was a really bad shot—but lucky.

[KrisKrinkle]

What makes them think it was unsolved?

It’s presumptuous to call it ‘unsolved’ just because we in the here and now don’t know who did what to whom in the there and then since that does not mean that those at the time did not know, and if they knew it wasn’t ‘unsolved’.