Ashford v Thornton

Ashford v Thornton (1818) 106 ER 149 is an English law case in the Court of King's Bench which upheld the right of the defendant to trial by battle on a private appeal from an acquittal for murder. In 1817, Abraham Thornton was charged with the murder of Mary Ashford. Thornton had met Ashford at a dance and had walked with her from the event. The next morning, she was found drowned in a pit with little evidence of violence. Public opinion was heavily against Thornton, but the jury quickly acquitted him and found him not guilty of rape.

Ashford v Thornton

Ashford v Thornton (1818) 106 ER 149 is an English law case in the Court of King's Bench which upheld the right of the defendant to trial by battle on a private appeal from an acquittal for murder. In 1817, Abraham Thornton was charged with the murder of Mary Ashford. Thornton had met Ashford at a dance and had walked with her from the event. The next morning, she was found drowned in a pit with little evidence of violence. Public opinion was heavily against Thornton, but the jury quickly acquitted him and found him not guilty of rape.