Washington County, Tennessee, is a vibrant area with historic towns and farmlands. This county has a rich history and in the town of Jonesborough, county archive work to preserve the history of this area. Among the many records held in this archive, one can find circuit court records on criminal cases ranging from homicide to drinking cases dating back to the nineteenth century. These records include forensic detail, witness statements, and the court’s legal proceedings.
The purpose of this research is to determine whether the court’s conviction regarding women who have committed homicide is swayed due to gender bias or religious beliefs that affect how women are viewed in society. This paper intends to provide evidence that nineteenth-century Washington County courts maintain a bias against women who committed homicide due to gender bias meant to oppress women. The wording used in court records that reflect possible gender bias and forensic details suggesting that the defendant was innocent can lead to an innocent person being found guilty. This paper studied these records and the history around them to determine the conviction of possible innocent women and if so, how often. Secondary sources such as Cynthia A. Koerner's “Women’s Spheres” in Beyond the Household: Women’s Place in the Early South, 1700–1835 suggests that women were rising against expected gender roles. This consisted of women stepping into society through church participation.[1] Women becoming involved in the community left male society angry at the new norm and led to a rise in domestic violence. Violence committed against wives did not receive careful consideration in the court, and receiving a divorce brought many challenges.[2] Historical analysis and court records suggest that women did not face a jury of their peers. The argument of this paper is that women went into a court facing an already biased system that framed the women in a negative light.[3]
Noting the researcher’s personal interest in the case helps readers identify biases. I believe in feminism which is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.”[4]Women face challenges in having social, financial, and legal equality that still occurs today. Although the challenges have become less intense, inequality remains.
During a Public History course, an assigned project requiring students to work with a public institution on an independent project led me to research records at the Washington County Archives. I have a passion for true crime, a well-written narrative, social justice, and history. In combining these passions, I came upon the idea of constructing a digital exhibit on crime in nineteenth-century Jonesborough, Tennessee. My awareness of gender bias, as well as religious influence in the courtroom, came from my past studies while earning my degree in English. In my class readings, we read about gender inequality with Christianity as the bases for discrimination and oppression. In my research of the records, I found jail receipts for holding the accused that led me to consider religious influence in the courtroom. I found myself determined to find whether women did face gender prejudice in the courtroom and if religion played a role in this as well.
The primary source chosen for this research was selected circuit court records during the early nineteenth century of Washington County, located at the Washington County Archives in Jonesborough. The importance of the records to the research project comes from the detailing of court proceedings, including witness statements and occasionally the court’s decision of guilt or innocence. The records provided by the Washington County Archive often do not have a verdict of guilty or innocence. The cases chosen for this research do not include individuals of color because of the lack of extensive records that include men and women of color.
The secondary sources chosen for this paper consist of books, articles, and a dissertation that range in topic from marriages and divorces in Tennessee during the nineteenth century to the family unit and citizenship rights during the nineteenth century. This research paper provides a detailed literature review to offer a detailed review of important sources that either support or challenge the thesis of the research.
[1] Kierner 1998, 181
[2] Goodheart, Hanks, Johnson 1985, 404
[3] Burnita Shelton Matthews “The Woman Juror” pg. 1
[4] Webster Cite using the s.v. format, per Turabian 17.91.
CONCLUSION
The records provided by the Washington County Archives offered evidence that the courts acted with gender bias in certain aspects. This suggests the possibility of gender bias affecting the court's convictions. This research paper reveals that women went without representation in the jury and the use of certain words by the courts indicated gender bias that disadvantaged women by influencing the jury. The courts charged women with conflicting evidence that suggests self-defense and not acknowledging a female suspect in favor of a male. The records also provide evidence of a male with previous assault charges against the victim being released without detailed investigation on par with the two women charged with homicide.
Deeper research is required to determine whether gender bias exists in the legal system beyond the content analysis. The limited time frame coupled with the arrival of COVID-19 made identifying the bias challenge. However, the support of peer-reviewed articles and dissertations provide information that assists in providing historical documentation and analysis of the culture and society of Tennessee and the South during the years the cases were heard. Explaining the society in Tennessee and the South during the nineteenth century allows researchers to analyze the context of the records.