NORTH CAROLINA LAW REVIEW Volume 91 Article 9 Number 5 Race Trials 6-1-2013 Execution in Virginia, 1859: The rT ials of Green and Copeland Steven Lubet Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.law.unc.edu/nclr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Steven Lubet, Execution in Virginia, 1859: The Trials of Green and Copeland, 91 N.C. L. Rev. 1785 (2013). Available at: http://scholarship.law.unc.edu/nclr/vol91/iss5/9 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Carolina Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in North Carolina Law Review by an authorized administrator of Carolina Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. EXECUTION IN VIRGINIA, 1859: THE TRIALS OF GREEN AND COPELAND* STEVEN LUBET* This essay tells the story of Shields Green and John Copeland, two black men who joined John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859. Along with Brown and several others, Green and Copeland were taken prisoner in the aftermath of the failed insurrection, and they were brought to trial in nearby Charles Town on charges of murder and treason. Unlike Brown, who was treated respectfully by his captors, Green and Copeland were handled roughly. Copeland in particularwas subjected to a harsh interrogationthat was criticized even by pro-slavery Democrats in the North. The black prisoners did, however, have the benefit of a remarkable attorney-George Sennott of Boston. Unlike virtually all of the other lawyers at the Harpers Ferry trials, Sennott boldly condemned slavery and announced that he was honored to defend the black insurrectionists.