This Day in History: 20 February 1771 — Richard Mortis and the Moonlight Ambush

On 20 February 1771, Richard Mortis was tried at the Old Bailey for shooting Thomas Parkinson in a moonlit field after a dispute over poaching. Found guilty of willful and malicious shooting, Mortis was sentenced to death and executed on 27 March 1771, reflecting the harsh capital laws of Georgian England.

This Day in History – 16 September 1812

16 September 1812 — Old Bailey Manslaughter: Thomas Oakley was tried for manslaughter at the Old Bailey after a death for which the court found him responsible but not guilty of murder.