HISTORIC WASHINGTON STATE PARK -- On a frigid Hempstead County night earlier this month, gawkers from near and far packed the dimly lighted courthouse here to learn the fate of Henry H. Skaggs, the local man accused of capital murder in the death of his friend, Will Oakes, with a single shot from a .50-caliber pistol.
Was it cold-blooded murder, fueled by hate and jealousy over the pair's passion for the same woman, or was it self-defense?
After testimony that included a tearful account from Elizabeth Newman, Oakes' fiancee who was also seeing the married Skaggs, and an angry Skaggs lashing out at prosecuting attorney Mr. Tupper, the jury deliberated for roughly 10 minutes before announcing to Judge George Conway that it could not reach a verdict, sparing Skaggs from being hauled out to a tree and hanged by the neck until death.
That's what happened this 2017 Saturday night in the original Hempstead County Courthouse. Things were a little different in 1844, however, when the real Henry Skaggs stood trial in the very same courthouse for the death of Will Oakes.
JUSTICE, AND SUPPER, IS SERVED
Visitors would learn all about Skaggs and others involved in the case during the Trial by Jury Dinner historical re-enactment, which revisits justice in the early days of Arkansas' statehood after a meal in a restaurant that has been around since 1832.
And, heeding the event's spot-on tag line -- "justice is served and you are the jury" -- 12 modern-day Arkansans were selected to pass judgment on a man who lived here more than 170 years ago.
The dinner part of the Trial by Jury experience took place at Williams Tavern, which was originally about 10 miles away in Millbrook but moved to Washington in the 1980s. The meal included a choice of hamburger steak with mushrooms and onions or grilled chicken, a garden salad, Italian green beans, creamed potatoes and a roll. Diners got to choose between apple cobbler or Chocolate Earthquake Cake, both with vanilla ice cream, for dessert.
After dining, the group made its way to the boxlike courthouse, which was built in 1836 and served as the Confederate Capitol of Arkansas after the capture of Little Rock by Union troops in 1863.
"One of the more interesting cases early on in the history of this building is the one that you're going to take part in tonight," Billy Nations, Historic Washington State Park chief interpreter, told the packed courthouse before assuming his role as defense attorney in the Skaggs trial. "In 1844, there was a gentleman accused of murder. Tonight, we're going to do the best we can to give you a window into what it might have been like to have been in that room when Henry Skaggs was being tried."
BACK IN TIME
Illuminated by just a few lamps, the wooden interior of the old courthouse had an amber-tinted, 19th-century aura. Nations, whose great-great-great grandfather was on the actual trial's witness list, pointed out, though, that the original hearing was held during the day and not in the early hours of a pitch-black evening. The 1844 trial was also spread over four days, while the re-enactment, lacking complete court transcripts and dependent upon newspaper accounts, condensed the proceedings into about 90 minutes, sort of like an episode of Law & Order, 1840s-style.
Mustached Ernie Cox, portraying cantankerous Sheriff William Arnett, picked a jury by calling out numbers given to the attendees as they entered the courthouse, threatening any of those who didn't come forward with a stay in his jail. Made up mostly of women, it was a jury that would not have existed in the 1844 version of the courtroom, Nations later told the crowd. Back then, jurors were solely white, land-owning men.
Visitors crowded into the wooden pews as the eight actors -- Historic Washington State Park employees and volunteers decked out in period garb -- took their places as the trial was about to begin. Skaggs, dressed in a loose-fitting white shirt and brown pants and shackled at the ankles, was led into the courtroom. Played by Mike Terral, Skaggs pleaded for mercy and proclaimed his innocence as he made his way before the judge.
Prosecuting attorney Tupper, played by Chris Adams, told the jury that Skaggs and Oakes, two friends originally from Alabama, had come to Washington searching for "land, honest labor ... and, maybe somewhere along the way, even to become wealthy."
They'd both fallen in love with Elizabeth Newman, Oakes' fiancee, and that would lead to the slaying of Oakes.
"He deduced to himself that if he could not have that woman, neither would his best friend," Tupper said of Skaggs.
Oakes had been visiting Newman at the Spring Hill home of Eva and Randall Fitzpatrick when Skaggs appeared and shot Oakes on the front porch of the house.
"This man was the only one who had a gun," Tupper told the jury, while pointing at Skaggs and adding that the defendant could not have been acting in self-defense.
"There is no doubt there has been a murder," said Nations, portraying the defense attorney whose name has been lost to time. A lover's triangle ended in death but, Nations told the jury, Skaggs was acting to save his own skin. "It was his life or Will's life."
In her testimony, Eva Fitzpatrick, played by Cynthia Wallace, said she had invited Oakes and Newman to her home. As she and Newman chatted in the parlor, Oakes was on the porch waiting for the return of Fitzpatrick's husband, Randall. The two women heard a commotion and a loud bang outside.
"Elizabeth and I ran to the front door," she testified through tears. "When I opened the door, I saw Will lying in a pool of his own blood, face down, and Henry Skaggs was standing over his body. He had a gun in his hand."
MORE THAN ONE WEAPON?
On the stand, Newman confirmed the testimony of Fitzpatrick, and said she fainted at the sight of Oakes' lifeless body. Under cross-examination by Nations, she said she did not actually see what happened between the men before the shot was fired. She also admitted, through sobs, that she was aware that Skaggs was coming to the Fitzpatricks' to tell her he could no longer see her.
Later, Randall Fitzpatrick, Skaggs' brother-in-law, testified that Oakes carried a gun only when hunting and was unarmed that night.
Arnett, who arrived at the scene by mule about 45 minutes after the shooting, said he did not find another weapon at the scene.
"Is it possible that another weapon could have been removed from the scene?" Nations asked.
"All I can say is yes," the sheriff replied.
Skaggs was the only witness called by the defense. He told the jury he had gone to the Fitzpatricks' to make amends with his friend.
"As I got closer to the house," he said, "I saw Will pull his gun out of his coat and aim it right at me. I could see the hate in his eyes. He was meaning to kill me. I did the only thing I could do. I pulled my own gun out and I knew I had to pull the trigger before he did."
Skaggs became irate and lunged at the prosecuting attorney when Tupper asked if he had gone to the Fitzpatricks' intending to kill Skaggs.
After closing arguments, Judge Conway, played by Dan Ford, gave the jury its instructions and declared the court in recess.
A COUPLE OF RE-ENACTORS
Texans Dan Haines and Jackie Lambert, who attended the trial and dinner dressed as 19th-century dandies, were making their return to the park.
"We're re-enactors. We like to dress up and we like coming to Washington," Haines said as the jury deliberated. "This is a great setup. We tell other re-enactors that they need to come to Washington. There are battlegrounds like Prairie Grove and Pea Ridge, but they don't have a whole town like this."
"We came in November when they had their Civil War re-enactment and it was wonderful," Lambert said.
It took about 10 minutes for the jury to announce that it could not reach a verdict, sparing 2017 Skaggs. His 1844 counterpart was not as fortunate. He was found guilty and hanged from a tree in a field about 300 yards from the park's Royston Town Home.
The re-enactment has been going on since the late '90s at the park, Nations said, and is the impetus for the park crew and volunteers to take on another intriguing case.
"It's an 1880 murder case that takes place at the [park's] 1874 courthouse." Nations said after the trial. "An African-American gentleman was accused of poisoning his wife, and that's all I'm gonna tell you about that one."
That version of the Trial by Jury Dinner takes place Sept. 16 from 6-9 p.m. Admission is $25 for adults and $20 for children under 14. For information, call (870) 983-2684 or visit historicwashingtonstatepark.com.
Style on 01/17/2017