State of Missouri v. Celia, a Slave facts for kids

State of Missouri v. Celia, a Slave was a court case in 1855 in Callaway County, Missouri. A young enslaved woman named Celia was put on trial for the murder of her owner, Robert Newsom. Celia was found guilty by a jury of twelve white men and sentenced to death. Her appeal was turned down by the Supreme Court of Missouri in December 1855, and Celia was executed on December 21, 1855.

Background of the Case

Around 1819, Robert Newsom moved from Virginia to Callaway County, Missouri. By 1850, he was a wealthy farmer with a lot of land and five enslaved men. His wife passed away in 1849. In 1850, Newsom bought Celia, who was 14 years old, from another county.

Celia lived in her own cabin, separate from the other enslaved people on Newsom's farm. Between 1850 and 1855, Celia was treated very badly by Newsom. She had two children during these five years.

Before 1855, Celia started a relationship with George, another enslaved man owned by Newsom. In 1855, Celia was expecting her third child. George told her he would not stay with her if she continued to be mistreated by Newsom. Celia tried to get help from Newsom's family and from Newsom himself. Around June 23, 1855, Celia asked Newsom to leave her alone because she was ill and pregnant. Newsom refused and said he would come to her cabin that night.

Celia warned Newsom that she would hurt him if he tried to mistreat her again. After their talk, Celia found a large stick and put it in her cabin.

Court Proceedings Begin

Celia was officially charged with a crime by a grand jury on August 16, 1855. On the same day, Judge William Augustus Hall chose lawyers to defend her, led by John Jameson. On October 9, 1855, Celia appeared in the Callaway County Circuit Court for her trial. She said she was "not guilty," and the trial began.

Witnesses for the Prosecution

Testimony from Jefferson Jones

The first person to speak for the prosecution was Colonel Jefferson Jones. He had talked to Celia in her jail cell after she was arrested. He shared what Celia told him: on the night of the event, she had "told him not to come, that if he came she would hurt him." Jones then described how Celia said she had killed Newsom and hidden his body.

Celia's defense lawyers asked Jones about the relationship between Newsom and Celia. They pointed out that Newsom was the father of one of her children and that he had mistreated her on the way home from Audrain County. Jones said he couldn't be sure if Newsom had forced Celia on the trip, but he had "heard that he did." The defense also asked about Celia's reasons, and Jones said Celia told him she "did not intend to kill, but only to hurt him [Newsom]." However, the prosecution objected, and the judge removed this part of Jones's answer from the record.

Newsom Family Members Speak

Harry Newsom, Robert Newsom's son, was the next witness. He talked about the search for his father on the morning of Sunday, June 24, 1855. He described how "some bones were found a short distance from [Celia's] cabin along a path." He and his sister, Virginia Wainscott, collected the bone pieces and gave them to the court clerk.

Virginia Wainscott, Robert Newsom's oldest daughter, then testified. She said she had searched everywhere for her father before learning where the bones were found. She described finding bones, a buckle, buttons, and a knife in the ashes near Celia's cabin. She identified these items as belonging to her father.

During cross-examination, Virginia Wainscott said that "Celia had been sick... since February." This suggested the defense was trying to gain sympathy for Celia. The defense also asked about her father's sleeping arrangements, but Wainscott didn't provide much information.

Robert Newsom's grandson, Coffee Wainscott, was next. He said he was "up in the cherry tree early in the morning grandpa was missing." He also testified that Celia offered him "two dozen walnuts" if he would carry the ashes out of her cabin. Coffee agreed and spread the ashes along the path, where he later saw the search party "picking bones up out of the ashes." The defense asked Coffee about his grandfather's sleeping arrangements, but he only mentioned that his four-year-old brother, Billy, was sleeping in the same room.

Neighbor William Powell's Account

William Powell, Robert Newsom's neighbor, led the search for Newsom. He simply described how and where Newsom's bones were found. Celia's defense team questioned Powell about his talk with Celia on June 23, 1855. Powell admitted that Celia confessed to Newsom's murder only after he had threatened her. He told her "that it would be better for her to tell - that her children would not be taken away from her if she would tell, and that [he] had rope fashioned for her if she would not tell." He also said Celia told him she had "threatened to hurt him [Newsom] if he did not quit forcing her while she was sick" and that "she did not want to kill him, struck him but did not want to kill him."

Doctors Examine Bones

Finally, Dr. Smith and Dr. Young were called to examine the bones found near Celia's cabin. Both doctors confirmed that the bones were from an adult human.

Witnesses for the Defense

Dr. James Martin's Testimony

The first witness for the defense was Dr. James M. Martin, a doctor. The defense tried to ask him questions to make the jury doubt that Celia could have killed Newsom and hidden his body by herself. However, the prosecution objected to these questions, and Judge Hall agreed, stopping this line of questioning.

Thomas Shoatman's Account

Next, the defense called Thomas Shoatman. He was present when Celia was questioned by Jefferson Jones after her arrest. The defense asked Shoatman why Celia said she struck Newsom. Shoatman testified that Celia said she struck him the first time "only to hurt him." She struck the second blow because "he threw his hands up, that she was afraid he would catch her." With Shoatman's testimony, the defense tried to convince the jury that Celia had acted in self-defense when she killed Newsom.

The Decision

Jury Instructions

Both the defense and the prosecution suggested instructions for the jury, which Judge Hall could accept or reject. Celia's defense team asked Judge Hall to tell the jury to find Celia not guilty if they believed she was defending herself from an attack when she killed Robert Newsom. In Missouri at that time, it was a crime to "take any woman unlawfully against her will and by force... compel her to be defiled." Resisting such a crime could be a reason for a woman to kill a man. The defense wanted the jury to be told that "any woman" included enslaved women. They argued Celia should not be found guilty if she was trying to resist an attack. Judge Hall did not accept these suggested instructions. The instructions given to the jury did not mention Celia's reason for the crime or allow for her to be found not guilty based on self-defense against an attack by her owner.

The Verdict

On October 10, 1855, the jury found Celia guilty of murder in the first degree.

After the Verdict

The day after the verdict, Celia's defense team asked the court to "set aside the verdict... and grant a new trial." Judge Hall denied their request and sentenced Celia to be "executed on the sixteenth day of November 1855." Celia's defense team then asked for an appeal to the Supreme Court of Missouri. The appeal was allowed, but Judge Hall refused to delay the execution.

On the night of November 11, 1855, just five days before she was supposed to be executed, Celia was taken from her jail cell. She was returned to her cell sometime after her original execution date had passed and given a new date: December 21. After her return, Celia's defense team wrote a letter to Judge Abiel Leonard of the Supreme Court of Missouri. They explained that Celia had been "taken out by someone" and that they felt "more than ordinary interest in behalf of the girl Celia, believing that she did the act (of slaying Newsom) to prevent assault." They also sent a record of Celia's case and asked the Supreme Court to review it and issue an order to stop the execution until her appeal could be heard. The Supreme Court responded on December 14, 1855, stating that after reviewing the case, they would "refuse the prayer of the petitioner." They ordered that "an order for the Stay of the execution in this case be refused."

Celia was executed on December 21, 1855, at 2:30 p.m.

Why This Case Was Important

Celia's trial happened when slavery was a very big and debated issue in America. The court's decision had important effects on the legal rights of enslaved people, especially Black women. The laws at the time saw Celia as Robert Newsom's property, meaning he had the right to do what he wanted with her. Legally, Celia was only seen as a human being with intentions when she was being punished for a crime. As a historian named Saidiya Hartman explained, the case of Missouri v. Celia showed that enslaved people could not agree or refuse to do something, nor could they defend themselves. Yet, they were still held responsible for crimes. An enslaved person was only seen as a thinking person who knew what they were doing when they were facing criminal charges.