An enquiry into the use and practice of juries among the Greeks and Romans : from whence the origin of the English jury may probably be deduced : in three parts
On 10 January 1950, Marian L. Baker was brutally murdered by Edward Lester Gibbs. This collection contains W. Hensel Brown's copies of the clerk's file, transcripts, appeal briefs, and other court records from the murder trial of Edward L. Gibbs, 1950. Newspaper articles report on the 1950 trial and his 1951 electrocution.
Admin/Biographical History
Edward Lester Gibbs (1924-1951), veteran (98th Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force) and husband of Helen Woodward, was from Gloucester County, NJ. In 1950, he was a student at Franklin and Marshall College. (1)
Marian Louise Baker (1928-1950), the daughter of Walter M. Baker and Helen Beatrice Soule Britcher, was originally from New Bloomfield, Perry County, PA. (2) She had spent much of her childhood in Conestoga, PA with her aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. LeRoy O'Donel. (3) In 1950, she worked as a cashier and secretary in the treasurer's office at Franklin and Marshall College (4) and was engaged to Edward Rankin. (5)
W. Hensel Brown was the attorney chosen to defend Gibbs.
"On January 10, 1950, Marian Louise Baker was brutally slain by being
beaten to death with a lug wrench. Eight days later Edward Lester
Gibbs, defendant, confessed the killing. Thereafter, he was indicted in
Lancaster County, tried by a jury, and convicted of murder in the first
degree with the penalty fixed at death. Prior to his bringing this appeal, his motion for new trial was denied and sentence was imposed in accordance with the verdict.
At the time of the killing, defendant, a married war veteran twenty-five years of age, was a student at Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. *185 In the early afternoon of January 10, 1950, he was in downtown Lancaster when he saw Miss Baker, an employee of the college. He offered to drive her back to the campus in his car and she accepted. However, instead of returning directly to the college, they rode out of town and into the open country. When they reached an isolated spot several miles from the city she commented on the view and defendant stopped the car so that they both might enjoy it. While sitting there he suddenly reached over and began choking her. She broke away and got out of the car. He followed her and after choking her again, he returned to the car, unlocked and opened the luggage compartment, removed the lug wrench, and beat her over the head with it until she was dead. He then left but later returned to hide the body and remove any incriminating evidence. The body was not discovered until four days later.
On January 18, 1950, defendant admitted committing the crime and on that same day he signed a statement setting forth the facts as we have synopsized them here. Neither at the trial nor at any other time did he deny the truth of that confession and substantially all of the facts contained in it were verified by the independent investigation of the Pennsylvania State Police." (6)
1 "Edward Lester Gibbs," Find A Grave, accessed November 27, 2018, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/76555590/edward-lester-gibbs.
2 "Marian Louise Baker," Find A Grave, accessed November 27, 2018, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/76632108/marian-louise-baker.
3 "Vintage photos, the 1950 murder of an F&M secretary," PennLive.com, last modified January 8, 2016, https://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/01/vintage_photos_the_1950_murder.html.
4 "Marian Louise Baker," Find A Grave, accessed November 27, 2018, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/76632108/marian-louise-baker.
5 "Vintage photos, the 1950 murder of an F&M secretary," PennLive.com, last modified January 8, 2016, https://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/01/vintage_photos_the_1950_murder.html.
6 "Opinion by Mr. Chief Justice Drew, November 20, 1950," Justia, accessed November 27, 2018, https://law.justia.com/cases/pennsylvania/supreme-court/1950/366-pa-182-0.html.
The complete juryman, or, A compendium of the laws relating to jurors : viz., of grand juries, of petit juries, who are qualified to serve on juries ... misdemeanors punishable in jurors
Printed by Henry Lintot, law-printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty, for A. Millar, over against Catherine-Street in the Strand,
Date of Publication
MDCCLII [1752]
Physical Description
6, 341, [25] p. ; 17 cm. (12mo)
Notes
Text after "viz." on t.p. printed in two columns; list in first column begins "of grand juries" and ends "various methods of trial; list in second column begins "trials at bar, by nisi prius et per medietatem linguae" and ends "misdemeanors punishable in jurors."
Conductor generalis, or, The office, duty and authority of justices of the peace, high-sheriffs, under-sheriffs, coroners, constables, gaolers, jury-men, and overseers of the poor : as also, the office of clerks of assize, and of the peace, &c
Office, duty and authority of justices of the peace, high-sheriffs, under-sheriffs, goalers, coroners, constables, jury men, over-seers of the poor
Office, duty and authority of justices of the peace
Responsibility
compiled chiefly from Burn's Justice, and the several other books on those subjects, by James Parker ... ; and now revised and adapted to the United States of America, by a Gentleman of the law ; the whole alphabetically digested under the several titles, with a table directing to the ready finding out the proper matter under those titles ; to which are added, the excise and militia laws of the United States, and the acts called the Ten Pound Act of the states of Pennsylvania and New-York.
