64. MURDER: Amasa Sprague and the Trial of John Gordon

On December 31, 1843, Amasa Sprague was found murdered near his home in Cranston, RI. An Irish immigrant named John Gordon was tried and convicted of the crime, but even at the time, many believed he may have been innocent. 

Episode Source Material:

• Opinion/Harrington: Mystery still shrouds murder of Amasa Sprague
• John Gordon - Online Review of Rhode Island History
• The Murder of Amasa Sprague, and the Irishman Persecuted for the Crime - New England Historical Society
• Weird Hauntings: True Tales of Ghostly Places
• Trial of John Gordon and William Gordon, Charged With the Murder of Amasa Sprague
• State v. John Gordon, 1 R.I. 179 | Casetext Search + Citator
• http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText11/SenateText11/S0371A.htm
• https://read.amazon.com/?asin=B00XRFTWVI&ref_=dbs_t_r_kcr
• Irish-Italian ratio in R.I.is close, Census Bureau says
• When America Despised the Irish: The 19th Century’s Refugee Crisis - HISTORY
• Dorr Rebellion - Wikipedia
• amasa sprague | The Cotton Boll Conspiracy
• The Execution of John Gordon, a Victim of Anti-Irish Catholic Prejudice - Online Review of Rhode Island History
• Editors at Providence Journal Discriminated Against Irish-Americans - Online Review of Rhode Island History
• The Irish of Rhode Island (Part I, 1638-1921)
• New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial
• Dorr Rebellion | Rhode Island's Very Own, Very Small Civil War - New England Today