Bathsheba Ruggles Spooner was the first woman in American history to be executed following the Declaration of Independence.
13 Facts About Bathsheba Spooner
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The daughter of prominent Loyalist brigadier general and jurist Timothy Ruggles, Bathsheba Ruggles had an arranged marriage to wealthy farmer Joshua Spooner.
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Bathsheba Spooner petitioned to have her execution delayed because of her pregnancy, which was first denied and then supported by some members of a group charged with examining her to verify the pregnancy.
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Bathsheba Spooner was a well-to-do Brookfield farmer, the son of a wealthy Boston merchant.
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Brooks was charged with the assault on Spooner; Buchanan and Ross with aiding and abetting in the murder; and Bathsheba with inciting, abetting and procuring the manner and form of the murder.
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Bathsheba Spooner argued that Bathsheba had a "disordered mind," that her actions were irrational as evidenced by the lack of a getaway plan.
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Bathsheba Spooner petitioned for a postponement, citing her pregnancy, based on common law principle that protected the life of a fetus if it had quickened.
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Bathsheba Spooner was examined by a panel of twelve women and two male midwives.
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Bathsheba Spooner's body was claimed by her sister, Mary Ruggles Green, wife of Dr John Green.
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Bathsheba Spooner was buried in an unmarked grave on the Green Estate, which today is the site of Green Hill Park in Worcester.
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Some suggest Bathsheba Spooner was executed because the community opposed her father's Loyalist stance.
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The CBS radio program Crime Classics dramatized the case in an episode entitled "The Crime of Bathsheba Spooner" that aired on June 15,1953.
13.
Bathsheba Spooner's case was featured in Season 11, Episode 10 of Deadly Women.