Lawyer Shoots Himself, Proves Client’s Innocence
By: Ben Kageyama
Tags: History, True Crime, Justice, Lawyer, Nonfiction

Lawyer Shoots Himself, Proves Client’s Innocence

Clement Vallandigham (Circa 1855), by Matthew Brady from the US Library of Congress, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

The duty of a lawyer is to defend his client, but I suppose one would be excused for not literally defending them to the death. However, Clement Vallandigham, an American lawyer and politician from the 19th century, earnestly took his duty to heart. In doing so, he also took a bullet to the stomach (albeit as an accident).

The case

Clement Vallandigham’s client, Thomas McGehean, was standing trial for the murder of Thomas Myers.

On Christmas Eve 1870, a fight broke out in a private card-playing room in Hamilton, Ohio. Five men broke into the room, and chaos ensued. As Myers drew his pistol, witnesses claimed a shot was heard. He managed to fire off a few rounds before dropping dead in his seat.

Despite it being a whirlwind of confusion as gamblers were fighting each other and trying to escape, witnesses were confident that Myers was shot and killed by McGehean, as he was one of the five men who burst into the bar and initiated the fight. Locals also seemingly recalled that he and Myers were, in fact, well-known enemies.

None of the witnesses could actually confirm if they saw him with a pistol in his hand or not, but everyone in town was nonetheless convinced that he had committed the crime and ought to be prosecuted.

The uncanny defense

A Colt Navy Revolver from 1851, by Hmaag, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The case eventually went to trial in 1871, where Clement Vallandigham came to the aid of McGehean’s defense.

Nearing the end of the trial, Vallandigham decided to test out a theory of how the shooting had occurred. He believed that the victim had most likely shot himself in the abdomen as he drew his gun while rising to stand up.

Using a piece of muslin, he shot a couple of rounds of his pistol at point-blank range to investigate the residue it would leave. Satisfied with his experiment, he returned to his hotel room, where he was given a package containing Myers’ gun, which had been unloaded for him. He took the parcel and laid the gun down on a table, where he also happened to lay down his own personal pistol that he had just used in his experiment.

He and his associates began to discuss the case and their defense, as they would be delivering their closing argument the next day. Vallandigham excitedly told them about his idea and decided it was best to show them the demonstration beforehand. He grabbed the pistol, stuck it in his pocket, and reenacted the scene of the bar fight where Myers struggled to pull out his gun.

Then “BANG!”

As it turns out, Vallandigham had not grabbed Myers’ gun but his own, which still had a few bullets left in it from his earlier shooting practice. Clement Vallandigham unintentionally shot himself in the abdomen, trying to prove his defendant’s case.

Aftermath

Doctors attempted to remove the bullet but were unable to find it. The good counsel died of inflammation the very next day.

Vallandigham’s theory proved correct, though, and his defendant, McGehean, was cleared of all charges and released from custody. A newspaper from that time reported:

“The unfortunate advocate had demonstrated the reasonableness of his theory, but at the cost of his life.”

The people of Hamilton were not pleased and remained adamant that he was the killer, warning him to never return or there would be consequences. Four years later, they kept their word as he was shot and killed in a saloon in the town.