Stateburg, South Carolina, United States of America
June 30th, 1776
“Order!” Judge Aedanas Burke banged his gavel as the jury stirred from the sight of Marion entering the courtroom.
The disgraced colonel was the subject of hatred for most of the South Carolinians in the room. Even the few delegates and observers from the other colonies and the Continental Congress glared at him in contempt.
The prosecutor was Thomas Heyward Jr., who returned to the colony after signing the Declaration of Independence. His opposition, Marion’s lawyer, was John Mathews. The two of them were on cordial terms and interacted with each other on a regular basis due to their law backgrounds. Both had agreed to keep the case a civil affair and to carry out this case professionally despite the mixed feelings they had for the defendant.
Colonel Marion stood tall and proud at the defendant's stand. Despite the hostility stemming from the jurors and observers, he stood unwaveringly at the stand.
“Colonel Marion,” Judge Burke said neutrally, “You are charged with high treason against the legitimate government of South Carolina and the Continental Congress, execution of surrendering prisoners of war, crimes against humanity, murder, destruction of property, theft, and aiding the enemies of South Carolina and the Continental Congress. How do you plead?”
“Not guilty,” Marion replied with a frown.
The trial went underway immediately. Witnesses after witnesses were brought forth to testify against the colonel for his actions. The few survivors of the group that fought with General Arnold until his death was the most descriptive about their testimonies. They painted the colonel as a sadistic man that executed the African Americans in the Connecticut Regiments in cold blood. One of the witnesses broke out into tears on the witness stand, claiming that one of the men executed had saved his life in an earlier battle. He described his frustration at his inability to prevent the former slave’s death and proclaimed that the African American man died with his head held high. The personal stories stirred the jury even further, but the judge banged his gavel to silence them.
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The last few witnesses were men from Marion’s own brigade. They supported the stories of the others and confessed that Major Marion ordered them to execute the African Americans due to the Loyalist governor’s orders. They also revealed that the group had executed up to three hundred runaway slaves before they were captured by General Kim, along with burning and pillaging properties owned by Patriots.
Even despite Mathews attempts to cross-examine the witnesses and defend his client, it became evidently clear that the evidence against Marion was undeniable.
The jury dispersed into a private room and came out with their decision within minutes.
“Guilty.”
The decision was unanimous and swift. The jury was picked to be as least bias as possible, but Marion caused terror and destruction upon the civilian population living in the areas controlled by the Stateburg government. And it was hard for the jurors to stomach the fact that the colonel executed surrendering soldiers, regardless of their color, and killed General Arnold, a renowned hero. The testimonies also affected their views of the colonel’s actions and displayed him in a negative light.
“This is outrageous, I was merely carrying out orders given to me by my superiors! Crimes against humanity? Murder? I partook in a war, not a jousting match! And the prisoners of wars that you mentioned were Negros, slaves!” Marion shouted, to the dismay of his lawyer, “This court is a sham!”
“Your superiors ordered you to carry out such acts?"
"Yes!"
"Your testimony is duly noted, but it will not change the outcome of this court's ruling. The excuse of "I was just following orders" is not, nor will it ever be, an excuse for committing atrocities. Nor are the orders to commit such acts legal. The guidelines of what constitutes a criminal act must be loosened during wartime to accommodate the realities of war, but similarly, those acts which remain criminal must be punished sharply enough that the men on both sides do not decide to take liberties with the power over their fellow man this loosening affords beyond that which is dictated by necessity. In this case, the charges of murder did not and cannot include such deaths as those of the defendant and his rearguard or of those members of General Kims' army lost in battle as they were killed on the field of battle as combatants. The execution of some three hundred civilians proven during the trial by the accused, however, regardless of their current legal status, is indeed murder and will be punished accordingly at every level of culpability.
“For the crimes, you have committed against the lawful government of South Carolina, the inhabitants of South Carolina, and against the people of the United States themselves, I hereby declare that your sentence will be death by hanging,” Judge Burke hardened his gaze towards the Loyalist officer as he banged his gavel, "As swiftly as possible."