Everyone knew who killed George Wythe (pronounced "with"). The famous founding father from Virginia - the man who had taught Thomas Jefferson and John Marshall - was dead of arsenic poisoning. His greedy grandnephew, George Wythe Sweeney, did it. But how would the prosecutor prove it?

An eyewitness is always the best proof. The prosecutor had an eyewitness: Lydia Broadnax, who had been the professor's cook for decades. On the morning of May 25, 1806 she saw Sweeney do something suspicious with the coffee pot. Then she saw Sweeney throw a small piece of white paper into the fireplace. Soon after, Lydia became violently ill. So did George Wythe and a free black servant, Michael Brown. All had drunk coffee that morning.

While Lydia recovered, the other two victims did not. Brown died on June 1st. George Wythe, the man for whom Thomas Jefferson reserved the place of honor in the Declaration of Independence, died on June 8th. Sweeney was charged with murder. Wythe must have thought Sweeney did it too. On the day Michael Brown died of arsenic poisoning, Wythe changed his Will. He completely disinherited Sweeney.

One would think Lydia's eyewitness testimony at the trial would have sealed Sweeney's fate. There was one problem, however. Lydia could not testify. Although she was a free woman, she was black. The law at the time prevented black people from testifying against a white man.

No other witness could give direct testimony against Sweeney. Everything else was hearsay and, under the law, that was insufficient for a conviction. After just a few minutes of deliberation, the jury reached a verdict: Not guilty.

The murderer of one of America's greatest founding fathers was acquitted because a free black woman could not testify against a white man. That law was not changed in Virginia until 1867 - after the Civil War.

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