 Not long after the Goode case came the sensational trial of Professor John White Webster in the murder of George Parkman , a crime that took place at the Harvard Medical School in November 1849 . The trial received nationwide coverage , and the prosecution case was based on evidence that was either circumstantial ( complicated by the fact that a complete corpse was not found ) , or founded on new types of evidence ( forensic dentistry was used for the first time in this trial ) . Furthermore , Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw was widely criticized for bias in the instructions he gave to the jury . Briggs was petitioned to commute Webster 's sentence by death penalty opponents , and even threatened with physical harm if he did not . He refused however , stating that the evidence in the case was clear ( especially after Webster gave a confession ) , and that there was no reason to doubt that the court had acted with due and proper diligence . 
 Not long after the Goode case came the sensational trial of Professor John White Webster in the murder of George Parkman , a crime <a href='null_relcl' title='1'><mark>that</mark></a>took place at the Harvard Medical School in November 1849 . The trial received nationwide coverage , and the prosecution case was based on evidence <a href='null_relcl' title='2'><mark>that</mark></a>was either circumstantial ( complicated by the fact that a complete corpse was not found ) , or founded on new types of evidence ( forensic dentistry was used for the first time in this trial ) . Furthermore , Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw was widely criticized for bias in the instructions he gave to the jury . Briggs was petitioned to commute Webster <a href='null_genetive' title='3'><mark>'s</mark></a>sentence by death penalty opponents , and even threatened with physical harm if he did not . He refused however , stating that the evidence in the case was clear ( especially after Webster gave a confession ) , and that <a href='dey_it' title='4'><mark>there</mark></a> was no reason to doubt that the court <a href='been_done' title='5'><mark>had</mark></a> acted with due and proper diligence . 
Not long after the Goode case came da sensational trial of Professor John White Webster in the murder of George Parkman , a crime took place at tdaHarvard Medical School in November 1849 . Thdarial received nationwide coverage , and the prosecution case was based on evidence was either circumstantial ( complicated by the fact that a complete corpse was not found ) , or founded on new types of evidence ( forensic dentistry was used for the first time in dis trial ) . Furthermore , Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw was widely criticized for bias in the instructions he gave to thedary . Briggs was petitioned to commute Webster  sentence by death penalty opponents , and even threatened with physical harm if he did not . He refused however , stating that the evidence in the case was clear ( especially after Webster gave a confession ) , and that it was no reason to doubt that the dart done acted with due and proper diligence .