What were murder trials like in colonial America, early 18th c?

By colonial America, do you mean the colonies that become the USA, or the various colonies belonging to various European countries that are geographically located in or near North and South America?

Hardly a trial at all, more a procedure to wipe our hands of the responsibility of our actions by placing the fault (if any) onto the (man made) law of the land. This is the pholosophy that you should look under.

@Aethelflaed the original 13 of the United States.
and @chewhorse, where did you get this information? I want to conduct research for a novel.

@unused_bagels .. It’s more a visualized logic (of what I’ve read about those times) rather than a constituted reality but if you read between the lines of our history books and ask pertinent questions regarding their assumptions then you too should come to a similar conclusion..

If there’s one thing courts do it document their goings on. You can probably find court transcripts for a good primary source. You could start by talking to your local librarian. Libraries often keep public and government records and even if they don’t have trial records on hand I bet the librarian will be able to tell you where you could find them.

It turns out that most courts in colonial times did not keep records, and many made it up as they went, trying to remember proceedings and precedents from britain and using incomplete lawbooks.

Those colonials. Can’t they do anything right?

I’m just speculating here but I would assume that a murder trial wouldn’t be much different than simple theft.. Death.

They weren’t that draconian.