nl_e17

Henry B. Blackwell, "The Case of Maria Barberi," Aug 1895
Document 17: Henry B. Blackwell, "The Case of Maria Barberi," Woman's
Journal, 10 (August 1895), p. 252.
Introduction
Henry Blackwell (1825-1909), brother of Emily and Elizabeth Blackwell and
husband of Lucy Stone, was a hardware store owner, abolitionist, and women's
rights activist. He remained steadfast in his devotion to the cause of women's
suffrage until his death. In the following article, he argued that Maria Barbieri should
not be held responsible for killing the man who had seduced her, because "if every
man who seduces a child of 15 leaving her no practical alternative but suicide or a
life of prostitution, were promptly put out of existence, the morals of the community
would be vastly improved." The piece argued against the double standard that
pervaded American criminal justice.
THE CASE OF MARIA BARBERI
__________
Maria Barberi is an Italian child, 15 years of age, reared in the
slums, ignorant of our institutions, unable to speak our language, poor
and illiterate. She has not yet reached the age of mental maturity.
Under the laws of New York, if at any time during the next six years
she should give her note or promise to pay any sum of money, the act
would create no legal obligation, because she will not have arrived at
years of discretion. She is a minor in the custody of her parents. A man
of mature age takes advantage of her youth, her ignorance, her mental
and moral immaturity. He seduces her under the promise of marriage
by professions of love and affection. Then he boasts of his conquest,
he degrades and repudiates her. He meets her expostulations with
scorn and insult. The child's love turns to hatred. She goes wild with
anger and despair. She kills him. She is found guilty of wilful murder,
and Recorder Goff, at the request of the district attorney, sentences
her to death.
Under Massachusetts law this girl has been the victim of a rape.
With logical consistency our statute holds that a girl of 15 cannot give a
legal consent to the alienation either of her property or her virtue.
Under the law of every nation, civilized or barbarous, extreme
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