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Jack Battus Murder Trial1
The murder trial of John "Jack" Battus was the first murder trial in Norfolk County, and was held at Carroll's Tavern. Battus, a 19-year-old laborer, allegedly raped and then murdered 13-year-old Salome "Sally" Talbot. He was found guilty of murder (though he pled guilty to a separate count of rape); his death warrant was signed by Governor Caleb Strong. He was executed on November 8, 1804, in Dedham.
Resources1
Canton Comes of Age, 1797-1997 by Canton Bicentennial Committee, 117.
History of the Town of Canton by Daniel Huntoon, 227.
"Social Injustice, Sexual Violence, Spiritual Transcendence: Constructions of Interracial Rape in Early American Crime Literature, 1767-1817" by Daniel A. Cohen, as published in The William and Mary Quarterly. Third Series, Vol. 56, No. 3 (Jul., 1999), pp. 481-526.
The confession of John Battus : a mulatto, aged 19 years and 7 months, who was executed at Dedham, November 8, 1804, for the crimes of a most cruel rape and murder on the body of Salome Talbott, of Canton, in the 14th year of her age : to which is added, his writing [about?] his imprisonment, by Herman Mann. 9-18.
The Hanging of Ephraim Wheeler: a story of rape, incest, and justice in early America, by Irene Quenzler Brown and Richard T. Brown. 210.