What are the best closing arguments to ever be used by lawyers?
In July of 1871, a massive bar fight in Ohio left a man named Tom Myers dead, having been shot in the abdomen. Another man present, Thomas McGehan, was accused of his murder.
McGehan, claiming that he was innocent, sought out lawyer Clement Vallandigham to represent him in court.
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McGehan told Clement that although he didn’t know how Myers had been killed, he certainly hadn’t killed him.
Clement believed McGehan, and after several days of witness testimony and crime scene analysis, he came up with a theory:
Myers, in the process of trying to draw his own weapon, had shot himself in the abdomen.
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After spending a day conducting a number of ballistics tests with weapons discharged at close range, Clement was positive that his theory was correct, and was ready to present it to the court.
The following day, Clement stood in front of a judge and explained his theory.
As he was finishing his explanation, Clement decided that a demonstration would further support his claim, so he began to draw his weapon.
But in his haste and excitement, Clement’s finger accidentally landed on the trigger, and his gun discharged a bullet into his abdomen — in the exact same way that he was arguing Myers had killed himself.
He died the following day from the injury.
While proving that Myers could have died because he accidentally shot himself when drawing his weapon, Clement Vallandigham accidentally shot and killed himself when drawing his weapon.
And he won the case.
Now that’s what I call a good closing argument.
In July of 1871, a massive bar fight in Ohio left a man named Tom Myers dead, having been shot in the abdomen. Another man present, Thomas McGehan, was accused of his murder.
McGehan, claiming that he was innocent, sought out lawyer Clement Vallandigham to represent him in court.
https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-bff6513898b00c9795ebb7242f3f0531-lq
McGehan told Clement that although he didn’t know how Myers had been killed, he certainly hadn’t killed him.
Clement believed McGehan, and after several days of witness testimony and crime scene analysis, he came up with a theory:
Myers, in the process of trying to draw his own weapon, had shot himself in the abdomen.
https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-56405f728ab69f845fd6cc90f8e9bcb2-lq
After spending a day conducting a number of ballistics tests with weapons discharged at close range, Clement was positive that his theory was correct, and was ready to present it to the court.
The following day, Clement stood in front of a judge and explained his theory.
As he was finishing his explanation, Clement decided that a demonstration would further support his claim, so he began to draw his weapon.
But in his haste and excitement, Clement’s finger accidentally landed on the trigger, and his gun discharged a bullet into his abdomen — in the exact same way that he was arguing Myers had killed himself.
He died the following day from the injury.
While proving that Myers could have died because he accidentally shot himself when drawing his weapon, Clement Vallandigham accidentally shot and killed himself when drawing his weapon.
And he won the case.
Now that’s what I call a good closing argument.
