About K.A. Shelley

The Defense Never Rests

Before he was the second president of the United States, John Adams, a young and struggling lawyer, hesitated before defending British soldiers accused of firing into a crowd during the Boston Massacre in 1770. But Adams said he believed in a free country: “No man, no matter what his alleged crime, should be denied the right to counsel or to fair trial.” Under Adams’ defense, the British captain and six of the eight soldiers were acquitted.   “That’s our system,” says Kansas City …