Episode 25: Charity's Crime
The Territory of Oregon v. Charity Lamb
In 1854, a gruesome murder rocked the Oregon Territory. Charity Lamb stood accused of killing her husband, Nathaniel, with an axe. Newspapers called Charity a monster and speculated on her marriage. But there was more to the story. Would Nathaniel's history of physically abusing Charity convince jurors that she had acted in self-defense?
Episode Resources
Episode Transcript
Works Cited/
Referenced
-
“About Intimate Partner Violence,” U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
-
Marina Angel, "Why Judy Norman Acted in Reasonable Self-Defense: An Abused Woman and a Sleeping Man," Buffalo Women's Law Journal, vol. 16 (2007).
-
Mark Barrett, “Norman Set Free,” Asheville Citizen & Times, July 8, 1989, pages 1, 7.
-
Arthur F. Benson, “Cyrus Olney,” biography, 1945, via State of Oregon Law Library, Supreme Court History--Judges.
-
Cathryn Bowie, “Oregon’s Courts Under the Territorial Government,” State of Oregon Law Library, last updated September 11, 2024.
-
Alafair S. Burke, “Rational Actors, Self-Defense, and Duress: Making Sense, Not Syndromes, Out of the Battered Woman,” North Carolina Law Review, vol. 81, no. 1 (2002).
-
Jacquelyn C. Campbell, “Danger Assessment,” Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing (2004).
-
Jacquelyn C. Campbell et. al., “Risk Factors for Femicide in Abusive Relationships: Results from a Multisite Case Control Study,” American Journal of Public Health vol. 93, no. 7 (July 2003).
-
Teresa Carpenter, “The Final Self-Defense,” The New York Times, December 31, 1989, section 7, page 17.
-
Charity Robbins and Nathaniel Lamb Marriage Certificate, July 14, 1836, in “North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-2011,” via FamilySearch.
-
Charity Lamb and Heirs of Nathaniel J. Lamb (Clackamas County, Oregon), homestead patent no. 3367, Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office.
-
Cydney Chilimidos and Zachary Nemirovsky, “Notes & Questions (State v. Norman),” in W. David Ball and Michelle Oberman, Criminal Law Casebook, 3rd ed., via Open Casebooks.
-
M.J. Cody, “Philip Foster (1805-1884),” The Oregon Encyclopedia, last updated August 30, 2022.
-
Donna Coker and Lindsay C. Harrison, “The Story of Wanrow: The Reasonable Woman and the Law of Self-Defense,” chapter, in Criminal Law Stories, ed. Robert Weisberg and Donna Coker (Foundation Press, eBook: 2012).
-
David H. and Lucinda A. Deardorff (Clackamas County, Oregon), homestead patent no. 2474, Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office.
-
Joshua Dressler, “Battered Women and Sleeping Abusers: Some Reflections,” Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, vol. 3 (2006).
-
Hannah Erickson, “The history of mental hospital patients buried at Lone Fir Cemetery,” Metro News, January 6, 2023.
-
FamilySearch pages: Susannah Green, Noah Huber, Abraham Pratt Lamb, John H. Lamb, Mary Ann Lamb, Nathan Lamb, Nathaniel Lamb, Thomas P. Lamb, William H. Lamb, Ann Pratt, Abraham Robbins, and Charity Robbins.
-
FamilySearch family trees: Smith family tree; Deardorff family tree
-
“Friend of Frank Huber Recalls Village Days,” The Sunday Oregonian, May 7, 1911, page 15.
-
Charles K. Gardner, “Township No. 2, South Range No. 3 East, Willamette Meridian,” survey, August 13, 1855.
-
Leigh Goodmark, “Gender-Based Violence, Law Reform, and the Criminalization of Survivors of Violence,” International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, vol. 10, no. 4 (2021).
-
Whitley R.P. Kaufman, “Self-Defense, Imminence, and the Battered Woman,” New Criminal Law Review, vol. 10, no. 3, (2007).
-
“Kelly, James Kerr (1819-1903),” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
-
Joan H. Krause, “Distorted Reflections of Battered Women Who Kill: A Response to Professor Dressler,” Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, vol. 4 (2007).
-
“The Lamb Murder Trial,” The Oregon Weekly Times, September 30, 1854, page 1.
-
William L. Lang, “Oregon Trail,” The Oregon Encyclopedia, last updated September 25, 2024.
-
Ronald B. Lansing, “The Tragedy of Charity Lamb, Oregon’s First Convicted Murderess,” Oregon Historical Quarterly, vol. 101, no. 1 (Spring, 2000).
-
Linklaters LLP for Penal Reform International, Women who kill in response to domestic violence: How do criminal justice systems respond? (2016).
-
Holly Maguigan, “Battered Women and Self-Defense: Myths and Misconceptions in Current Reform Proposals,” University of Pennsylvania Law Review, vol. 140, no. 2 (December 1991).
-
Martha R. Mahoney, "Misunderstanding Judy Norman: Theory as Cause and Consequence,”Connecticut Law Review, vol. 51, no. 3 (June 2019).
-
Debbie Mukamal, Andrea N. Cimino, Blyss Cleveland, Emma Dougherty, Jacqueline Lewittes, and Becca Zimmerman, Fatal Peril: Unheard Stories from the IPV-to-Prison Pipeline, Stanford Criminal Justice Center (Summer 2024).
-
“Murder,” The Oregonian, May 20, 1854, page 2.
-
Oregon Judicial Department History, State of Oregon Law Library.
-
Laurel Paulson, “Women and Justice: The Vindication of Charity Lamb,” frying pan, January 1978.
-
Laurel Paulson and Steve Wade, “Extracting Roots II: Charity and Justice,” frying pan, June 1979.
-
“Pioneer Cooking,” American West Heritage Center, 2023.
-
Carolyn B. Ramsey, "Domestic Violence and State Intervention in the American West and Australia, 1860-1930," Indiana Law Journal, vol. 86, iss. 1 (2011).
-
“Revolting Murder.” The Oregon Statesman, June 6th, 1854, page 3.
-
Frank Branch Riley to Oregon Historical Quarterly, letter, April 22, 1969, via "Charity Lamb” file, Oregon Historical Society, Portland.
-
William G. Robbins, “Oregon Donation Land Law,” The Oregon Encyclopedia, last updated August 17th, 2022.
-
Erica L. Smith, “Female Murder Victims and Victim-Offender Relationship, 2021,” Bureau of Justice Statistics, United States Department of Justice, December 1, 2022.
-
Chelsea M. Spencer and Sandra M. Stith, “Risk Factors for Male Perpetration and Female Victimization of Intimate Partner Homicide: A Meta-Analysis,” Trauma, Violence, & Abuse vol. 21, no. 3 (2020), 3.
-
“Trial of Charity Lamb, for the Murder of Husband, Nathaniel J. Lamb,” The Weekly Oregonian, September 30, 1854, pages 1, 2.
-
“When will the next farce be played? In September?” Oregon Spectator, July 14, 1854, page 2.
-
“Williams’ Address, Oregon Events from 1853 to 1865,” The Oregonian, February 15, 1899, page 9.
-
“United States’ District Court, Clackamas County,” The Oregon Statesman, July 25, 1854, page 3.