Palos 118 East Mock Trial Revisits Lincoln Assassination

In real life, the infamous John Wilkes Booth never got his day in court for his role in the plot to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln.

But at Palos 118 School District’s East Elementary, the students there recently held a mock trial to present the facts of the case.

The mock trial was a chance for the school’s fifth grade ALPS students (Accelerated Learning Program for Students) to demonstrate all they had learned about the judicial system.

“It’s a showcase of all of their hard work learning about the trial process and the assassination of President Lincoln,” said East ALPS teacher Julie McNamara who organized the two-day trial which included a presentation of prosecution and defense witnesses as well as a deliberation by a jury.

The fifth graders presented their opening statements, prosecution evidence, mounted a defense, and then made closing arguments for the infamous case. Cross examinations during the trial got heated as student lawyers presented their cases. Parents who couldn’t attend in person could also watch the whole court case unfold over Zoom.

After deliberating, the jurors found Wilkes Booth not guilty on the charge of first-degree murder but did find him guilty of treason.