"What right of a defendant was last used in ""Ashford v Thornton"", an 1818 English legal case that was a private appeal from an acquittal for murder?"
Ashford v Thornton Ashford v Thornton Ashford v Thornton (1818) 106 ER 149 is an English law case in the Court of King's Bench which upheld the right of the defendant to trial by battle on a private appeal from an acquittal for murder. In 1817, Abraham Thornton was charged with the murder of Mary Ashford. Thornton had met Ashford at a dance and had walked with her from the event. The next morning, she was found drowned in a pit with little evidence of violence. Public opinion was heavily against Thornton, but the jury quickly acquitted him and found him not guilty
Ashford v Thornton Newspapers published letters and comments which were extremely hostile toward Thornton. The leading papers in this campaign were the "Lichfield Mercury" and the "Independent Whig", but even "The Times" expressed delight when it learned that the case would be further pursued. Funds were obtained from contributors, and a local solicitor prevailed on Mary's brother, William Ashford, to bring an appeal of murder against Thornton. William Ashford was described as "a plain country young man, about twenty-two years of age, of short stature, sandy hair, and blue eyes". A writ of appeal was issued on 1 October 1817, and Thornton was