The man who killed Warrington Dawson

On March 12, 1889, at about 4:00 p.m., the editor of the Charleston, South Carolina, News and Courier--Francis Warrington Dawson--was shot to death by Thomas Ballard McDow, M.D., a successful Charleston physician, in Dr. McDow's office. The investigation of the crime and the trial and acquittal of McDow have not been subjected to critical scrutiny in this century. This article offers an analysis of character and motivation of the principals, an examination of some of the evidence, a view of the prosecution and defense, and some conclusions based on these elements.