Find Show Me Murder on Facebook and Instagram for related content including photos, and to ask questions and suggest future episodes.

Find Show Me Murder on Facebook and Instagram for related content including photos, and to ask questions and suggest future episodes.

Claud McGee's very appearance has prompted countless people over the years to ask for years whether he was out of his mind, believing that if he was insane, that his execution would have presented a miscarriage of justice.  Michael Lear explores the story of McGee and talks with experts who, among other things, examine the question of his sanity and what bearing, if any, it could (or should) have had on his case.

Those who contributed to this episode include Judge Stephen Limbaugh, Senior and Judge Stephen Limbaugh, Junior; William Eddleman, Coordinator at the State Historical Society of Missouri's Cape Girardeau Research Center; the staff at The Missouri State Archives; the staff at the State Historical Society of Missouri's Columbia Research Center; Jon Rust, Sharon Sanders, and the Southeast Missourian; Gail Crader at the Scott County Historical Society; Dr. Anchana Dominic; Mark Schreiber; and Professor Rodney Uphoff.  

Early on the morning of May 13, 1895, Missouri state senator Peter Morrissey was found dead in the St. Louis home of Maude Lewis, a woman who loved him and whom he had been abusing for years.  

The story of Senator Peter Morrissey's murder is really the story of Maude Lewis.  The many layers to this story pull back the curtain on dark truths about life before the turn of the last century including the political machines in St. Louis at the time, running election fraud and government corruption; how women were spoken about and treated by the media and the courts; and attitudes toward domestic abuse.  

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A note from the host:  I love long, involved stories, and I hope you do too, because this is a long one but I think it's as great as it is, in many ways, sad.  Please find the show's Facebook and Instagram pages and let me know what you think of this story, and what really happened on that morning in 1895.

Based on historical accounts, newspaper articles, and interviews with historians, host Michael Lear looks at the Battle of Centralia and the Massacre of Centralia - two distinct events - on September 27, 1864.  This includes interviews with local historian Jack Chance; reporter and historian Rudi Keller (Missouri Independent, formerly Columbia Daily Tribune); author and historian Larry Wood; and Professor Aaron Sheehan-Dean with the Department of History at Louisiana State University.  

You can listen to the  interviews with Keller, Wood, and Sheehan-Dean, which were posted as bonus material to go with this episode.

Donate to the show?        Paypal.me/MichaelLear5          Venmo:  @Michael-Lear-5

Facebook : smmpodcast     Instagram:  showmemurder     Twitter:  @ShowMeMurder

This interview is a bonus to the episode "The Battle and Massacre of Centralia."

Donate to the show?        Paypal.me/MichaelLear5          Venmo:  @Michael-Lear-5

Facebook : smmpodcast     Instagram:  showmemurder     Twitter:  @ShowMeMurder

This interview is a bonus to the episode "The Battle and Massacre of Centralia."

Donate to the show?        Paypal.me/MichaelLear5          Venmo:  @Michael-Lear-5

Facebook : smmpodcast     Instagram:  showmemurder     Twitter:  @ShowMeMurder