Latest / Minor Mischief Podcast / The Harrowing Tale of Hannah Ocuish
Transcript
- Kiki George: What happens when a 12-year-old girl with a taste for revenge takes matters into her own hands? This is the Minor Mischief Podcast and this is the harrowing tale of Hannah Akuish. Welcome back. Welcome back to another episode of the Minor Mischief Podcast, a true crime podcast where we talk about the crimes of young people. I'm your host and Home Girl for the time being, Mrs. Kiana Amir, and thank you for hanging out with me. So just so y'all know, this is Minor Mischief's 30th episode and is almost our first anniversary. Yes, I know. That's right. That's right. I know. I know. Like how has it been this much time? How has it been this much time? I'm super excited. I'm even more than I'm excited, I am thankful. Because as someone who picks up a thing and puts it down and picks up a thing and puts it down and picks up a thing and puts it down, for me to still be here a year later is like is growth. Is growth. So I'm just hoping and praying that going forward, you know, I continue to show up for you guys, but also for myself. And that this podcast grows and really does what I set out for it to do, right? Without further ado, though, let's get into today's story. So for today's story, we are taking one giant, and I mean giant leap back in time to the year 1786 to the city New London, Connecticut. In Connecticut, we meet Miss Hannah Akuish, who is our mischief maker. And Miss Eunice Bowles, who is the star of our show, but also unfortunately our victim. In order to do this story justice, I wanted to paint a picture of what was happening in New London, Connecticut at the time and what it was like. so New London, Connecticut is actually a coastal town that today serves as a major seaport for the area, making it a hub for fishing, shipping, and trade. In 1786, America was still a baby country as it was founded in 1776. So America was just 10 years old. And New London was quite different at the time. Also, put a finger down if you did not realize that Connecticut was on the coast. I just knew that it was west of Rhode Island. I just did not realize that it touched water. Don't judge me. I'm not as stupid as I sound sometimes, but sometimes I'm like looking up stuff for these cases and I'm like, girl, do you know anything at all, right? But in 1786, New London was still recovering from the devastation it faced during the American Revolution. Specifically, being burned down by British forces under Benedict Arnold. I feel like the history majors are gonna chew me up for that one. But that's my synopsis on the matter. I don't know too much. I don't know too much. I just know that Benedict Arnold was in the American I guess, you know, I'm not even about to go further. Hannah Akuish was born in March seventeen seventy four in Groton, Connecticut. Her mother was Native American of the Piquo tribe and her father, well, nobody knew who he was. A lot of people thought Hannah's father to be a black man because of her features, often calling her a little mulatto girl. Hannah did have at least one older brother who was about two years older than her. Now, if you think that Hannah being born in 1776 made her life slightly less stressful than the kids of today's day and age, you would be misinformed and you would be wrong. Hannah's mother was described as a horrendous drunk. She would do things like drop Hannah off with random people. She was just like, hey, can you watch my baby for a little bit? I'll be right back. And then not come back for months later. When Hannah was six years old, she and her older brother attacked a young lady, beating her and robbing her of her clothes and necklace. They were brought up on charges. They were split up. The brother was sent to one house to work as an indentured slave for them, and Hannah was sent to the house of a widow named Mrs. Rogers to work as an indentured slave for her. Hannah worked for misses Rogers picking strawberries and other vegetation on the family's ninety six acre land and She also did a lot of tasks around the house, you know, washing clothes, making sure the floors were swept and mopped, making sure it was clean. I don't know if she did any food prep work, but they said, you know, she was basically an indentured slave for Mrs. Rogers doing all of the housework, all of the outside work. I am unsure if there were other slaves at the Rogers residence, as the research only mentioned Hannah. Now Hannah's upbringing was a little different from the other children, well, from the white children in the area. Let's just call a thing a thing. So while Hannah spent her days hard at work in the fields and hard at work in the house, the white children of the area they went to school. They played outside. They made friends. They had a very normal childhood. And so for Hannah, she would be like picking strawberries. She would be doing these things and having to watch the other neighborhood children play. or do some classwork or talk about what they learned at school. And she so desperately wanted that for herself, but also understanding that she would never get it. Because in addition to being a mulatto girl, Hannah had a learning disability. Now, there's not really a lot of information on the extent of her disability or what it would be in present time, but that also was another notch against her and her educational wants and really needs. So now it's June 1786, and during the summer, Hannah was tasked with picking strawberries. So she is out, she's picking a couple strawberries and pocketing a couple strawberries. She's picking a couple strawberries and pocketing a couple strawberries. And so the little girl from down the street, her name is Miss Eunice Bowles, she sees Hannah. Eunice Bowles was born in January 1780 to her father, James Bowles, and her mother, who was also named Eunice Bowles. Like Hannah, very little is known about Eunice's childhood. But she was said to be the only daughter of a wealthy landowner and she loved books. She just couldn't read yet. But she loved to hold them and feel the pages and stare at the words on the pages and like run her fingers across the words. She was very much here for all things literature. So Eunice on this day in June 1786, she sees Hannah picking and pocketing strawberries and she's just like, Hey, Hannah, can I have some of your strawberries that you put in your pocket? And Hannah's looking at her like, girl, no. Like you have access to this just as anyone else does. If you go to Miss Rogers, she'll give you some, no problem. If I go to Miss Rogers, I'm not getting any. So please respectfully no. So Eunice at this point, she's hot. She's like, she is hot. She's boiling over because what we do know about Eunice's childhood is that Eunice was a little spoiled. She was a little Angelica pickles. A little what's yours is mine and what's mine is mine. And so she crossed her arms and she storms back into her house. So she gets back home and you know, she's huffing and puffing and getting ready to blow the house down. And her parents are just like, you know, sweetheart, what's going on? And she's just like, Well, I went out to the field to get some strawberries and Hannah bullied me and put some in her pocket. And so the bowls, they march over to Mrs. Rogers and they ask Hannah, they're just like, Hey, were you putting strawberries in your pocket? And did you, you know, bully Eunice and tell her she couldn't have any? And so Hannah's like, no, I would never do that, ma'am. Like, I I only do my job, I keep to myself, I mind my business. But what are her words against sweet and innocent Eunice Bowles? So the adults, they decide, like, you know what, Hannah, we believe Eunice that you did this. And so they grab some twigs and they whip Hannah with the twigs, one lash for every strawberry that she stole, charging her for things that God gave her for free. Sorry, that's what it reminded me of when Orlando Brown was talking about the apples, like ch you charging me for apples, for grapes, things that God gave me for free? Lives rent-free in my head, I swear. So over the next six weeks, Hannah resumed her normal work around the house and in the fields, and Eunice went back to being, well, Eunice. Eunice figured what happened, happened, whatever will be will be, and everyone had just kind of moved forward. Hannah, however, She wanted Eunice to pay. She wanted Eunice to pay big time. And the longer time went on without something happening to Eunice for what she had done to her for getting her in trouble, the more upset Hannah became, allegedly. So Hannah waited and she waited and she waited until July 21st, 1786, a beautiful summer day, when Hannah sees Eunice skipping down the road and she seizes this opportunity to talk to Eunice. You know, let's just have a little chat. About what happened to me six weeks ago. So allegedly, Hannah's walking behind Eunice and she's following her for a little bit and she calls over to Eunice and she's like, Hey, do you want to see this pretty scarf that I made for the winter? I use calico fabric and everything. And Eunice, excited because she's a six-year-old girl, she's just like, that is pretty. And when Eunice gets close enough to Hannah, she pulls her over to a secluded area and beats her with a rock. At 9 a.m., a group traveling through New London spots what they believe to be a broken doll laying next to a stone wall. So they go closer because they're just like, well, that's a very odd sight. Why would this random doll be sitting here? And so they go closer and they're just like, that's not a doll, that's a little girl. And that little girl was Eunice Balls. Eunice was found under a pile of rocks in an obviously staged scene. Basically, it was meant to look as if the stone wall fell over on top of her. However, there were obvious scratch marks and gouges on her body. Additionally, Eunice's arm and back were broken inconsistent with the pattern on how the wall would have fallen. So the group that's traveling, they alert nearby residents like, hey, there's been a horrible accident. And they informed the deputies and the investigation into Eunice's death begins. So first, you know, because of this day and age, the residents begin questioning each other. So they're talking to each other, they're just like, where were you on this day and time? Because they're trying to figure out what exactly happened to Eunice. And so they question everyone and everyone's story seems to check out except for little Hannah's. And so they alert the deputies like, hey, everyone else was cool. Keep an eye on that one over there if you don't mind. So then the deputies go in and they question Hannah. And so she informs the deputy that she was out doing chores and she saw four boys approach Eunice near the stone wall. She said she went inside because this ain't my business. My name is Bennett. I ain't in it. And then when she went inside as she was finishing her chore, she heard a loud bang. But she didn't think anything of it until the people started questioning her. So they thank Hannah for her statement and they go to work trying to find the four boys that Eunice mentioned when they realize, you know, we don't really have a good description of the boys. Nighttime had fallen by now, and so they were just like, all right, tomorrow we're gonna go back out. We're gonna ask Hannah some more questions because that's actually really strange. So they go back the next day and they start questioning Hannah some more. And they're just like, Can you give me a description? Like, what were the boys wearing? What did they look like? Who were they? Did you recognize them? And Hannah's just like, No, I don't recognize them. Now, mind you, everybody knows everybody, right? And so they're just like, mm, for you to not even notice these people is a little strange, a little odd. But you know, maybe there's nothing to it. Suspicious? Maybe, maybe not. So they head back down to the jail to think, think, think. When one of them comes up with an idea, he's just like, Listen, why don't we take that o'coish girl to go see Eunice? So the next day they pick up Hannah and they say, Let's go on a bit of a journey, shall we? We shall. So they take Hannah over to the balls residence to see Eunice's body because as we mentioned last week, I guess back in the day. It was completely customary for the body to be laid out for viewing at the home where they lived, which I could never like I would not get in a wink of sleep, a wink of sleep I could not get in that house. So they head over to the ball's house and they take Hannah inside and they're just like, look, look at Eunice, like, look how she looks. And Hannah at that point breaks down. She is crying and screaming, and this is at the point that she allegedly confessed everything. She, allegedly, like I said, told the deputies that she saw Eunice walking along the road alone and took the opportunity to bludgeon her. She then took pieces off of the stone wall and placed them on top of Eunice's body to give the illusion that the wall broke and squished her. When news of her murder got out, an article was published in the Connecticut Current that read, quote, About nine o'clock Friday morning last, A daughter of Mr. James Balls of this town, aged six years and six months, was found murdered and lying in the Norwich Road. Between two and three miles from this city, the head and body were mangled in a shocking manner, the back and one arm broken, and a number of heavy stones placed on the body, arms, and legs. The perpetrator of this horrid crime was the next day discovered to be an Indian girl that lived with Mrs. Rogers, widow of Mr. Ichabod Rogers. Aged only twelve years and four months, who had been heard to threaten the above child with chastisement for a supposed injury done to her about six weeks before the murder. The child was on its way to school when discovered by the Indian girl, who followed her about twenty rods from her mistress's house to perform the shocking deed. She is committed to Gale for trial in September next. Unquote. Hannah was charged with first degree murder and held in a tiny cell inside the local jail in the center of town. She mentioned that her time in jail was peaceful. She was alone to make up stories about the passers by in her imagination. From her cell she could see the outside world and the outside world could see her. Some of the local children would even come up to her cell to play with her in between the bars. She remained in this tiny cell until she was arraigned in October 1786, at which time she entered a not guilty plea and the decision was made to try her as an adult. At the time, there was not a clear judicial system to override this decision. Hannah's trial began the same month under the presiding judge Richard Law. Hannah was provided with defense counsel, though I could not find the name of who represented her during her trial. During her trial, can Hannah was said to be calm and she was said to be pretty unfazed and she was said to just kind of be laid back and chill. Although there wasn't much said in her defense. Her trial, they basically railroaded Baby Girl the whole time. They were just like, look at this little mulatto girl who killed this precious little white angel. Like literally, I kid you not, that's what it was like. And it was basically just swaying the jewelry that she, you know, being half black, committed such a horrible crime and should pay for what she had done. And so they spent days on this going over the crime, saying Hannah was a horrible person. And the whole time Hannah sitting there just like with this kind of blank stare. She's not really, she's kind of in a daze, I feel like. And in my opinion, I felt like she kind of went into her imagination because that's what kids do. When kids are in hard situations, most of the time, they resort to what they know to get out of it because they're not like us. They can't really fight their way out. But what they can do is enter their imagination. That's why a lot of people that have been through trauma as children don't have memories of a lot of what they went through because they blocked it out. To find peace in their minds so that they can continue on. So after the defense and the prosecution rested, the jury was sent to deliberate. I'm not exactly sure the amount of time that they were out, but the report said that it was a very quick deliberation. Like they were wham bam, thank you, ma'am. And they came back and they found Hannah guilty. Because of Hannah's disability, many questioned whether or not she was even fit to stand trial. But a judge saw value in using her conviction to send a message to the local community. The magistrate sentenced Hannah to death, justifying his decision by telling her, quote, the sparing of you on account of your age would be of dangerous consequence to the public by holding up an idea that children might commit such atrocious crimes with impunity. End quote. With those words, he sentenced her to death by hanging. Hannah returned to her cell where she was visited frequently by Reverend Henry Channing, who would come and talk to her and pray with her and just really be a support for her because she had no one else. He mentioned that in the months leading up to her execution, Hannah seemed very calm and very unfazed by what was happening in her life. And he would try to explain to her, like, sweetheart, do you understand the severity of what you're going through? And she would just, Yeah. Are you okay, Hannah? Yeah, no, no. I'm it's it's cool, it's cool. Like, you know, Hannah, you know that. You've been sentenced to death. Like you are going to die about this. I know. Are you sure you understand the ramifications of what you're going through? Yeah, I told you I'm fine. Do you want to talk about it? No. Do you want to pray? yeah, we can pray. And that's how their meetings went. On December twentieth, 1786, residents gathered in the middle of town to witness Hannah's very public execution. And to the people that went to this, I'm like, were y'all cool? Like What I don't understand. And maybe, you know, someone can help me be like, well, maybe they wanted to advocate for her. But it just made it seem like this very public spectacle where they were just like, let's go watch the Indian and black girl get h you know get hanged today, you know? And to that I'm just like, at the end of the day, regardless of what you thought about her, she is still a child. That's somebody's baby. You know, she doesn't even probably understand what she's going through and you guys are taking it and making it fun. And I just don't understand that type of behavior. So I just don't get it. Just before her hanging, Reverend Henry Channing delivered a lengthy execution sermon that was later published and distributed. An excerpt of the sermon read, For this day I say, brethren, the time is short. What thou doest Do it quickly. In a word, therefore, this passage was delivered by the prophet in the name of the Lord, at a time when Judah had almost filled up the measure of her iniquities and exhausted the patience of her God. In the verse preceding our text we have her character, as a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness. Violence and spoil is heard in her. Before me continually is grief and wounds. Then follows in our text. In which we behold the mercy and compassion of her God. Though he had sent onto them all his servants, the prophets, saying, Obey my voice and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people, but they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and imaginations of their evil heart. God at length wearied with their gosh, this word about to tear me up. In corb incorrigibleness, incorrigibleness. incorrigibleness is about to pour, cut upon them the fury of his just indignation. Yet, how shall I give thee up Ephraim? Mercy interposeth and tenderly persuades. Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart, or as the original more strongly expresses it, be disjointed from thee. We hasten to apply this passage to the present occasion, in doing which Let us I attend particularly to the instruction which God in righteous judgment in this day calling us to receive. Consider the argument by which attention to this instruction is here enforced, lest my soul depart from thee. Know how I feel about that. I don't know how I feel about that. Like, yes, it came from the Bible, but was this the right scripture to use for this occasion? It almost in a way to me was like justifying what they were getting ready to do to Hannah. And I'm like, she's still a child. The is God takes care of fools and babies in the Bible. I know it says he don't play about children. Like many verses says he don't play about children. Scripture views children as a heritage and a blessing. So I'm just like, I don't think that really applied personally. But what do I know? I'm not a reverend. Hannah at this point was like, this is when I think the severity of her situation really just came tumbling down on her as he was praying over her and as she was being brought up, you know, to the gallows. They said she was just completely like besides herself, just looking out to the crowd. And I'm not gonna get too graphic here, but she was just looking out to the crowd, like looking like. Help me. Like you guys see what they're doing to me. Help me, help me. And it's like those those cries kind of fell on deaf ears because they allowed it. They allowed this to happen to her. Hannah was hanged before a crowd of onlookers behind the New London meeting house. She remains the youngest person to ever be executed in America and the last female executed in the state of Connecticut, even now, over two hundred years later. The only evidence brought against Hannah was her alleged confession. There were no witnesses to corroborate Hannah's guilt in the crime. Which brings me to where are they now? Hannah's body continues to lay resting at the Ledyard County Cemetery in Ledyard, Connecticut. Hannah's case and subsequent death inspired the 1786 text Condemned: how American Justice Was Built on the Punishment of Black Children by Reverend Henry Channing, the same Reverend that was visiting her and delivered the sermon prior to her execution. He decided to use her story for good and to really bring awareness on how the justice system or the lack thereof. really viewed black children differently. They viewed black children as basically criminals. Like whatever they said you did, you did it. And unfortunately, 250 years later, nothing has changed. But you know, it was a great think piece. And that's where a lot of the information in today's story came from. In twenty twenty three, writer Jessica Seuss took a closer look at Hannah's case and pointed out several details that raise reasonable doubt about her guilt. And one of the biggest problems was her confession. Because Hannah supposedly confessed to killing Eunice, but there are reasons to question just how reliable that confession really was. And if she even said it, because the only people that heard her say it were the deputies. And they also brought up the fact like, she was crying when she saw Eunice's body. Yes, she is a child. She is twelve years old. If I take my twelve year old, God forbid, to see the body of someone she knew. She's gonna burst into tears too. She's gonna like be besides herself. I'm just saying. Like I mentioned earlier, while Hannah was being held held in jail, she was visited by Reverend Henry Channing often and very often. Yet according to Jessica Seuss, she never repeated that confession to him. Like he never said that, I heard Hannah confess. He actually said quite the opposite. Like, she's never talked to me about it. And when you're talking about a twelve year old child facing an accusation this serious, that matters because it's like if she would trust the deputies to say, Yes, I did this horror thing, take me away and lock me up, why would she not tell someone that she had grown to have a relationship with? Why would she not tell an adult that she had grown to trust, like, I did this horrible thing and I'm asking for forgiveness, especially being that he represented the church, you know? Then There's the way that Hannah was portrayed as violent and dangerous. Like, yes, her and her brother, you know, did allegedly beat that other girl down and stole from her. But prior to the murder, Hannah had spent six years working for Mrs. Rogers, and Mrs. Rogers said she was like an angel. Like she did not get out of line. She did her chores. She did what she was supposed to do. Now there is also the possibility that she was afraid of getting whipped if she didn't do what she was supposed to do. But Mrs. Rogers was an elderly lady and her husband had already passed on, so it's like the odds of her getting whipped by Miss Rogers alone was very slim. During all that time, there was no history or complaints about Hannah being violent while she stayed at Mrs. Rogers' house. So the picture of this supposedly dangerous child that was capable of committing such a brutal and just gory murder, it doesn't necessarily line up with the Hannah that historians know. It doesn't line up with the Hannah that Mrs. Rogers knew, and it doesn't line up with the Hannah that Reverend Channing knew. Then there's the motive. Hannah was not formally punished for stealing the fruit. So she didn't serve any time in jail, which would have been appropriate for theft at that time. Like she could have very well be hung for the theft, but they allegedly whipped her and just kind of let bygones be bygones, which is very it just doesn't line up with the way that the system worked at the time. And Why would she then go and commit an even more heinous crime than the first crime if she had technically already gotten away with the first one? Like, yes, she did get whipped. But I'm gonna say this and like I'm not this is not me advocating for beatings or anything like that. But I just remember when I was a kid and I used to get in trouble. And it was either I would go on punishment or my mother was gonna give me a whooping. And I used to take that whooping for ten thousand every time, Alex, because I knew that after the whooping was done. It was done. That was it. That was my consequence. So it was just to me, I was like, Am I gonna take a few minutes of this or am I gonna take however long of actual punishment? And I was like, give me the whooping every time because I could count down to when it'll be over, then I can go about and live my life. Granted, I never been whipped with a twig. I've never been whipped with a switch. I've never I've like belt and shoes because my mom's Caribbean, but there was that one time she beat me with a fan, and I'm gonna tell that story later. But Yeah, it just didn't seem consistent with it just didn't make sense is what Jessica Seuss was basically saying. There's also the claim that Hannah used a piece of calico fabric to lure Eunice somewhere in private. And it was said that Eunice and Hannah avoided each other after the strawberry incident and that Eunice was afraid of Hannah. So she just kind of didn't want to be near her. And so why would this be the day that she's just like, Okay, yeah, I'll follow you to the secluded area, even though I know or even though in my mind You're a dangerous individual. None of what I mentioned above proved that Hannah was innocent, but it just shows how many unanswered questions surround this case and how much reasonable doubt there is in this particular case. Jessica Seutz ultimately raised an even darker possibility that Hannah's execution may have had as much to do with the racism of the time than it is to proving she actually committed the murder, because it's like, Okay, yes, there was this horrible murder that happened to this child, but we have a scapegoat. Here's this little mulatto girl that she had beef with. She like, let's just lock her up and throw away the key. And I mean that tracks, I'm gonna be completely honest, because let's even think back to the George Stinney story that we did during Black History Month. And even though nothing pointed to him, they were just like, you know what? You're good enough. Come on. You're getting charged with this because he was black. And so, you know, during that time, and even some today. Black people were it's like, yeah, are you are you being looked at for this? You had to have done it. And it's just it's just sad because like how mentally ill do you have to be to judge somebody by the color of their skin? We can't help it. We did not say, Okay, God, send me to earth and make me black, please. I mean, I would. I would if I had a choice. But I didn't have a choice. I didn't know where like know what family I was gonna be hatched into. So for people to like actively hate me, and I know this story is not about me, but I had a situation happen recently where this lady was just so nasty to me. And I knew it was simply because I was black. Because I really hadn't done anything to her. I mean she she didn't get loud because she wasn't stupid, but she was like very nasty to me. And I was just so I'm like like what like I have been respectful. I have been accommodating, but you have sat here and been nasty to me. And I don't work in public service. I was at the store and this lady was just being nasty to me. And she's lucky I'm going through enough in my own life or else I would have cussed the ass out. But I was just like, let me remove myself from the situation because I will go to jail. Cause I have that right. But I knew they would have probably thrown the book at me. So what we do know is that Hannah was a poor, indigenous child. living in eighteenth century Connecticut, facing an unjust justice system where the protections we expect for children today simply did not exist. And that brings me to my final thoughts. And I feel like I got into my final thoughts a lot during the Where Are They Now because when I read that piece by Jessica Seuss, I was like like I knew that her treatment was because she was black, but it further confirmed that her treatment was because she was a black child. And Not only was she black, but she was also Native American. Like, even in the newspaper articles, they were like, Yeah, that Indian and black girl, that Indian and black girl. I'm like, okay, like, why are we so honing in on and stop calling her an Indian. She's not from India, you know? So it's just like Very telling sign of the times that she lived in. And very telling of how young black children and young Native American children were treated during that time. And I'm just like, child, this was their country. Like they Native Americans were here before you. So how are you gonna come and treat her less than when she's actually native to the land? It boggles my mind, I swear, but this is not about me. If you enjoyed today's episode, please write a review, leave a comment, case suggestions, want to chat, want a kiki, send me an email, minor mischiefpodcast at gmail.com. Follow me on TikTok, Minor MischiefPod, on Instagram, Minor Mischief Podcast. And I think those are all the announcements for today. R.I.P. to Hannah and RIP to Eunice. They were both very young children, and neither of them deserved the fate that they ultimately met. So I'll see you next week and until next time, stay mischievous, friends.