Smith's Defense of Justifiable Homicide

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Francis Smith thought he was shooting at a specter when he killed Millwood. It is not against the law to hunt ghosts or attempt to kill them in Britain. The attitude very much of the law in the 18th century was that where there was death, there was someone to blame. Man slaughter because he wasn't trying to actually kill an individual.

In the winter of 1803, residents outside of London reported strange encounters with a ghost. Some said it looked like Napoleon Bonaparte, or a horse without a head. Others said the ghost breathed fire and smoke. By Christmas, there was a “full-scale phantom panic.” Shortly after the New Year, one man decided he’d stop the ghost once and for all.

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