A Jury Of Her Peers

A Jury Of Her Peers is a short story by American Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, actress, director, novelist, biographer and poet, Susan Glaspell. It was adapted from her one-act play, Trifles written in 1916. When Sheriff Henry Peters and Young George Henderson, the county attorney come to collect Mr Hale for their examination of the murder scene at their neighbours, the Wrights' house, they have Mrs Peters with them, so Mr Hale insists that his wife, Martha comes along to keep Mrs Peters company.

The day before, Mr Hale and his son, Harry had called in to the Wrights on the way to town, and found Mrs Wright, Minnie Foster that was, twenty years before, sitting in the rocker in the kitchen, her husband John hanging by the neck from a beam upstairs in the bedroom. Minnie Wright was to be charged with murder, but the county attorney wanted to go over the scene with Mr Hale.

While the men draw their conclusions based on what they see, and motive is what they are looking for, the women make their own observations, obviously inferior, given their gender. George Henderson is ready to dismiss their contribution as frivolous, but Minnie Wright will be judged, and judges fairly by her peers, in spite of his attitude. A powerful little tale.