The Amish Murder Case

donlewis@sccoast.net                          www.mysterywriterdonlewis.com 

In March of 1993, a man named Edward Gingerich became the first Amish person in American history to be charged with murder. The incident occurred in an Amish community in Crawford County, Northwestern Pennsylvania. The case went to trial in March of 1994 and the defendant was represented by an attorney appointed by the court. I was that attorney.

 

On the night of his arrest Ed Gingerich was housed in the Crawford County Jail. The next day I received a call from one of Ed’s “English” friends asking if he and others could hire me to represent Ed. Since they were unable to meet my fee, I declined. Murder cases take a lot of time in preparation, pre-trial matters, and trial.

 Several days later I was approached by Crawford County President Judge P. Richard Thomas who asked if I would be willing to take the case as court-appointed counsel. It would pay less than what the prior caller offered, but when a favor is asked of you by the president judge of the county it’s a good idea to comply.

On Monday, March 21^st, 1994, the case of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. Edward Gingerich went to trial in the Crawford County Courthouse.

Relying on the “Insanity Defense,” an affirmative defense, I had the burden of proving by a preponderance of evidence that at the time of the commission of the homicide, my client was unable to understand the nature and quality of his actions or could not distinguish between right and wrong. Therefore, the sole issue in the case was Ed’s mental condition at the time of the killing. The fact that Ed had caused the death of his wife was not at issue. He killed her. The only question to be decided at the trial was Ed’s mental condition at the time.

As the trial proceeded, a total of 21 witnesses took the stand, only seven of whom were prosecution witnesses. As the attorney for the defendant, among other witnesses, I called to the stand two psychiatrists, a toxicologist, and a psychologist. The prosecution offered no witnesses to contradict the defense.

Following the jury’s deliberation, Gingerich was found “Not Guilty” of murder in the first and third degree, and voluntary manslaughter, all felonies.  He was found “Guilty” of involuntary manslaughter, a misdemeanor and was sentenced to the maximum sentence allowed by law, 2 ½ to 5 years confinement.

In late January 2013, I received a call from a woman representing a production company which had contracted with the Identification Discovery Network (ID network) to do a program on the Gingerich case. I was asked to go to New York City for an on-camera interview regarding my participation in that trial. I agreed, and on Sunday, February 3^rd, the interview took place in an office in Manhattan.

 

I asked what the interviewer would expect of me and was told that she had prepared a number of questions and that I should answer them as well as I was able.

 

I found myself in a strange situation; not because of the subject matter or the questions, but rather the manner in which the interview was to be conducted. I sat in a chair across from the interviewer, Ruth, but we weren’t facing each other.

 

Between us and to the side there was a monitor about the size of a 30” TV screen. The two of us and the screen formed a triangle. Looking into it I could see only Ruth, and she could see only me. I still don’t know how that works. It was strange hearing the questions come from one direction and seeing the speaker in another.

 There were times during the interview when I turned toward Ruth rather than her image on the screen. Oops.

“Mr. Lewis,” the technician said on those occasions, “please face the monitor and not Ruth when you answer.”

“Yes sir,” I replied, each time.

Although the program will be only an hour long, my interview lasted for 2 ½ hours, so I don’t know what will be edited out. When it was over, Ruth asked me if there was anything I wanted to see in New York. I had been to New York on other occasions and had seen all of the main attractions, so I said, “Yes, I’d like to go to Lombardi’s Pizza,” supposedly the number one pizza shop in the whole country. Ruth laughed and said she thought that could be arranged, and thirty minutes later I was there eating pizza. It was okay but, “the best pizza shop” in the US? I don’t think so. We have several shops right here in Myrtle Beach I think are a lot better. But I am glad I had the chance to go there. I would always have wondered.

The production company was first class all the way. They flew me up on direct flights from Myrtle Beach to LaGuardia and back, picked me up in a limousine, took me to a nice hotel, and paid for my food. They didn’t offer to pay a fee and I didn’t ask. I requested only that they ask me what I have been doing since I retired from my criminal law practice. They did and my response was that I have been writing crime/mystery novels with four published to date. If your name isn’t James Patterson or John Grisham you need every bump you can get.

They told me that the show would be aired on the ID network sometime in late spring or early summer. If you happen to watch it and haven’t seen me for some time, don’t be alarmed by my appearance. They made me gain 50 pounds and dye my hair white for the interview. 

 donlewis@sccoast.net                www.mysterywriterdonlewis.com