Justice Robert Sullivan and the Webster case (1971)

Sullivan in The Disappearance of Dr. Parkman(Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1971) argues that "the verdict not only was unwarranted, but appears to have been unduly guided by the judge's charge to the jury." (D. W. Harrison, Library Journal, August, 1971, 96:2533)

Sullivan thought Littlefield's testimony was particularly weak and could not understand why the defense counsel would not take direction from Webster's 190+ pages of notes.

...it would seem that even the most inexpert cross-examiner should have stressed the two glaring weaknesses in Littlefield's testimony: that Littlefield lived and worked almost twent-four hours a day in the building in rooms exactly contiguous to, and a few feet from where the human parts were discovered, and that Littlefield said he was attempting to search Webster's rooms as early as Friday -- before the disappearance of Parkman was known at all -- and he suspected and accused Webster of murder on Sunday, November 25, five days before the remains were "discovered" and when no one, including Parkman's own family, thought Parkman was dead. (pp. 163-164).

According to Sullivan (a Massachusetts Supreme Court Justice), even Clifford, the Attorney General, had his doubts during the trial:

What chance had Littlefield to do the deed Friday? Heat on wall, high as his [Littlefield's] face -- yet when he went in he found fire down -- how could this be?

Why in searching Webster's privy he didn't go through the door and down through the privy instead of breaking the wall? (p. 165).

Sullivan suggests that there is evidence to support the argument that Putnam's account of the confession was a hoax (p. 194).

Clifford and Putnam were close during the trial and Putnam offered advice on how to gain a conviction! (p. 194) There is even circumstantial evidence to link George Parkman's son (a lawyer) with Bemis and Clifford in some sort of scheme to elicit a confession (p. 196). The surviving correspondence even suggests that the idea of the blow from a piece of grapevine may have come from the Geroge Parkman (p. 198). Putnam and the young George Parkman even argue about the picture of the slain man painted by Putnam which makes it clear that Putnam had contributed a great deal to the 'confession.' (p. 199). Young George later denied that there ever was any letter sent by Webster to Francis Parkman. (pp. 199-200).

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