Can you "with safe conscience" say that these women are guilty? Adelaide Bartlett, Florence Maybrick and the reparation of judicial errors on the threshold of the twentieth century

This article examines two notable British trials which took place in the late Victorian period: the case of Adelaide Blanche Bartlett (1886) and the trial of Florence Elizabeth Maybrick (1889). Both Adelaide and Florence were accused of having committed the murder of their own husbands by administering poison. The comparison between these two causes célèbres focuses on the role performed by three main protagonists of the judicial scene: the defence counsel, the judge and the jury. The trial of Florence Maybrick opens the door to a further comparison between the English judiciary system and the rules enacted by other countries regarding the reparation of judicial errors and the methods of review in criminal cases. As we will see in the second part of the article, on the threshold of the twentieth century, the necessity for criminal appeal was the subject of a passionate debate between traditional rules and innovative reforms.