The depositional evidence discussed in the previous chapter fed into Edward Morgan's trial at King's Bench which took place in June 1610. However, as with so much else in this case, matters there did not prove straightforward. Just as in the coroner's inquest, allegations were made in the trial court of jury tampering and undue influence by the Morgans. In fact, the Egertons’ concerns about the trial's conduct meant that the prosecution at the king's suit was suspended and was superseded by their own private prosecution of Edward Morgan through the unusual process of an ‘appeal of murder’. This was unsuccessful and by a circuitous route Morgan was eventually found guilty of murder on the original indictment, although he was soon pardoned by King James I.

This chapter examines this complex narrative and the fascinating light it throws onto some of the lesser-known corners of English homicide law and process in this period, including the appeal of murder. It also explores the political connections cultivated by the Morgans to frustrate the prosecution and ultimately secure Edward Morgan's release, as well as the Egertons’ efforts to pull strings of their own to see justice done against John Egerton's killer. One suspects that in any criminal suit involving powerful gentlemen of this period questions of patronage and power were involved, although these are usually too obscure to be traced. Although there remain uncertainties about the nature of the Morgan patronage connections in this case, our evidence nonetheless offers some rare and absorbing insights into the ways in which the application of the law in early modern England came up against the countervailing realities of social and political power and influence.

Our discussion of Edward Morgan's trial begins with a colourful account of the opening of proceedings at King's Bench found in the ‘diary’ of the north Walian lawyer and poet, Robert Parry, a Catholic who was likely known to Edward Morgan(I) . Parry was well connected in north Wales gentry society and included in his diary important national and local events, as well as some instances where those two spheres overlapped, as in Edward Morgan's case.