Charles Kincaid Trial: 1891 - Kincaid Pleads Self-defense

Because of the publicity, most of the people who were on the panel of potential jurors had already formed an opinion as to Kincaid's guilt or innocence. As a result, only four of the panel's 26 members were accepted by both the defense and prosecution, and another 50 individuals had to be summoned and interviewed before a jury of 12 was finally picked. During the next two weeks, those 12 would hear the testimony of nearly 60 witnesses, some of whom came from as far away as Massachusetts and Louisiana to attend the trial.

Kincaid's lawyers argued that their client acted in self-defense. After Taulbee assaulted and threatened him, the reporter went home upset and frightened, but decided to return to the Capitol to keep an appointment. Before leaving his room, however, Kincaid picked up his revolver for protection. At the Capitol, he met with some other reporters, begged them not to print anything about his latest encounter with Taulbee (some of the earlier incidents apparently were picked up by the press), and then headed down the steps to the basement restaurant for lunch. Kincaid did not realize, however, that Taulbee and another man (Samuel Donaldson) were standing near the bottom of the steps. Once Taulbee saw Kincaid, the former congressman raised his left hand and started to approach. "You're going to kill me," said Kincaid as he backed away. "Stand back." But as the reporter drew his gun, Taulbee merely said, "I'll show you" and continued to march towards Kincaid as his intended victim retreated to the landing on the steps. Once Taulbee was almost within arm's reach, Kincaid was convinced that it was the ex-politician's life or his own, so he fired.

During the trial, eight current and former members of Congress, as well as a number of newspapermen, testified about Taulbee's numerous threats against Kincaid. One said that Taulbee frequently remarked that he ought to kill Kincaid because Kincaid had ruined his and his family's reputation. Another indicated that Taulbee threatened to kick Kincaid's head off if the correspondent ever came within 10 feet of him. A third quoted Taulbee as saying, "He [Kincaid] ought to be killed. By God, I'll kill him." Many of these witnesses warned Kincaid about the threats and this, according to the defense lawyers, contributed to their client's fears for his life.