25. An Unscrupulous Prosecutor
The prosecution’s case against Fatty Arbuckle eventually fizzled. It emerged that San Francisco’s District Attorney, an ambitious man with plans to run for California governor, had pressured witnesses into lying. The defense also obtained a letter from the state’s star witness, Virginia Rappe’s friend who had had first leveled accusations of abuse, admitting that she had planned to extort money from Arbuckle.
In the trial, the state produced little credible evidence, and medical experts demonstrated that Rappe’s bladder had been ruptured by an internal inflammation, not by an outside force. The jury deadlocked 10-2 in favor of acquittal, and a mistrial was declared. A second trial again ended in a 10-2 deadlock in favor of a not guilty verdict. At the conclusion of a third trial, the jury took just six minutes to return a unanimous verdict of not guilty. Arbuckle was exonerated, but his reputation and standing never recovered. His public image was destroyed, and so was his career.