Year 11 History - Trial of Al Capone

Students in Year 11 History participated in a mock trial of well-known 1920s American gangster Al Capone yesterday.

The mock trial was a fun way to give students insight to the illegal selling and making of alcohol and corruption of the 1920s, develop their argumentative skills and analyse evidence.

Students wore props such as a judge’s wig, feather boas, gangster and police hats.

The jurors, Francis, Nul, Fane, Mirna, Lee, Paris and Mary, had a serious role, taking notes of the evidence and analysing the truth in detail. Our honest Judge, Mikayla, had a difficult role with Al Capone (played by me) as he kept interrupting and saying he was an ‘honest businessman’.

The witness Liz Jefferson, played by Sarah, jumped in with a superb American accent and testified against Al Capone. The other two witnesses, Chuck Daniels, played by Isabella, and Don Rodgers, played by Ysabelle, quickly embellished their stories and testified that they had ‘not seen’ any of the murders taking place on Valentine’s Day.

The defence lawyer, played by Miriam, challenged Liz Jefferies on her ‘eyesight’ with regard to the murder. Finally, the Prosecutor, Montana, was fully prepared to do battle with Capone and presented sophisticated arguments to the Judge and jurors seeking a guilty verdict.

But alas, the jurors struggled to reach an agreement and felt that they needed more time to decide if Al Capone was ‘guilty or not’.

Faye Quinn

History teacher