Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to your favourite TV show “Law abiding citizen”! Tonight, we will deal with a mysterious case never really solved. On December 1st, 1900, a foul murder was committed near Medford, Mississippi. John Hossack, a prominent farmer, highly respected, was struck over the head and killed by unknown parties, at his home. This murder was one of the most sensational that has occupied the attention of a criminal court for years. So we will see how law can be complicit with gender inequalities. Sandro Lamay, good evening!, you are American law historian. Can you please explain the sequence of events in more detail?

So, Margaret Hossack was arrested on the charge of having murdered her husband. She was brought to Indianola and placed in jail with good reason. She said she did not hear the blows nor see any one and there was no evidence of burglary. Moreover, the murdered man was wealthy and influential and had no enemy in the county so far as known while he had often quarrelled with his wife. So hard not to believe in her guilt...

What are you talking about?! Are you challenging the fairness of the judgement?! Who are you to criticize the American judicial system?! The whole world sings the praises of the American justice, it's an example of democracy, efficiency and neutrality!

But law is law! Admittedly, I have doubts about the total impartiality of this all-male jury: the sentence might have been different if it was a wan who had killed his wife in similar circumstances; but this group of citizens was selected in a regular way! Besides, if the American justice was almost totally monopolized by men and if women were excluded from jury service, it was in part because of women themselves: they fully maintained this discrimination and did not do anything to change that! Most of them felt absolutely unconcerned by fight for justice, parity and sex equality! They simply maintained home and looked after children, nothing else! I tell you