Would Lizzie have remained silent?

[Curryong]

Going into the realms of pure speculation here, but IF the finger of suspicion had pointed at, say, Bridget or Uncle John or even some poor mentally ill vagrant who had 'confessed' and there had been an arrest, do you think Lizzie would have held her nerve or gone to the police? Taking into account what we know of her character and whether she was the culprit, of course. If a weak case had gone to trial and a conviction seemed likely, because of anti-Irish prejudice, or whatever would Lizzie's conscience have pricked enough to tell the truth.
In the Constance Kent case, in England in the early 1860's, Constance was convicted of the killing of her toddler half-brother simply because her new-found religious faith impelled her, admittedly years later, to confess. However, the nursemaid in the case, Elizabeth Gough, came under great suspicion and Constance later said that if Elizabeth or anyone else had been arrested she would have given herself up. Would Lizzie Borden have done the same? I think she probably would.

[FactFinder]

Excellent question. Given the little I know about Lizzie's character that is available to us today I'm not sure. She did not seem to want to point the finger at anyone else. I have often wondered why she didn't try to implicate anyone else. I read a book a few years ago about mass murders and serial killers that explained what motivates these types of killers. I don't know if anyone remembers the series of postal shootings that occurred quite some time ago (this is where we derive the phrase going postal) , but these were discussed in the book. The author explained that the killers in these instances were actually selective in their victims. Choosing to walk right past potential victims to hone in on only their intended targets. The ones who had in their minds wronged them somehow. Because they had never had any wish to harm those other people they were spared. One shooter made sure the co worker they got along with was not at work that day.

Would Lizzie have remained silent? I'd like to think she would have come forward and saved someone else from being accused of the crime. But I'm not 100% sure to make a call either way. But it is excellent food for thought.

[Aamartin]

I think she would have tried to exonerate them with some sort of testimony casting doubt.

[PossumPie]

She actually did go out of her way to tell police that Bridget and Uncle Morse could NOT have been involved. IF she were the killer, and IF someone else would have been indited, and it went to trial, I believe she would have made an effort to exonerate theme, but not at the expense of her own freedom. It boils down to psychopathic personality...if she had significant sociopath/psychopathic traits, she wouldn't risk her own freedom, and wouldn't feel much guilt if someone else were found guilty. It takes an awfully noble person to step up and say, "It was me, hang me instead"