One witness of the boy's arrest said that Clark was not even told he might need the aid of counsil. .
Robinson's trial occurred in a completely different geographic setting than Clark's, though evidence for both cases points to a guilty verdict. All circumstantial evidence pointed to Robinson's guilt. The suspect, who was called "Frank" by Jewitt in the presence of her madam, Rosina Townsend, on the night of the murder and seen with Jewitt the night of the murder, left his signature cloak in the backyard of Mrs. Townsend's house. He also left a bloodied hatchet which was later identified as a hatchet that had gone missing from the place of Robinson's employ. Lime desposits were also discovered on his clothing that may have been from the fence behind Townsend's house. .
Despite the heavy evidence against him, Robinson gained the support of many New Yorkers. The respectable men and women of New York City saw all of this as a representation of the evils of promiscuity, a threat to their morals. Churches held services in support of Robinson and at the same time condemned prostitution. During the first day of the trial, Robinson's supporters forced an adjournment of court. It was as if the city was putting Helen Jewitt on trial for the crime of being brutally murdered. Not only was her memory being disgraced to her friends and family, .
Both the outcomes of these trials have to do heavily with the common societal view of women in the nineteenth century. In Robinson's case this is obvious. In Clark's case, both of the lifestyles of the girls who testified against him, Hannah Downes and Sally Chase, were used against the girls in court to demoralize their characters. The defense brought in witnesses for the sole purpose of testifying against the character of these girls. .
Two such witnesses were boys who accused Downes of being a "loose woman." Later, in the final words of the defense, she is refered to as a "common prostitute.
