| Mary Ellen Legge | |
| |
Mary Ellen Legge, a 24-year-old department store clerk, died June 1, 1938, from a criminal abortion. Otto Lucy, an Oklahoma City psychologist and teacher, was sentenced to 25 years after pleading guilty in her death. A practical nurse, Ella Hartin, admitted to helping Lucy perform the abortion. She said that Lucy had frequently brought his abortion patients to her home. While he was out on bail pending disposition of this case, he performed the fatal aboriton on Goldie Crow. Keep in mind that things that things we take for granted, like antibiotics and blood banks, were still in the future. For more about abortion in this era, see Abortion in the 1930s. For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion
Source: “Lucy Drops Appeal Plan, Starts to Prison”, The Oklahoman, April 14, 1941; “Lucy Murder Trial Set for April 7”, The Oklahoman, March 29, 1941; “Lucy Guildy of Manslaughter; Jury Recommends 25 Years”, The Oklahoman, April 9, 1941; “Prosecutor is Set to Open Otto Lucy Death Trial Monday”, The Oklahoman, April 5, 1941
