1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:04,760 Speaker 1: You are listening to History on Trial, a production of 2 00:00:04,840 --> 00:00:12,559 Speaker 1: iHeart Podcasts. Listener discretion advised. In the summer of eighteen 3 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:18,720 Speaker 1: eighty one, Wyatt Irp lawmen approached Ike Clanton outlaw with 4 00:00:18,840 --> 00:00:24,560 Speaker 1: a proposition. This was highly unusual. Ike Clanton was affiliated 5 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:28,320 Speaker 1: with the Cowboys, a group of cattle wrestlers and stagecoach 6 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:32,360 Speaker 1: robbers who operated in the dusty reaches of southeastern Arizona. 7 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 1: Wyatt Ierp, on the other hand, was a former Pima 8 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:40,720 Speaker 1: County deputy sheriff. His brother, Virgil, was city marshall for Tombstone, 9 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:44,839 Speaker 1: the mining boomtown situated in the heart of Cowboy country. 10 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:50,000 Speaker 1: The ERPs were sworn enemies of the Cowboys. So what 11 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 1: did Wyatt want with Ike? As Wyatt would later explain it, 12 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 1: he thought Ike could help make him sheriff. Earlier that year, too, 13 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 1: Ummestone had split off from Pima County to become the 14 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:06,320 Speaker 1: seat of the newly formed Coachees County. Wyatt had hoped 15 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:09,479 Speaker 1: to be appointed sheriff of Cochees County, but that honor 16 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:13,479 Speaker 1: had gone to Johnny Beehn instead. Bee Hann was thought 17 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:17,200 Speaker 1: to be sympathetic to the Cowboys. Many in Tombstone were 18 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:21,120 Speaker 1: for various reasons, but having a sheriff with connections to 19 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:26,240 Speaker 1: outlaws seemed wrong to many other Tombstoners, including Wyatt Earp. 20 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 1: Since there would be a real election held for the 21 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:33,920 Speaker 1: sheriff position soon enough, Wyatt decided to run. He had 22 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:38,080 Speaker 1: an unorthodox campaign strategy. A few months earlier, in March 23 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: of eighteen eighty one, a stagecoach carrying a Wells Bargo 24 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:44,720 Speaker 1: money box was attacked by a group of bandits outside 25 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:47,920 Speaker 1: of Tombstone. In the course of the attempted robbery, the 26 00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:52,600 Speaker 1: stagecoach driver and a passenger were killed. Wyatt and Virgil 27 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:55,200 Speaker 1: Earp had tracked down one of the robbers, a man 28 00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:59,800 Speaker 1: named Luther King. King, in turn had identified his accomplices 29 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:06,800 Speaker 1: William Leonard, Harry Head and James Crane, all known cowboy affiliates. 30 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:10,239 Speaker 1: The RT Posse turned the King over to Sheriff be 31 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 1: Hand so they could pursue the missing men, but they 32 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 1: never found Leonard, Head or Crane. Soon after, King managed 33 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 1: to escape custody. The circumstances of his escape were very suspect. 34 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:27,440 Speaker 1: One of Behan's deputies left the prisoner unattended with the 35 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:31,040 Speaker 1: door unlocked, allowing King to slip out and mount the 36 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:34,680 Speaker 1: fresh horse that had very conveniently been left behind the jail. 37 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 1: Many Tombstoners suspected that Behan had looked the other way, 38 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:43,680 Speaker 1: or maybe had even helped. King George Parsons, a Tombstone resident, 39 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:47,799 Speaker 1: wrote in his diary quote, some of our officials should 40 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:52,640 Speaker 1: be hanged. They're a bad lot. Wyatt wanted to play 41 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:55,400 Speaker 1: off these bad feelings in his own campaign for sheriff. 42 00:02:55,919 --> 00:02:58,320 Speaker 1: And wouldn't it be even better if he managed to 43 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: capture the missing robbers life head and crane too. That 44 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:06,799 Speaker 1: would show just how useless Beehn was. But to do that, 45 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:10,840 Speaker 1: Whyatt needed intel on the cowboys, and where better to 46 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:15,240 Speaker 1: get that intel than from another cowboy. Ike Clanton came 47 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:18,320 Speaker 1: from a cowboy family. His little brother Billy and his 48 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:22,160 Speaker 1: father Newman, who everyone called Old Man, took part in 49 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:25,280 Speaker 1: cowboy raids. Two. Ike might know where to find the 50 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:28,840 Speaker 1: missing robbers, So Whyatt came to him with an idea. 51 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:33,080 Speaker 1: Wells Fargo was offering a five thousand dollars reward for 52 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 1: the robbers capture. If Ike helped him find the men, 53 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:41,200 Speaker 1: Wyatt said he'd give Ike the reward money, Ike demonstrating 54 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:44,600 Speaker 1: that there's no honor amongst cowboys. Had just one question. 55 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:47,840 Speaker 1: Was the reward only good if the men were captured? 56 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: What if they were killed? Wyatt telegraphed the Wells Fargo 57 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:55,520 Speaker 1: office to ask dead or alive. Wells Faro confirmed, so 58 00:03:55,720 --> 00:04:00,360 Speaker 1: Ike and Wyatt struck a deal. Unfortunately for Wyatt's campaign 59 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:04,760 Speaker 1: ambitions and Ike's financial dreams, Leonard, Head and Crane all 60 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:08,160 Speaker 1: soon died in unrelated gun battles, but the deal the 61 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:11,960 Speaker 1: two men had struck that summer would only months later 62 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:15,680 Speaker 1: lead them both to a dusty lot behind the Ok Corral, 63 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:20,039 Speaker 1: where an escalating IRP cowboy conflict erupted into one of 64 00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 1: the wild West's most infamous gunfights. The twenty sixth of 65 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:29,960 Speaker 1: October eighteen eighty one, wrote reporter Richard Rule in the 66 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:34,080 Speaker 1: Tombstone Daily Nugget. The next day will always be marked 67 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:37,840 Speaker 1: as one of the crimson days in the annals of Tombstone, 68 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:42,360 Speaker 1: A day when blood flowed as water and human life 69 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:45,880 Speaker 1: was held as a shuttlecock. A day always to be 70 00:04:45,960 --> 00:04:50,040 Speaker 1: remembered as witnessing the bloodiest and deadliest street fight that 71 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:54,760 Speaker 1: has ever occurred in this place, or probably in the territories. 72 00:04:56,120 --> 00:04:59,880 Speaker 1: Rule was right, we remember the gunfight at the Oka, CA. 73 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:05,840 Speaker 1: We can picture it, the long black coats, the drooping mustaches, 74 00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:10,680 Speaker 1: the fingers resting on triggers. The gunfight at the OK 75 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:14,240 Speaker 1: Corral has become a symbol of the wild West, an 76 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:18,839 Speaker 1: illustration of how hard men administered justice on the lawless frontier. 77 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:22,440 Speaker 1: But here's the funny thing about the gunfight at the 78 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:26,760 Speaker 1: OK Corral. It might have started in the streets, but 79 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:32,200 Speaker 1: it ended up in a courtroom. Welcome to history on trial. 80 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:36,960 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Mira Hayward. This week the Irp Holiday Case. 81 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:43,080 Speaker 1: The legend of the Earths began in July eighteen forty 82 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:47,960 Speaker 1: when Nicholas Irp married Virginia Cooksey in Hartford, Kentucky. The 83 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:50,839 Speaker 1: couple would have eight children, including the three that we 84 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:56,040 Speaker 1: know best today, Virgil, Wyatt, and Morgan. Nicholas was a 85 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 1: short tempered, ill mannered, but energetic man. He moved to 86 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:04,320 Speaker 1: family frequently. Virgil was born in Kentucky in eighteen forty three, 87 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:08,599 Speaker 1: Wyatt in Illinois in eighteen forty eight, and Morgan in 88 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:13,440 Speaker 1: Iowa in eighteen fifty one. This unsteady childhood bonded the 89 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:17,160 Speaker 1: Ert brothers as adults, they often traveled and lived together. 90 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:21,640 Speaker 1: Throughout the eighteen sixties and seventies. The brothers bounced across 91 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:25,040 Speaker 1: the West and Midwest, taking whatever jobs they could get, 92 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:29,520 Speaker 1: like driving stage coaches, dealing in casinos, and building train tracks. 93 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:33,599 Speaker 1: Contrary to our idea of them today, law enforcement was 94 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:37,560 Speaker 1: not always the rp's passion. When they did take police jobs, 95 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:40,760 Speaker 1: like when Wyatt and Morgan served as deputy town marshals 96 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:43,919 Speaker 1: in Wichita, it was usually only because of the steady 97 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:47,640 Speaker 1: paycheck provided. In fact, Wyatt, for most of his young 98 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:50,599 Speaker 1: adult life, had more of a penchant for breaking the 99 00:06:50,680 --> 00:06:54,240 Speaker 1: law than for enforcing it. After the tragic death of 100 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:58,200 Speaker 1: his pregnant wife Urilla in eighteen seventy, Wyatt went through 101 00:06:58,279 --> 00:07:01,719 Speaker 1: a bit of a dark period. He was at various 102 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:05,760 Speaker 1: times arrested for horse theft, charged with running a floating brothel, 103 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:09,159 Speaker 1: and sued for keeping taxes he had collected for local 104 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:13,360 Speaker 1: schools for himself. But by the late eighteen seventies Wyatt 105 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:17,080 Speaker 1: had settled down, as had his brothers. Virgil and his 106 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:20,640 Speaker 1: common law wife Ali were living in Prescott, Arizona, where 107 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:23,360 Speaker 1: he was serving as town constable, a job that mainly 108 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:27,880 Speaker 1: required him to serve subpoenas. Virgil encouraged Morgan, who was 109 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:31,160 Speaker 1: then mining in Montana, and Wyatt, a deputy marshal in 110 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:35,240 Speaker 1: Dodge City, Kansas, to join him in Arizona. Wyatt and 111 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:39,760 Speaker 1: Morgan were in Wyatt's good friend John Holliday decided to 112 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:43,760 Speaker 1: come to Doc. Holiday, as he's better known, was a 113 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 1: hard drinking dentist with a quick temper and a bad 114 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:51,360 Speaker 1: case of tuberculosis. Most people didn't like him, but Doc 115 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:54,280 Speaker 1: had once saved Wyatt's life during a standoff, and the 116 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:58,520 Speaker 1: two had been fast friends ever since. On November first, 117 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:01,600 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy nine, I met up with Virgil and Ali 118 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:04,920 Speaker 1: in Prescott. The party then made their way to Tombstone, 119 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:09,280 Speaker 1: arriving on December first. Morgan came eight months later in 120 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:13,840 Speaker 1: July eighteen eighty, and Doc several months after that. The 121 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:17,960 Speaker 1: RPS had chosen Tombstone because of its legendary mines. In 122 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:21,560 Speaker 1: August eighteen seventy seven, a man named Ed Schifflin had 123 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 1: found a vein of silver in the area. In a 124 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:27,480 Speaker 1: cheeky nod to a doubter who'd once told him he'd 125 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:32,439 Speaker 1: only find his death out there, Schifflin dubbed his claim Tombstone. 126 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:36,040 Speaker 1: In November eighteen seventy nine, a month before Virgil and 127 00:08:36,040 --> 00:08:41,240 Speaker 1: Wyatt arrived, Tombstone elected its first mayor and city council. 128 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:45,080 Speaker 1: Like many Western mining towns, Tombstone was a rough place. 129 00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:49,800 Speaker 1: Saloons and gambling halls lined the streets. After too many drinks, 130 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:53,840 Speaker 1: fights broke out over card games. The town's location, only 131 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:56,640 Speaker 1: thirty miles from the Mexican border made it a popular 132 00:08:56,679 --> 00:08:59,440 Speaker 1: spot for bandits and cattle wrestlers who stole goods in 133 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:03,360 Speaker 1: one country and sold them in another. People called such 134 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:07,840 Speaker 1: criminals cowboys. The men who we'd call cowboys today were 135 00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:12,439 Speaker 1: then called stockmen or cow hans. By the late eighteen seventies, 136 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:15,520 Speaker 1: people had started calling the wrestlers and robbers who lived 137 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:21,040 Speaker 1: in southeastern Arizona the capital c cowboys. The cowboys weren't 138 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:24,080 Speaker 1: an official gang. They were a loose group of outlaws 139 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:27,360 Speaker 1: who collaborated to part cattle from ranchers and money from 140 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:30,680 Speaker 1: stage coaches. Many of them came to Arizona from the 141 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:34,200 Speaker 1: former Confederacy, drawn to the territory by the promise of 142 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:38,880 Speaker 1: less government oversight. Though the cowboys could be violent, sometimes 143 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:42,800 Speaker 1: killing victims during their robberies, not everyone in Tombstone minded 144 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:46,959 Speaker 1: their presence. Legal historian Stephen Lubet, in his book Murder 145 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:50,320 Speaker 1: in Tombstone calls the relationship between the cowboys in the 146 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:56,160 Speaker 1: town quote symbiotic, not flatly antagonistic. The cowboys had many 147 00:09:56,200 --> 00:10:00,480 Speaker 1: friends and supporters both in and around Tombstone, and other 148 00:10:00,559 --> 00:10:04,760 Speaker 1: local merchants depended on cowboys for cheap provisions, and saloon 149 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:09,640 Speaker 1: keepers enjoyed their freewheeling spending habits. Ranchers living outside of town, 150 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:13,199 Speaker 1: many of whom were ex Confederate Democrats, also got on 151 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:17,040 Speaker 1: well with the cowboys, who shared their political beliefs and backgrounds. 152 00:10:17,640 --> 00:10:20,800 Speaker 1: Some of these ranchers even acted as middlemen for cattle 153 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:24,679 Speaker 1: the cowboys stole in Mexico. But not everyone was so 154 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:28,360 Speaker 1: tolerant of the cowboys. Many involved in the mining business. 155 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:32,280 Speaker 1: Mine owners and engineers, as well as other businessmen, were 156 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:35,760 Speaker 1: concerned about the economic impact the cowboys crime could have. 157 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:40,640 Speaker 1: These people mainly came from Northern States and were Republicans. 158 00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:45,319 Speaker 1: They had less in common politically and socioeconomically with the cowboys. 159 00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:50,000 Speaker 1: This latter group included the Ert Brothers, who were now 160 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:54,319 Speaker 1: firmly invested in helping maintain law and order They did 161 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:57,960 Speaker 1: so in both private employment, guarding wells, fargo stage coaches 162 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:02,040 Speaker 1: and acting as bouncers and saloons, and also in public roles. 163 00:11:02,640 --> 00:11:06,200 Speaker 1: Before arriving in Tombstone, Virgil had been appointed a Deputy 164 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:09,840 Speaker 1: U s Marshal, making him the only federal authority in 165 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:13,080 Speaker 1: the region. In the summer of eighteen eighty, an Army 166 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:17,080 Speaker 1: lieutenant reached out to Virgil with a request. Six mules 167 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:19,480 Speaker 1: had been stolen from the army's base at Camp Rucker. 168 00:11:19,920 --> 00:11:23,400 Speaker 1: Could Virgil track them down. Virgil agreed to look into 169 00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:26,800 Speaker 1: the matter, taking Wyatt and Morgan along with him. The 170 00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:29,480 Speaker 1: IRPs got a tip to search the mcclowry ranch outside 171 00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:33,200 Speaker 1: of Tombstone. Two of the mcloary brothers, Frank and Tom, 172 00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:37,160 Speaker 1: were known to collaborate with the cowboys hiding russelled livestock 173 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:43,240 Speaker 1: on their ranch. Sure enough, there were the mules. The mcloarys, unsurprisingly, 174 00:11:43,400 --> 00:11:47,280 Speaker 1: were never big IRP fans After that. Besides a little 175 00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:50,760 Speaker 1: mule wrustling, relative peace reigned in Tombstone for much of 176 00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:54,920 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty. Wyatt was appointed a deputy sheriff in Pima County, 177 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:59,079 Speaker 1: and he and Virgil collaborated with Tombstone's Town Marshal Fred 178 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:04,240 Speaker 1: White direct present federal, county and local law enforcement. Then, 179 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:08,240 Speaker 1: on October twenty eighth, a group of drunken cowboys took 180 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:11,480 Speaker 1: to the streets of Tombstone and began firing their guns 181 00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:16,120 Speaker 1: for fun. Town Marshal Fred White intervened and got shot 182 00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:20,280 Speaker 1: in the groin. White died four days later, and Virgil 183 00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:24,400 Speaker 1: was appointed acting town Marshal. In response to this violence, 184 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:28,680 Speaker 1: the Tombstone Town Council passed a new ordinance forbidding people 185 00:12:28,679 --> 00:12:32,400 Speaker 1: from carrying weapons with in city limits. They hoped this 186 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:37,640 Speaker 1: would restore peace, but the violence was only beginning. Eighteen 187 00:12:37,679 --> 00:12:41,240 Speaker 1: eighty one saw a number of upheavals for the town. First, 188 00:12:41,360 --> 00:12:44,520 Speaker 1: Tombstone and its surroundings split off from Pima County to 189 00:12:44,559 --> 00:12:47,920 Speaker 1: form Cochees County. If this is sounding familiar, I talked 190 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:50,920 Speaker 1: about this in the prologue, but that was ages ago, 191 00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:55,760 Speaker 1: so as a quick refresher. In February, Democrat and alleged 192 00:12:55,760 --> 00:13:00,400 Speaker 1: cowboy sympathizer Johnny Behn becomes Coachee's County Sheriff, much to 193 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:05,000 Speaker 1: Wyatt Irp's chagrin. In March, the fatal stagecoach robbery takes place. 194 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:09,240 Speaker 1: After the IRPs apprehend one of the robbers, he miraculously 195 00:13:09,320 --> 00:13:12,760 Speaker 1: manages to slip out of bee Han's custody. Wyatt IRP, 196 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:15,959 Speaker 1: fed up with bee Hand's incompetence, decides to run for sheriff. 197 00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:19,320 Speaker 1: He makes a deal with Eike Clanton Cowboy to get 198 00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:23,079 Speaker 1: intel on the other stagecoach robbers. Ike says yes because 199 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:26,280 Speaker 1: a five thousand dollars reward is hard to refuse. The 200 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:29,880 Speaker 1: other robbers end up dying in unrelated gunfights, as outlaws 201 00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:34,319 Speaker 1: tend to do. So nothing happens except that the animosity 202 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:38,760 Speaker 1: between the IRPs and Sheriff bee Han grows and grows 203 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:42,800 Speaker 1: and grows. I should mention here that at some point 204 00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:47,960 Speaker 1: be hands fiance Josephine Marcus leaves him and eventually ends 205 00:13:48,040 --> 00:13:52,160 Speaker 1: up with Wyatt Irp, So that also doesn't help relationships 206 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:57,160 Speaker 1: between the men. That takes us to September eighteen eighty one. 207 00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:02,160 Speaker 1: That month, Acting Arizona Territory Guns John Gosper hears about 208 00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:06,040 Speaker 1: the dysfunctional law enforcement situation in Tombstone and decides to 209 00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:10,160 Speaker 1: see for himself. His report to Secretary of State James Blaine, 210 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:15,760 Speaker 1: written on September twentieth, is concerning in conversations with Johnny 211 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:19,200 Speaker 1: b Han and Virgil Irp, Gosper wrote both men had 212 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:23,680 Speaker 1: accused the other of enabling the cowboys. Without cooperation between 213 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:26,760 Speaker 1: the sheriff and the Marshall, Gosper said there was little 214 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:30,480 Speaker 1: chance of cracking down on crime in the region. Gosper 215 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:35,080 Speaker 1: ended his report on an ominous note, quote something must 216 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:40,440 Speaker 1: be done and that right early or very grave results 217 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:47,120 Speaker 1: will follow. Only a month later, his worst fears came true. 218 00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:51,960 Speaker 1: Late on the evening of October twenty fifth, eighteen eighty one, 219 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:56,320 Speaker 1: Ike Clinton and Tom mccloughy arrived in Tombstone with a 220 00:14:56,360 --> 00:15:00,560 Speaker 1: wagonload of beef to sell. Around midnight, Ike stopped by 221 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:04,560 Speaker 1: the Alhambra Saloon, where he ran into Doc Holliday. This 222 00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:09,040 Speaker 1: meeting was no coincidence. Wyatt Irp had engineered it. In 223 00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:11,600 Speaker 1: the months since Wyatt and Ike had made their deal, 224 00:15:12,040 --> 00:15:15,560 Speaker 1: Ike had gotten increasingly nervous about word of his betrayal 225 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:18,720 Speaker 1: getting out. For some reason, Ike believed that Wyatt had 226 00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:22,480 Speaker 1: told Doc Holliday about their discussions. Wyatt thought a conversation 227 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:26,000 Speaker 1: with Doc might reassure Ike. Why he thought this is 228 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:30,400 Speaker 1: a mystery. Doc Holliday was many things, but a soothing presence, 229 00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:34,000 Speaker 1: not one of them. He and Ike were both known 230 00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:37,320 Speaker 1: for their quick tempers. Plus, there's nothing that says I 231 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:40,400 Speaker 1: don't know about your secret business like telling someone I 232 00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:44,760 Speaker 1: don't know about your secret business. The meeting quickly devolved, 233 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:48,560 Speaker 1: and Ike and Doc began threatening each other. Morgan irp 234 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:51,800 Speaker 1: intervened and broke up the fight out on the street. 235 00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:55,520 Speaker 1: Ike briefly got into it with Wyatt. Tempers eventually cooled 236 00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:58,680 Speaker 1: enough for someone to suggest a poker game, so Ike, 237 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:02,480 Speaker 1: Tom Virgil, Sheriff b Han and maybe Morgan, Wyatt and 238 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:05,960 Speaker 1: Doc two all sat down for a casual five hour 239 00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:11,800 Speaker 1: game at the Occidental Saloon. Unfortunately, if unsurprisingly, hours of 240 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:16,520 Speaker 1: drinking and gambling did nothing to cool Ike off. Throughout 241 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:20,200 Speaker 1: the next morning, October twenty sixth Ike was seen drunkenly 242 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:24,000 Speaker 1: wandering through the streets of Tombstone, waving a rifle and 243 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:27,640 Speaker 1: threatening the RBS and Doc holiday. The gossip network in 244 00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:31,760 Speaker 1: Tombstone worked fast, soon enough, word of Ike's behavior reached 245 00:16:31,840 --> 00:16:35,960 Speaker 1: Virgil and Morgan. When they found Ike, Virgil seized Ike's 246 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:39,680 Speaker 1: rifle and then employed a Western lawman's favorite technique for 247 00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:42,800 Speaker 1: subduing a troublemaker. He clubbed Ike in the head with 248 00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:46,840 Speaker 1: the butt of his revolver. This was called buffaloing, and 249 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:51,080 Speaker 1: though we'd probably call it police brutality today, buffaloing was 250 00:16:51,120 --> 00:16:54,520 Speaker 1: looked upon as a sign of an officer's restraint, better 251 00:16:54,520 --> 00:16:58,600 Speaker 1: than just shooting someone. Then, Virgil charged Ike with carrying 252 00:16:58,640 --> 00:17:01,920 Speaker 1: a firearm within city limit, the ordinance that had been 253 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:04,480 Speaker 1: passed a year before in response to the shooting death 254 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:07,680 Speaker 1: of town Marshal Fred White. After paying a twenty five 255 00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:12,320 Speaker 1: dollars fine and surrendering his weapons, Ike was released. Virgil 256 00:17:12,359 --> 00:17:15,679 Speaker 1: deposited Ike's rifle and revolver at the Grand Hotel for 257 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:18,879 Speaker 1: Ike to pick up. When he left town. In the street, 258 00:17:19,040 --> 00:17:21,880 Speaker 1: Wyatt ran into Tom mclowry, who was looking for Ike. 259 00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:25,000 Speaker 1: Wyatt would later claim that Tom had a gun, but 260 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:29,160 Speaker 1: by most other accounts, Tom was unarmed. Exactly what happened 261 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:32,360 Speaker 1: then between Wyatt and Tom is unknown, but Wyatt ended 262 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:37,000 Speaker 1: up buffaloing Tom. Just then, Ike's younger brother Billy and 263 00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:43,040 Speaker 1: Tom's older brother Frank arrived in town, both armed. Billy 264 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:46,560 Speaker 1: and Frank were furious about what had happened to their brothers, 265 00:17:47,040 --> 00:17:51,480 Speaker 1: whose heads were both bleeding from their buffaloings. Not long after, 266 00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:55,080 Speaker 1: the Clinton's and mcclowrys were seen in Spangenberg's gun shop, 267 00:17:55,280 --> 00:17:59,280 Speaker 1: where they bought ammunition. Ike also tried to buy another gun, 268 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:03,280 Speaker 1: but mister Spangenberg refused. The group then headed to the 269 00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:07,359 Speaker 1: Ok Corral for unknown reasons. The ERPs heard about the 270 00:18:07,359 --> 00:18:11,000 Speaker 1: gunshot visit and grew concerned. Virgil went to the Wells 271 00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:14,280 Speaker 1: Fargo office and borrowed a shotgun, but he left the 272 00:18:14,320 --> 00:18:17,199 Speaker 1: cowboys alone for now, hoping they would leave town of 273 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:21,560 Speaker 1: their own accord. Meanwhile, Sheriff be Hann, having just woken 274 00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:24,920 Speaker 1: up from his post poker nap, was apprized of the situation. 275 00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:28,919 Speaker 1: Bee Hann decided to approach the cowboys and, per his 276 00:18:29,040 --> 00:18:32,800 Speaker 1: later testimony, get them to disarm. He found the group 277 00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:34,840 Speaker 1: in an alley that connected the back of the Ok 278 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:39,680 Speaker 1: Corral to Fremont Street. Unfortunately, Frank mclowerry refused to give 279 00:18:39,760 --> 00:18:43,240 Speaker 1: up his gun unless the ERPs and Holiday also agreed 280 00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:47,280 Speaker 1: to disarm. Billy Clinton also refused, saying he was planning 281 00:18:47,280 --> 00:18:50,760 Speaker 1: to leave town. Ike Clinton and Tom mcclowry both appeared 282 00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:54,280 Speaker 1: to be unarmed. Bee Hand padded Ike down and found nothing, 283 00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:58,680 Speaker 1: but did not search Tom Apparently satisfied with his own work, 284 00:18:58,760 --> 00:19:02,560 Speaker 1: bee Hann went to update the ERPs, but bee Han's 285 00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:06,320 Speaker 1: efforts were too little, too late. While he'd been talking 286 00:19:06,359 --> 00:19:08,880 Speaker 1: to the cowboys, the ERPs had learned that the Clintons 287 00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:12,000 Speaker 1: and mclarry's had left the Ok Corral and had been 288 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:16,520 Speaker 1: spotted on Fremont Street. In stepping on to a public street, 289 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:20,120 Speaker 1: Billy and Frank had broken the ordinance against carrying weapons 290 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:24,159 Speaker 1: in town. In Virgil ERP's mind, this crossed the line. 291 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:28,240 Speaker 1: He decided that he needed to disarm the cowboys. Doc 292 00:19:28,280 --> 00:19:31,280 Speaker 1: Holliday then showed up and offered to come along. Wyatt 293 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:34,280 Speaker 1: brushed him off, saying this is our fight, to which 294 00:19:34,359 --> 00:19:36,679 Speaker 1: Doc replied, that's the hell of a thing for you 295 00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:39,960 Speaker 1: to say to me. So Virgil decided to deputize Doc 296 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:42,720 Speaker 1: along with his brothers, and gave Doc the shotgun he'd 297 00:19:42,760 --> 00:19:46,440 Speaker 1: borrowed before they set off. Part Way down Fremont Street, 298 00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:49,600 Speaker 1: the ERPs and Holiday ran into Sheriff bee Hann. He 299 00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:53,040 Speaker 1: tried to stop them, saying, I am the sheriff of 300 00:19:53,040 --> 00:19:55,359 Speaker 1: this county and I am not going to allow any 301 00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:58,320 Speaker 1: trouble if I can help it. When this was ignored, 302 00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:01,920 Speaker 1: bee Hand pleaded, for God's sake, don't go down there, 303 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:05,720 Speaker 1: or you will get murdered, and then, for some reason 304 00:20:06,119 --> 00:20:10,320 Speaker 1: be hand inaccurately said I have disarmed them all. A 305 00:20:10,359 --> 00:20:13,680 Speaker 1: minute later, the ERPs and Holiday arrived at the vacant 306 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:17,919 Speaker 1: lot bordering Fremont Street where the cowboys were. Besides the 307 00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:22,280 Speaker 1: Clintons and mclowry's, another cowboy named Billy Claiborne was hanging around, 308 00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:26,160 Speaker 1: but he quickly faded away as the lawman approached. Even 309 00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:29,040 Speaker 1: from ten feet away, Virgil could see that Billy Clinton 310 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:33,000 Speaker 1: and Frank mcclowry were armed. Virgil raised the walking stick 311 00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:35,760 Speaker 1: he had in his right hand and called out, boys, 312 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:39,120 Speaker 1: throw up your hands. I want your guns, and then, 313 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:43,120 Speaker 1: realizing he might be misinterpreted, he added, hold I don't 314 00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:48,320 Speaker 1: want that, but it was too late. What happened next 315 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:52,359 Speaker 1: is still debated. Some said that the cowboys tried to surrender, 316 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:57,440 Speaker 1: Others said that the cowboys shot first. Either way, in seconds, 317 00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:01,919 Speaker 1: shots were flying. Frank mclowry took a bullet in the side, 318 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:05,879 Speaker 1: Morgan Irp was hit in the shoulder. Tom mclowry turned 319 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:08,960 Speaker 1: towards his horse either to grab the rifle hanging off 320 00:21:08,960 --> 00:21:12,480 Speaker 1: of its saddle or to run, and Doc Holliday hit 321 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:15,920 Speaker 1: him with a load of buckshot. Frank mclowry took aim 322 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:19,639 Speaker 1: at Doc and missed Morgan, and Doc shot back, killing 323 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:23,040 Speaker 1: thirty two year old Frank on the spot. Billy Clanton 324 00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:25,919 Speaker 1: took shots to his chest and wrist, but still managed 325 00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:29,320 Speaker 1: to shoot Virgil's leg before taking another bullet to the stomach. 326 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:35,840 Speaker 1: All of this happened in less than thirty seconds, despite 327 00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:40,000 Speaker 1: all the shots fired more than thirty. Wyat and Ike 328 00:21:40,119 --> 00:21:45,040 Speaker 1: emerged unhurt. Wyat by some stroke of luck, Ike because 329 00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:49,560 Speaker 1: he ran away. Virgil had a nasty leg wound. Morgan 330 00:21:49,640 --> 00:21:52,280 Speaker 1: had a chipped vertebra from the bullet that had passed 331 00:21:52,280 --> 00:21:56,120 Speaker 1: through one shoulder and out the other. Nineteen year old 332 00:21:56,160 --> 00:22:00,280 Speaker 1: Billy Clanton and twenty eight year old Tom mclowry both 333 00:22:00,359 --> 00:22:05,480 Speaker 1: died within the hour. Johnny Behann, trying to assert some control, 334 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:09,000 Speaker 1: approached Wyatt and told him he was under arrest for murder. 335 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:13,800 Speaker 1: Wyatt was speechless. I won't be arrested, he said, you 336 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:16,840 Speaker 1: deceived be Johnny. You told me they were not armed. 337 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:19,720 Speaker 1: He told Bihan he would answer for what he had 338 00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:22,359 Speaker 1: done and that he wouldn't leave town. But that he 339 00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:26,960 Speaker 1: refused to be arrested. Behind him, the gathering crowd voiced 340 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:30,240 Speaker 1: their support, there is no hurry in arresting this man. 341 00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:34,200 Speaker 1: Hotel owner Sylvester Comstock declared he done just right in 342 00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:38,000 Speaker 1: killing them, and the people will uphold them. Be Hann 343 00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:42,040 Speaker 1: backed off that day. It seemed that Comstock was right, 344 00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:47,160 Speaker 1: the people would uphold the IRPs and Holidays actions. Newspaper 345 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:50,600 Speaker 1: accounts of the shooting, based on eyewitness accounts, all favored 346 00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:54,400 Speaker 1: the lawmen. Ike Clanton and his younger brother Finn were 347 00:22:54,440 --> 00:22:57,919 Speaker 1: taken into protective custody because it was rumored that people 348 00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:04,439 Speaker 1: wanted to lynch them, but this support would not last long. Frank, 349 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:08,359 Speaker 1: Tom and Billie's bodies were displayed in open caskets on 350 00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:11,760 Speaker 1: the street. Someone placed a sign above them that read 351 00:23:12,359 --> 00:23:17,359 Speaker 1: murdered in the streets of Tombstone. Two thousand people showed 352 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:21,040 Speaker 1: up for the men's funeral. Whispers grew louder, were the 353 00:23:21,119 --> 00:23:26,159 Speaker 1: killings really justified? And then on October twenty eighth, the 354 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:31,680 Speaker 1: coroner's inquest began. Arizona law only required a coroner's inquest 355 00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:34,760 Speaker 1: in cases where a death was suspected to be caused 356 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:39,000 Speaker 1: by crime. A troubling sign for the RBS. Still, they 357 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:42,240 Speaker 1: likely believed that the testimony would support them, but the 358 00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:47,600 Speaker 1: first witness, Sheriff be Han, dashed their hopes. Behan claimed 359 00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:51,160 Speaker 1: that after Virgil asked for the cowboys guns, Billy Clanton 360 00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:53,560 Speaker 1: had cried out, don't shoot me. I don't want to fight, 361 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:57,159 Speaker 1: and Tom mccloughry had said, I have got nothing, pulling 362 00:23:57,200 --> 00:24:00,360 Speaker 1: his coat back to show he was unarmed. Even as 363 00:24:00,359 --> 00:24:04,000 Speaker 1: the men were surrendering, be Hand said the IRP party 364 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:08,520 Speaker 1: had started shooting. Bihan also claimed that Virgil had not 365 00:24:08,760 --> 00:24:12,920 Speaker 1: been quote acting in an official capacity, painting the shootout 366 00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:16,159 Speaker 1: as the result of a private feud. Ike Clanton and 367 00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:22,080 Speaker 1: Billy Claiborne corroborated b Hand's story. More damningly, several neutral 368 00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:26,320 Speaker 1: witnesses also testified about the ERPs and holiday shooting quickly 369 00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:30,199 Speaker 1: after asking the Clintons and mcclowry's to surrender. By the 370 00:24:30,359 --> 00:24:33,520 Speaker 1: end of the two day inquest, many Tombstoners had become 371 00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:38,240 Speaker 1: openly critical of the irp's actions, though coroner Henry Matthews 372 00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:42,119 Speaker 1: released an ambiguous verdict, finding only that Billy Clinton and 373 00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:44,679 Speaker 1: the mclowry's had died as a result of being shot. 374 00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:49,520 Speaker 1: Everyone knew the story would not end there, and indeed, 375 00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:53,600 Speaker 1: the day after the coroner's verdict, Ike Clanton filed first 376 00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:58,240 Speaker 1: degree murder charges against John Doc Holliday and Virgil Wyatt 377 00:24:58,280 --> 00:25:01,440 Speaker 1: and Morgan Irp. The case would now be sent before 378 00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:04,879 Speaker 1: Justice of the Peace Wells Spitzer for a preliminary hearing. 379 00:25:05,560 --> 00:25:08,560 Speaker 1: If Spicer found that a crime had indeed been committed 380 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:11,280 Speaker 1: and that there was sufficient cause to find the IRPs 381 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:15,600 Speaker 1: and Holiday guilty of said crime, they could find themselves 382 00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:23,280 Speaker 1: on trial for their lives. Tombstone's first courthouse had burned 383 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:26,400 Speaker 1: in a fire earlier in the year, so the preliminary 384 00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:29,320 Speaker 1: hearing took place in the court's temporary home in the 385 00:25:29,359 --> 00:25:33,280 Speaker 1: Mining Exchange building, just down the block from the shootout site. 386 00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:37,680 Speaker 1: Wells Spicer, the Justice of the Peace, presided a true 387 00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:42,560 Speaker 1: multi hyphenet Westerner. The fifty year old Spizer was a lawyer, prospector, 388 00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:48,200 Speaker 1: and a journalist. Preliminary hearings were usually brief affairs, consisting 389 00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:51,280 Speaker 1: of a straightforward presentation of evidence to a judge who 390 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:53,800 Speaker 1: would then rule if a grand jury should hear the case, 391 00:25:54,480 --> 00:25:57,280 Speaker 1: but this hearing would last for nearly a month and 392 00:25:57,480 --> 00:26:02,400 Speaker 1: closely resemble a real trial. Why, while given the nomadic 393 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:06,159 Speaker 1: existence of many frontier settlers, there was no guarantee that 394 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:09,840 Speaker 1: a witness would stick around for a trial. Arizona law 395 00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:13,199 Speaker 1: allowed for sworn testimony given in preliminary hearings to be 396 00:26:13,240 --> 00:26:16,280 Speaker 1: read aloud at trial should the witness have moved on, 397 00:26:17,119 --> 00:26:21,560 Speaker 1: so lawyers on both sides were incentivized to get testimony recorded. Now, 398 00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:25,639 Speaker 1: the prosecution and defense also had their own reasons to 399 00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:29,760 Speaker 1: believe a prolonged preliminary hearing could benefit their case. In 400 00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:33,439 Speaker 1: the past, Tombstone prosecutors had held back evidence that they 401 00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:36,960 Speaker 1: wanted to save for trial from preliminary hearings and seen 402 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:40,960 Speaker 1: their cases dismissed as a result, And the defense probably 403 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:43,680 Speaker 1: believed that they would have a better shot with Judge Spicer, 404 00:26:43,880 --> 00:26:47,560 Speaker 1: a Republican, than with a Coachees County grand jury, which 405 00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:52,879 Speaker 1: would likely contain many Democrats and cowboy sympathizers. Attorney Tom 406 00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:57,760 Speaker 1: Fitch led the defense. Fitch was a fascinating character during 407 00:26:57,760 --> 00:27:00,719 Speaker 1: his long and varied career. The forty three year old 408 00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:04,040 Speaker 1: Fitch had worked as a reporter, a political organizer, and 409 00:27:04,119 --> 00:27:07,240 Speaker 1: a lawyer, and had also served a term in Congress. 410 00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:11,639 Speaker 1: As a representative from Nevada. Fitch technically only represented the RBS. 411 00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:16,439 Speaker 1: Lawyer TJ. Drum represented Doc Holliday, but Fitch structured the 412 00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:20,760 Speaker 1: defense and likely conducted most of the examinations. The prosecution 413 00:27:21,119 --> 00:27:26,320 Speaker 1: had no such unifying force. District Attorney Lyttleton Price, a 414 00:27:26,359 --> 00:27:29,480 Speaker 1: thirty three year old lawyer, was technically in charge, but 415 00:27:29,640 --> 00:27:33,560 Speaker 1: friends of the Clintons and mcloughry's skeptical of the Republican, 416 00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:39,320 Speaker 1: Price fundraised to hire another prosecutor, Ben Goodrich. Goodrich was 417 00:27:39,359 --> 00:27:43,080 Speaker 1: a Confederate veteran and a staunch Democrat. He may also 418 00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:46,960 Speaker 1: have helped I Clanton file the murder charges. There was 419 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:50,560 Speaker 1: a third prosecutor two who arrived on the third day 420 00:27:50,560 --> 00:27:53,040 Speaker 1: of the hearing and shaped the case more than either 421 00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:58,080 Speaker 1: Goodrich or Price. His name was Will mcloughy, and he 422 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:02,479 Speaker 1: was Frank and Tom mcloughry's old brother. Thirty six year 423 00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:05,560 Speaker 1: old Will was an attorney in Texas. Upon hearing of 424 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:08,919 Speaker 1: his brother's deaths, he had gone immediately to Arizona and 425 00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:13,520 Speaker 1: asked to join the prosecution. From the start, Will's intent 426 00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:19,200 Speaker 1: was clear. He wanted the IRPs and Holiday dead. This 427 00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:22,159 Speaker 1: thing has a tendency to arouse all the devil there 428 00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:24,919 Speaker 1: is in me, he wrote to his law partner, I 429 00:28:25,280 --> 00:28:28,600 Speaker 1: could kill them. Will made it clear to his co 430 00:28:28,600 --> 00:28:32,880 Speaker 1: consuls that he was uninterested in any charge less than 431 00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:36,760 Speaker 1: first degree murder and the death sentence that accompanied it. 432 00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:42,080 Speaker 1: Before Will mcloughy's arrival on November fourth, the prosecution case 433 00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:46,520 Speaker 1: had proceeded sedately. Coroner Henry Matthews detailed the wounds on 434 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:49,680 Speaker 1: the dead men's bodies. Billy Allen, a friend of the 435 00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:53,600 Speaker 1: mcloughry's and Clanton's, testified that Frank mcloughy had told him 436 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:56,080 Speaker 1: he planned to get his brother out of town, not 437 00:28:56,360 --> 00:29:00,360 Speaker 1: fight the IRPs. Sheriff Johnny B. Hann repeated his story 438 00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:03,840 Speaker 1: from the inquest in which Tom mcloary and Billy Clanton 439 00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:08,840 Speaker 1: had tried to surrender. Martha King, a housewife, described seeing 440 00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:11,920 Speaker 1: the IRPs as they walked towards the gunfight and hearing 441 00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:15,480 Speaker 1: one of the brothers tell Doc Holliday quote, let them 442 00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:19,560 Speaker 1: have it. Andrew Meehan, a saloon keeper, testified that Tom 443 00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:23,440 Speaker 1: mclowry had turned in his pistol per tombstone law in 444 00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:26,800 Speaker 1: the early afternoon of the twenty sixth, supporting the idea 445 00:29:26,840 --> 00:29:30,880 Speaker 1: that he'd been unarmed during the gun fight. Billy Clayborne, 446 00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:33,360 Speaker 1: the cowboy who'd been with the mclowrys and Clinton's right 447 00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:36,640 Speaker 1: before the gunfight, claimed that the ERPs and Holiday had 448 00:29:36,680 --> 00:29:41,240 Speaker 1: approached with their guns drawn, ready for a fight. None 449 00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:45,360 Speaker 1: of this looked good for the defendants. The prosecution's presentation 450 00:29:45,520 --> 00:29:48,720 Speaker 1: made it look like they had acted hastily out of anger, 451 00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:52,120 Speaker 1: that they had provoked the gunfight and shot unarmed men. 452 00:29:52,920 --> 00:29:57,240 Speaker 1: But the prosecution hadn't provided much evidence for premeditation, which 453 00:29:57,320 --> 00:30:00,640 Speaker 1: was needed to prove first degree murder, and that was 454 00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:03,560 Speaker 1: a problem for Will mclowry, who wasn't going to be 455 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:09,080 Speaker 1: satisfied with a lesser charge. Fortunately, the prosecution's next witness, 456 00:30:09,360 --> 00:30:12,680 Speaker 1: Ike Clanton, was prepared to provide the defendants with a 457 00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:16,800 Speaker 1: motive for murder. It came out surprisingly during his cross 458 00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:21,560 Speaker 1: examination on Saturday, November twelfth. Earlier, Ike had testified that 459 00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:23,960 Speaker 1: his fight with the ERPs and Dock the night before 460 00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:28,000 Speaker 1: the gunfight had been unprovoked. Tom Fitch pushed him on this, 461 00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:31,080 Speaker 1: asking if it had anything to do with the deal 462 00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:34,120 Speaker 1: that Ike had made with Wyatt to turn on Leonard 463 00:30:34,320 --> 00:30:38,840 Speaker 1: Head and Crane. The stagecoach robbers. Ike admitted that there 464 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:42,240 Speaker 1: was a deal, but it wasn't a deal to capture 465 00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:48,080 Speaker 1: the robbers. It was something much more nefarious. Wyatt erp 466 00:30:48,360 --> 00:30:52,600 Speaker 1: Ike claimed, had offered him six thousand dollars to quote 467 00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:57,920 Speaker 1: help put up a job to kill Crane, Leonard and head. 468 00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:03,000 Speaker 1: Why would Wyatt want the men dead? Because, Ike said 469 00:31:03,440 --> 00:31:06,800 Speaker 1: the ERPs and Doc Holliday had worked on the stagecoach 470 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:10,960 Speaker 1: robbery with them. Why it was afraid, Ike continued that 471 00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:13,760 Speaker 1: some of them would be caught and would squeal on him. 472 00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:18,640 Speaker 1: Tom Fitch was stunned. Where had the story come from? 473 00:31:18,760 --> 00:31:21,800 Speaker 1: It was baffling, and it was hard for most people 474 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:27,520 Speaker 1: to believe. The prosecution, however, doubled down on redirect. The 475 00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:31,760 Speaker 1: prosecutor asked Ike for more details. Ike took the invitation 476 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:35,760 Speaker 1: and ran with it, now claiming that all three Urt 477 00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:39,520 Speaker 1: brothers had admitted directly to him their involvement in the robbery, 478 00:31:39,880 --> 00:31:43,320 Speaker 1: and that Doc Holliday had openly confessed to firing the 479 00:31:43,320 --> 00:31:47,160 Speaker 1: shot that killed the driver. Ike described his horror at 480 00:31:47,200 --> 00:31:50,680 Speaker 1: what the men were telling him, saying, quote, I was 481 00:31:50,720 --> 00:31:53,200 Speaker 1: not going to have anything to do with helping to 482 00:31:53,280 --> 00:31:58,239 Speaker 1: capture Bill Leonard Crane and Harry Head capture them, not 483 00:31:59,080 --> 00:32:02,200 Speaker 1: kill them. Ike caught his slip of the tongue and 484 00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:05,560 Speaker 1: quickly corrected himself, but not quickly enough for it to 485 00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:09,040 Speaker 1: escape Tom Fitch's notice. Fitch asked for a note to 486 00:32:09,040 --> 00:32:12,840 Speaker 1: be made in the record, and Spicer obliged, writing quote. 487 00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:16,240 Speaker 1: At the time of stating the above sentence, the witness 488 00:32:16,360 --> 00:32:21,920 Speaker 1: first said capture and then corrected it to kill. But 489 00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:26,040 Speaker 1: Ike wasn't deterred by this revealing mistake. As the redirect 490 00:32:26,040 --> 00:32:30,520 Speaker 1: examination continued, Ike apparently with the full support of the prosecution, 491 00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:34,200 Speaker 1: now tied this deal back to the gunfight, saying that 492 00:32:34,240 --> 00:32:37,720 Speaker 1: after Leonard Crane and Head died, he believed that the 493 00:32:37,760 --> 00:32:40,520 Speaker 1: IRPs and Holiday would kill him for what he knew. 494 00:32:41,320 --> 00:32:45,840 Speaker 1: Ike thought the gunfight had actually been an attempted assassination. 495 00:32:47,560 --> 00:32:52,080 Speaker 1: What prompted Ike Clanton to tell this story so blatantly 496 00:32:52,120 --> 00:32:57,680 Speaker 1: an invention? Maybe alcohol when historian has suggested or cocaine, 497 00:32:57,720 --> 00:33:01,800 Speaker 1: says another which Ike might have been taking headaches. Stephen 498 00:33:01,840 --> 00:33:06,040 Speaker 1: Lubet believes that Will mcclowry, desperate to prove first degree murder, 499 00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:10,360 Speaker 1: might have encouraged Ike to provide a motive on re cross. 500 00:33:10,520 --> 00:33:13,160 Speaker 1: Tom Fitch got Ike to admit that he had shared 501 00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:16,640 Speaker 1: this story with the prosecution before he told it in court. 502 00:33:17,200 --> 00:33:21,600 Speaker 1: Whatever Ike's reasons, his impact on the hearing was enormous. 503 00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:27,320 Speaker 1: On November sixteenth, the defense began their presentation. Tom Fitch 504 00:33:27,480 --> 00:33:31,680 Speaker 1: recognized the unique dimensions of this case. In most cases, 505 00:33:31,760 --> 00:33:35,320 Speaker 1: Stephen Lubet writes, it is undisputed that a crime has occurred, 506 00:33:35,680 --> 00:33:38,600 Speaker 1: and the question is whether the defendant committed it. The 507 00:33:38,640 --> 00:33:42,680 Speaker 1: IRPs trial, however, was very nearly the reverse. There was 508 00:33:42,720 --> 00:33:45,720 Speaker 1: no doubt that the ERPs killed the three cowboys, but 509 00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:49,840 Speaker 1: the question was whether it amounted to a crime. Criminality, 510 00:33:50,120 --> 00:33:54,160 Speaker 1: not commission, was the ultimate issue for the court. The 511 00:33:54,200 --> 00:33:57,720 Speaker 1: defense planned to answer the question of criminality by focusing 512 00:33:57,800 --> 00:34:01,560 Speaker 1: on character, by defining the ERPs as law men and 513 00:34:01,640 --> 00:34:05,000 Speaker 1: casting the dead men as dangerous criminals who posed a 514 00:34:05,040 --> 00:34:09,040 Speaker 1: threat to Tombstone. To that end, the defense's first witness 515 00:34:09,160 --> 00:34:12,520 Speaker 1: was Wyatt, Erp himself. This was sure to be a 516 00:34:12,640 --> 00:34:15,919 Speaker 1: dramatic moment in the hearing, but what Tom Fitch did 517 00:34:15,960 --> 00:34:20,440 Speaker 1: after calling Wyatt made it even more riveting. He declared 518 00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:25,360 Speaker 1: that Wyatt would not be undergoing a direct or cross examination. Instead, 519 00:34:25,760 --> 00:34:30,359 Speaker 1: he would be presenting a narrative statement. Under Arizona law, 520 00:34:30,480 --> 00:34:33,840 Speaker 1: defendants were allowed to do this. This law was a 521 00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:37,239 Speaker 1: remnant of the time not long gone, when defendants were 522 00:34:37,320 --> 00:34:40,480 Speaker 1: not allowed to testify in their own defense, something we 523 00:34:40,520 --> 00:34:44,440 Speaker 1: talked about in more depth in the Lincoln Lawyer episode. However, 524 00:34:44,560 --> 00:34:48,680 Speaker 1: defendants usually spoke off the cuff, and Wyatt Earp would 525 00:34:48,680 --> 00:34:52,319 Speaker 1: not be doing that. Instead, he began to read from 526 00:34:52,360 --> 00:34:57,920 Speaker 1: a prepared statement. The prosecution objected, but Judge Spicer ruled 527 00:34:57,960 --> 00:35:01,959 Speaker 1: that quote the statute was broad and the defendant could 528 00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:05,399 Speaker 1: make any statement he pleased, whether previously prepared or not, 529 00:35:07,200 --> 00:35:11,560 Speaker 1: and so Wyat read. His statement was wide ranging and 530 00:35:11,840 --> 00:35:15,960 Speaker 1: suspiciously articulate, presenting a long history of the Clinton and 531 00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:20,640 Speaker 1: mclowry brothers association with the Cowboys and their various criminal activities. 532 00:35:21,200 --> 00:35:24,840 Speaker 1: He called Ike Clinton's testimony quote a tissue of lies 533 00:35:24,880 --> 00:35:28,160 Speaker 1: from beginning to end. He said he believed Tom mclowry 534 00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:31,280 Speaker 1: to have been armed, and he expressed the personal fear 535 00:35:31,400 --> 00:35:36,319 Speaker 1: and responsibility he felt, saying quote, I believed then and 536 00:35:36,480 --> 00:35:39,520 Speaker 1: believe now from the acts I have stated and the 537 00:35:39,560 --> 00:35:43,080 Speaker 1: threats I have related made by Tom mcloughy, Frank mcloughy 538 00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:46,560 Speaker 1: and Ike Clinton that these men had formed a conspiracy 539 00:35:46,600 --> 00:35:51,280 Speaker 1: to murder my brothers, Doc Holliday, and myself. I believe 540 00:35:51,360 --> 00:35:54,800 Speaker 1: I would have been legally and morally justified in shooting 541 00:35:54,920 --> 00:35:57,680 Speaker 1: any of them on site, but I did not do so, 542 00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:00,920 Speaker 1: nor attempt to do so, when as part of my 543 00:36:01,040 --> 00:36:04,240 Speaker 1: duty and under the direction of my brother, the Marshal, 544 00:36:04,800 --> 00:36:07,600 Speaker 1: I did not intend to fight unless it became necessary 545 00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:10,840 Speaker 1: in self defense and in the performance of official duty. 546 00:36:11,360 --> 00:36:14,920 Speaker 1: When Billy Clinton and Frank mclowy drew their pistols, I 547 00:36:15,040 --> 00:36:17,879 Speaker 1: knew it was a fight for life, and I drew 548 00:36:17,920 --> 00:36:20,160 Speaker 1: in defense of my own life and the lives of 549 00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:25,279 Speaker 1: my brothers and Doc Holliday. Virgil Irp also testified. The 550 00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:28,440 Speaker 1: format was the more traditional direct and cross examination, but 551 00:36:28,640 --> 00:36:32,320 Speaker 1: the setting was unusual. Virgil, still recovering from his wounds, 552 00:36:32,440 --> 00:36:36,080 Speaker 1: gave his testimony from his sick bed. His story aligned 553 00:36:36,120 --> 00:36:39,040 Speaker 1: with Wyatts, although he focused more on the law enforcement 554 00:36:39,080 --> 00:36:42,160 Speaker 1: aspects of the day, explaining that he had deputized his 555 00:36:42,200 --> 00:36:44,920 Speaker 1: brothers and Doc Holliday to help him disarm the Clintons 556 00:36:44,960 --> 00:36:49,080 Speaker 1: and mcloughy's. Virgil also described all the threats the cowboys 557 00:36:49,080 --> 00:36:52,200 Speaker 1: had made towards him including a new piece of evidence. 558 00:36:53,040 --> 00:36:55,960 Speaker 1: Not long before the gunfight, a man Virgil did not 559 00:36:56,160 --> 00:36:59,480 Speaker 1: know approached him and told Virgil that he'd just seen 560 00:36:59,520 --> 00:37:02,799 Speaker 1: a group of men gathered by the ok corral. All 561 00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:05,839 Speaker 1: the men were armed, this man said, and he'd heard 562 00:37:05,840 --> 00:37:08,719 Speaker 1: one of them say quote, be sure to get erp 563 00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:12,719 Speaker 1: the marshal, and another reply, we will kill them all. 564 00:37:13,440 --> 00:37:16,520 Speaker 1: The defense now produced the man who had told this story. 565 00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:20,160 Speaker 1: His name was H. F. Sills. He was a railway 566 00:37:20,160 --> 00:37:23,760 Speaker 1: worker visiting Tombstone on October twenty sixth when he happened 567 00:37:23,800 --> 00:37:26,960 Speaker 1: to overhear the Clintons and mcclowry's talking about the ERPs. 568 00:37:27,520 --> 00:37:30,160 Speaker 1: Sylls had asked someone to point him to Virgil so 569 00:37:30,239 --> 00:37:32,759 Speaker 1: he could pass on what he'd heard. He did not 570 00:37:32,920 --> 00:37:35,560 Speaker 1: know who the Clintons or mclowry's were at the time, 571 00:37:36,200 --> 00:37:40,000 Speaker 1: but at Frank, Tom and Billie's funeral, Sills had recognized 572 00:37:40,040 --> 00:37:42,919 Speaker 1: Ike Clinton as one of the men making threats before 573 00:37:42,960 --> 00:37:47,000 Speaker 1: the gunfight. Sylls' status as a complete outsider to the 574 00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:50,400 Speaker 1: town gave his testimony weight, and he was also not 575 00:37:50,520 --> 00:37:53,280 Speaker 1: the only one to testify for the defense about threats 576 00:37:53,320 --> 00:37:57,160 Speaker 1: made by Ike Clinton. Ned Boyle, a bartender described Ike 577 00:37:57,200 --> 00:38:00,040 Speaker 1: Clinton saying quote, as soon as the ERP's end and 578 00:38:00,120 --> 00:38:03,520 Speaker 1: Doc Hollidays showed themselves on the street, the ball would open. 579 00:38:03,960 --> 00:38:08,040 Speaker 1: They would have to fight. Julius Kelly, a saloon owner, 580 00:38:08,160 --> 00:38:10,680 Speaker 1: and Resid J. Campbell, the clerk of the county Board 581 00:38:10,719 --> 00:38:14,839 Speaker 1: of Supervisors, also heard Ike make threats. The defense also 582 00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:19,200 Speaker 1: presented several gunfight eyewitnesses who were butted the prosecution's version 583 00:38:19,239 --> 00:38:23,080 Speaker 1: of events. H F. Sills claimed that the cowboys drew 584 00:38:23,160 --> 00:38:26,760 Speaker 1: their guns as soon as Virgil started speaking to them. 585 00:38:26,880 --> 00:38:30,080 Speaker 1: Addie Borland, a dressmaker, said that she hadn't seen any 586 00:38:30,160 --> 00:38:33,440 Speaker 1: of the cowboys putting their hands up in surrender. Borland 587 00:38:33,480 --> 00:38:35,920 Speaker 1: also pushed back on Sheriff bee Han's claimed that the 588 00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:38,760 Speaker 1: IRPs and Holidays had fired all of the first shots, 589 00:38:39,200 --> 00:38:44,240 Speaker 1: saying that everyone began shooting simultaneously. Borland wasn't the only 590 00:38:44,320 --> 00:38:48,160 Speaker 1: one to raise issues with Beehn's testimony. The defense had 591 00:38:48,160 --> 00:38:53,640 Speaker 1: a surprise witness, Winfield Scott Williams, an assistant district attorney 592 00:38:53,920 --> 00:38:58,160 Speaker 1: under Lyttleton Price. Williams did not seem pleased to be there. 593 00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:01,000 Speaker 1: It must have been awkward under my your boss's case, 594 00:39:01,280 --> 00:39:05,400 Speaker 1: but he appeared nonetheless when Tom Fitch had cross examined 595 00:39:05,440 --> 00:39:08,319 Speaker 1: Sheriff be Hann. He'd asked bee Hann if he had 596 00:39:08,400 --> 00:39:11,600 Speaker 1: visited Virgil Irp the night after the gunfight and told 597 00:39:11,680 --> 00:39:14,160 Speaker 1: Virgil that he had seen one of the mclowry boys 598 00:39:14,280 --> 00:39:18,239 Speaker 1: draw his pistol immediately after Virgil asked for their surrender. 599 00:39:18,920 --> 00:39:23,040 Speaker 1: Bee Hann had denied saying this, but Winfield Williams had 600 00:39:23,280 --> 00:39:26,520 Speaker 1: also been at Virgil's house that night, and now on 601 00:39:26,560 --> 00:39:30,319 Speaker 1: the stand he testified that bee Hann had indeed said 602 00:39:30,320 --> 00:39:33,760 Speaker 1: this to Virgil. It was a serious blow to Behan's 603 00:39:33,760 --> 00:39:37,520 Speaker 1: credibility and raised the question if he had lied about this, 604 00:39:38,120 --> 00:39:41,680 Speaker 1: what else had he lied about. On November twenty ninth, 605 00:39:41,760 --> 00:39:45,719 Speaker 1: the preliminary hearing ended. Both sides waived the right to 606 00:39:45,760 --> 00:39:49,400 Speaker 1: closing arguments for unknown reasons. It was now up to 607 00:39:49,480 --> 00:39:52,760 Speaker 1: Judge Wells Spicer to review the evidence and decide whether 608 00:39:52,800 --> 00:39:55,840 Speaker 1: to move the case forward to a grand jury. Spicer 609 00:39:55,880 --> 00:39:58,440 Speaker 1: said he would announce his decision at two pm the 610 00:39:58,480 --> 00:40:02,560 Speaker 1: next day. If Spicer found there was sufficient cause a 611 00:40:02,560 --> 00:40:05,440 Speaker 1: pretty low bar to believe that the ERPs and Holiday 612 00:40:05,480 --> 00:40:07,960 Speaker 1: were guilty of first degree murder, he could send the 613 00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:11,040 Speaker 1: case to the grand jury. If he didn't find sufficient 614 00:40:11,080 --> 00:40:14,040 Speaker 1: cause for this charge, he could recommend a lesser charge, 615 00:40:14,120 --> 00:40:17,800 Speaker 1: like second degree murder or manslaughter, or he could dismiss 616 00:40:17,840 --> 00:40:22,240 Speaker 1: the charges altogether. At two o'clock on Wednesday, November thirtieth, 617 00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:26,239 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty one, the parties met once more in the 618 00:40:26,320 --> 00:40:30,840 Speaker 1: Mining Exchange Building to hear Judge Speiser's decision. Though Spicer 619 00:40:30,840 --> 00:40:34,000 Speaker 1: had produced his decision quickly, that didn't mean it was short. 620 00:40:34,400 --> 00:40:37,600 Speaker 1: The text ran for more than three thousand words. The 621 00:40:37,719 --> 00:40:42,120 Speaker 1: length reflected the prolonged hearing. Spicer said, explaining, quote, I 622 00:40:42,239 --> 00:40:45,080 Speaker 1: have given over four weeks of patient attention to the 623 00:40:45,120 --> 00:40:48,040 Speaker 1: hearing of evidence in this case, and at least four 624 00:40:48,080 --> 00:40:51,040 Speaker 1: fifths of my waking hours have been devoted to an 625 00:40:51,120 --> 00:40:55,280 Speaker 1: earnest study of the evidence before me. Based on that study, 626 00:40:55,640 --> 00:41:00,800 Speaker 1: he had found that quote, there was no sufficient cause 627 00:41:01,280 --> 00:41:04,600 Speaker 1: to believe the defendants guilty of the offense mentioned within, 628 00:41:05,280 --> 00:41:12,840 Speaker 1: and I order them to be released early. In his opinion, 629 00:41:13,120 --> 00:41:15,840 Speaker 1: Judge Spicer declared that there was a factor in this 630 00:41:16,000 --> 00:41:20,560 Speaker 1: case that quote divested the subsequent approach of the defendants 631 00:41:20,640 --> 00:41:25,359 Speaker 1: toward the deceased of all presumption of malice or of illegality. 632 00:41:26,320 --> 00:41:30,800 Speaker 1: That factor was the defendant's roles in law enforcement, Virgil 633 00:41:30,840 --> 00:41:33,880 Speaker 1: Irb as town marshal and the rest as his deputies. 634 00:41:34,680 --> 00:41:39,080 Speaker 1: When the defendants, Spicer continued, quote, marched down Fremont Street 635 00:41:39,200 --> 00:41:42,160 Speaker 1: to the scene of the subsequent homicide. They were going 636 00:41:42,200 --> 00:41:46,120 Speaker 1: where it was their right and duty to go. Of course, 637 00:41:46,320 --> 00:41:51,600 Speaker 1: police officers can and do wrongfully kill people, but Spicer 638 00:41:51,680 --> 00:41:53,920 Speaker 1: did not think that that had happened in this case. 639 00:41:54,480 --> 00:41:58,480 Speaker 1: He believed that the defendants had acted from necessity to quote, 640 00:41:58,760 --> 00:42:03,360 Speaker 1: save themselves from certain death. In view of all the 641 00:42:03,440 --> 00:42:07,920 Speaker 1: facts and circumstances of the case, Spicer found, I cannot 642 00:42:07,920 --> 00:42:11,239 Speaker 1: resist the conclusion that the defendants were fully justified in 643 00:42:11,280 --> 00:42:14,880 Speaker 1: committing these homicides, that it was a necessary act done 644 00:42:14,960 --> 00:42:20,120 Speaker 1: in the discharge of an official duty. What circumstances did 645 00:42:20,160 --> 00:42:24,680 Speaker 1: Spicer mean? He defined them as, quote, the conditions of 646 00:42:24,719 --> 00:42:29,439 Speaker 1: affairs incident to a frontier country, the lawlessness and disregard 647 00:42:29,480 --> 00:42:33,040 Speaker 1: for human life, the existence of a law defying element 648 00:42:33,120 --> 00:42:36,360 Speaker 1: in our midst the fear and feeling of insecurity that 649 00:42:36,400 --> 00:42:40,920 Speaker 1: has existed, the supposed prevalence of bad, desperate, and reckless 650 00:42:40,960 --> 00:42:43,759 Speaker 1: men who have been a terror to the country and 651 00:42:43,960 --> 00:42:47,400 Speaker 1: kept away capital and enterprise, and the many threats that 652 00:42:47,440 --> 00:42:52,160 Speaker 1: have been made against the ERPs. This description matches almost 653 00:42:52,320 --> 00:42:56,320 Speaker 1: exactly the narrative that the defense advanced, that the ERPs 654 00:42:56,360 --> 00:42:59,600 Speaker 1: were virtuous law men fighting an uphill battle against the 655 00:42:59,719 --> 00:43:04,319 Speaker 1: lawlessness inherent to a frontier society. Stephen Lubitt argues that 656 00:43:04,360 --> 00:43:08,560 Speaker 1: this narrative is the reason the defense emerged victorious, not 657 00:43:08,600 --> 00:43:12,839 Speaker 1: necessarily because of this particular narrative's virtues, but because they 658 00:43:12,960 --> 00:43:17,480 Speaker 1: had a narrative at all. In Tombstone, Lubert writes, the 659 00:43:17,520 --> 00:43:21,600 Speaker 1: prosecutors lost primarily because they failed to present a coherent 660 00:43:21,719 --> 00:43:26,239 Speaker 1: theory of their case. The prosecution presented many ideas that 661 00:43:26,320 --> 00:43:28,719 Speaker 1: the IRPs had acted out of anger, that it was 662 00:43:28,760 --> 00:43:32,800 Speaker 1: an attempted assassination, and so on, but their theories often 663 00:43:32,840 --> 00:43:37,120 Speaker 1: contradicted each other and never came together. That's a problem 664 00:43:37,200 --> 00:43:41,360 Speaker 1: in a trial which is, ultimately, in Lubet's words, quote, 665 00:43:41,680 --> 00:43:45,200 Speaker 1: a contest of ideas in which each side tries to 666 00:43:45,239 --> 00:43:50,160 Speaker 1: present a comprehensive reconstruction of past events, combining facts and 667 00:43:50,280 --> 00:43:53,200 Speaker 1: law in a way that leads to a logical result. 668 00:43:54,239 --> 00:43:57,680 Speaker 1: Judge Speiser's decision had not entirely let the ERPs and 669 00:43:57,719 --> 00:44:02,000 Speaker 1: Holiday off the hook. He chast Virgil for enlisting Wyat 670 00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:04,880 Speaker 1: and Doc to help disarm the cowboys, saying that in 671 00:44:05,000 --> 00:44:08,000 Speaker 1: light of Doc and Wyatt's contentious history with Eyke Clinton, 672 00:44:08,560 --> 00:44:13,240 Speaker 1: bringing them along was a quote injudicious and censurable act. 673 00:44:13,840 --> 00:44:17,640 Speaker 1: He also left a thread dangling for future cases, acknowledging 674 00:44:17,640 --> 00:44:20,400 Speaker 1: that the grand jury could still consider the charges if 675 00:44:20,440 --> 00:44:24,880 Speaker 1: they wished. Ultimately, though the grand jury declined to pursue 676 00:44:24,880 --> 00:44:28,640 Speaker 1: the case, this was certainly a relief for the ERPs 677 00:44:28,680 --> 00:44:33,160 Speaker 1: and Doc Holiday, but not everyone was pleased. Clara Brown, 678 00:44:33,280 --> 00:44:37,560 Speaker 1: a Tombstone resident, wrote, quote, there being two strong parties 679 00:44:37,560 --> 00:44:40,920 Speaker 1: in the camp, of course this verdict is satisfactory to 680 00:44:41,040 --> 00:44:44,279 Speaker 1: but one of them. The other accepts it with a 681 00:44:44,560 --> 00:44:49,040 Speaker 1: very bad grace. And a smoldering fire exists which is 682 00:44:49,160 --> 00:44:53,120 Speaker 1: liable to burst forth at some unexpected moment. If the 683 00:44:53,239 --> 00:44:56,240 Speaker 1: ERPs were not men of great courage, they would hardly 684 00:44:56,360 --> 00:45:00,920 Speaker 1: dare remain in Tombstone. It did not take long for 685 00:45:01,000 --> 00:45:04,440 Speaker 1: that fire to burst forth. Late on the night of 686 00:45:04,480 --> 00:45:07,480 Speaker 1: December twenty eighth, less than a month after the hearing, 687 00:45:07,800 --> 00:45:12,520 Speaker 1: Virgil Irp was attacked in the streets and shot twice. Miraculously, 688 00:45:12,640 --> 00:45:16,280 Speaker 1: the shotgun blasts did not kill him, but they ravaged 689 00:45:16,280 --> 00:45:18,799 Speaker 1: his left arm, which he would never be able to 690 00:45:18,920 --> 00:45:23,200 Speaker 1: use again. Like Clanton's hat was found at the site 691 00:45:23,280 --> 00:45:27,040 Speaker 1: of the ambush. Some people also suspected that Will mclowry 692 00:45:27,160 --> 00:45:30,920 Speaker 1: was involved, but he was already back in Texas, heartbroken 693 00:45:31,000 --> 00:45:34,760 Speaker 1: by the hearing's outcome. The morning after the attack on Virgil, 694 00:45:35,080 --> 00:45:40,080 Speaker 1: Wyatt telegraphed Arizona's Federal Marshall Crawley Dake, and asked Dake 695 00:45:40,160 --> 00:45:42,480 Speaker 1: to make him a US Marshal and give him the 696 00:45:42,520 --> 00:45:47,920 Speaker 1: power to appoint deputies. Local authorities are doing nothing, Wyatt wrote, 697 00:45:48,200 --> 00:45:52,400 Speaker 1: the lives of other citizens are threatened. Dake agreed and 698 00:45:52,560 --> 00:45:56,840 Speaker 1: made Wyatt a Marshal four months earlier, on March eighteenth, 699 00:45:56,960 --> 00:46:00,320 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty two, as Morgan and Wyatt EARP were playing 700 00:46:00,360 --> 00:46:04,879 Speaker 1: billiards at Campbell and Hatch's saloon, two gunshots ripped through 701 00:46:04,920 --> 00:46:08,800 Speaker 1: the window. One bullet skimmed over Wyatt's head and embedded 702 00:46:08,800 --> 00:46:12,880 Speaker 1: harmlessly in the wall, but the second bullet hit true, 703 00:46:13,560 --> 00:46:18,160 Speaker 1: slicing through Morgan Rp's spine. Morgan fell to the ground 704 00:46:18,719 --> 00:46:22,319 Speaker 1: and never stood again. He lived for an hour more 705 00:46:22,760 --> 00:46:25,239 Speaker 1: as Virgil and Wyatt did their best to make their 706 00:46:25,239 --> 00:46:28,759 Speaker 1: little brother comfortable. At one point, they tried to help 707 00:46:28,800 --> 00:46:33,200 Speaker 1: Morgan up. Don't boys, don't, I can't stand it, Morgan said, 708 00:46:33,800 --> 00:46:38,240 Speaker 1: I have played my last game of pool. Shortly before midnight, 709 00:46:38,560 --> 00:46:44,920 Speaker 1: Morgan IRP died, aged thirty. Virgil and his wife left 710 00:46:44,960 --> 00:46:49,040 Speaker 1: Tombstone to accompany Morgan's body on the train to Colton, California, 711 00:46:49,440 --> 00:46:53,719 Speaker 1: where Morgan's wife and the IRP parents lived. A coroner's 712 00:46:53,800 --> 00:46:57,879 Speaker 1: jury investigated Morgan's death and identified a number of suspects, 713 00:46:58,280 --> 00:47:02,480 Speaker 1: but Wyatt EARP was not interested in a courts justice. 714 00:47:03,120 --> 00:47:06,759 Speaker 1: He raised a posse, using his martial status to deputize 715 00:47:06,760 --> 00:47:11,360 Speaker 1: eleven men, including his brother Warren and Doc Holiday, between 716 00:47:11,480 --> 00:47:14,959 Speaker 1: March twentieth and March twenty fourth. In what would come 717 00:47:15,040 --> 00:47:18,600 Speaker 1: to be known as the ERP Vendetta Ride, the posse 718 00:47:19,000 --> 00:47:25,080 Speaker 1: killed three cowboy affiliates, Frank Stillwell, Florentino Indian Charlie Cruz 719 00:47:25,560 --> 00:47:29,919 Speaker 1: and Curly Bill Brocious. This time there was no ambiguity 720 00:47:29,960 --> 00:47:34,000 Speaker 1: about Wyatt Rp's actions, though Wyatt would claim he'd been 721 00:47:34,000 --> 00:47:37,640 Speaker 1: within his rights as U S Marshal. This was murder, 722 00:47:37,960 --> 00:47:41,840 Speaker 1: plain and simple. Johnny Behan formed a posse of his 723 00:47:41,920 --> 00:47:45,200 Speaker 1: own to chase down Wyatt and his compatriots, but they fled. 724 00:47:45,960 --> 00:47:49,360 Speaker 1: Wyatt and Doc ended up in Colorado, and the governor 725 00:47:49,360 --> 00:47:54,960 Speaker 1: there denied Arizona's extradition requests, but death still stalked the 726 00:47:55,040 --> 00:47:59,560 Speaker 1: men of Tombstone. The first to go was Judge Wells Spicer. 727 00:48:00,120 --> 00:48:03,560 Speaker 1: After the hearing, he'd received death threats, but nothing came 728 00:48:03,600 --> 00:48:06,120 Speaker 1: of them. He did not run for the Justice of 729 00:48:06,160 --> 00:48:09,919 Speaker 1: Peace position again and turned to prospecting. When a mine 730 00:48:09,960 --> 00:48:13,400 Speaker 1: he'd invested heavily in failed in early eighteen eighty seven, 731 00:48:14,000 --> 00:48:17,640 Speaker 1: the now fifty six year old Spicer disappeared. It is 732 00:48:17,719 --> 00:48:21,879 Speaker 1: thought that he wandered into the desert to die. Six 733 00:48:21,920 --> 00:48:25,000 Speaker 1: months later, Ike Clanton ran into a detective who was 734 00:48:25,040 --> 00:48:30,160 Speaker 1: investigating him in association with cattle wrestling and murder. Ever, reactive, 735 00:48:30,280 --> 00:48:35,520 Speaker 1: Ike drew his gun, but the detective shot first. Ike 736 00:48:35,560 --> 00:48:40,440 Speaker 1: Clanton died on June first, eighteen eighty seven, aged thirty nine. 737 00:48:40,600 --> 00:48:44,799 Speaker 1: Doc Holiday was next. The tuberculosis that had driven him 738 00:48:44,800 --> 00:48:48,520 Speaker 1: west in search of better air ate steadily away at him. 739 00:48:48,680 --> 00:48:53,200 Speaker 1: His illness, however, didn't stop him from drinking, gambling, or shooting. 740 00:48:53,719 --> 00:48:56,760 Speaker 1: In eighteen eighty four, Doc shot a man named Billy 741 00:48:56,840 --> 00:49:01,040 Speaker 1: Allen in Leadville, Colorado, over a five dollars day Holiday owed. 742 00:49:01,719 --> 00:49:06,920 Speaker 1: Alan miraculously survived and Holiday miraculously got away with claiming 743 00:49:06,960 --> 00:49:10,799 Speaker 1: self defense at trial, though Alan had been unarmed and 744 00:49:10,920 --> 00:49:15,320 Speaker 1: Holiday had essentially ambushed him. Despite a talent for escaping 745 00:49:15,360 --> 00:49:19,600 Speaker 1: from the law, Holiday could not escape his illness. Tuberculosis 746 00:49:19,680 --> 00:49:22,960 Speaker 1: killed the thirty six year old Doc Holiday on November eighth, 747 00:49:23,120 --> 00:49:27,960 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty seven. Virgil Irp stayed in California after delivering 748 00:49:27,960 --> 00:49:31,080 Speaker 1: Morgan's body. He spent the rest of his life moving 749 00:49:31,120 --> 00:49:34,400 Speaker 1: from job to job, just as he always had, including 750 00:49:34,480 --> 00:49:39,920 Speaker 1: stints in law enforcement, mining, and saloon operation. On October nineteenth, 751 00:49:40,160 --> 00:49:44,759 Speaker 1: nineteen oh five, Virgil Irp died, aged sixty two, from pneumonia. 752 00:49:45,760 --> 00:49:50,000 Speaker 1: Johnny Behan left Tombstone in eighteen eighty six. He would 753 00:49:50,080 --> 00:49:52,640 Speaker 1: go on to hold a variety of other law enforcement 754 00:49:52,800 --> 00:49:56,840 Speaker 1: and government positions, but usually left them under a dark cloud. 755 00:49:57,239 --> 00:50:01,799 Speaker 1: Accused of embezzling money or other misconduct. Be Hand died 756 00:50:01,840 --> 00:50:06,600 Speaker 1: in Tucson on June seventh, nineteen twelve, aged sixty seven. 757 00:50:07,560 --> 00:50:10,200 Speaker 1: Virgil was the leader of the IRPs on that fateful 758 00:50:10,280 --> 00:50:13,440 Speaker 1: day in Tombstone, but it is Wyatt whose name is 759 00:50:13,480 --> 00:50:17,759 Speaker 1: best remembered. This is probably because Wyatt lived the longest 760 00:50:18,200 --> 00:50:21,520 Speaker 1: and had a best selling biography written about him. Wyatt 761 00:50:21,520 --> 00:50:25,640 Speaker 1: married Josephine Marcus, Johnny b Han's former fiancee, in eighteen 762 00:50:25,719 --> 00:50:30,160 Speaker 1: eighty eight. The two stayed together until his death. Like Virgil, 763 00:50:30,280 --> 00:50:33,160 Speaker 1: he worked a variety of jobs across the West before 764 00:50:33,160 --> 00:50:37,520 Speaker 1: eventually settling down in Los Angeles. There he befriended many 765 00:50:37,600 --> 00:50:42,040 Speaker 1: early Hollywood cowboy actors and even consulted on several westerns. 766 00:50:42,680 --> 00:50:47,880 Speaker 1: Wyatt Erp died on January thirteenth, nineteen twenty nine, aged eighty. 767 00:50:48,680 --> 00:50:52,759 Speaker 1: Two years before his death, Wyatt's eventual biographer, Stuart Lake, 768 00:50:53,280 --> 00:50:56,400 Speaker 1: asked Wyatt about the gunfight. For my handling of the 769 00:50:56,440 --> 00:51:00,960 Speaker 1: situation at Tombstone, I have no regrets Wyatt's. If the 770 00:51:00,960 --> 00:51:04,120 Speaker 1: outlaws and their friends and allies imagined that they could 771 00:51:04,160 --> 00:51:07,560 Speaker 1: intimidate or exterminate the IRPs by a process of murder 772 00:51:07,880 --> 00:51:11,560 Speaker 1: and then hide behind alibis and the technicalities of the law, 773 00:51:12,040 --> 00:51:16,480 Speaker 1: they simply missed their guests. But were the cowboys really 774 00:51:16,560 --> 00:51:20,080 Speaker 1: the ones who benefited most from the technicalities of the law. 775 00:51:20,760 --> 00:51:24,200 Speaker 1: In the Tombstone hearing, no lawyer more ably exploited the 776 00:51:24,239 --> 00:51:28,080 Speaker 1: law than defense counsel Tom Fitch. He used an outdated 777 00:51:28,239 --> 00:51:32,080 Speaker 1: but still active provision and Arizona law to allow Wyatt 778 00:51:32,080 --> 00:51:37,000 Speaker 1: Earp to present a meticulously crafted statement and avoid cross examination. 779 00:51:38,000 --> 00:51:40,880 Speaker 1: Fitch realized that Judge Spicer was more likely to be 780 00:51:40,920 --> 00:51:44,160 Speaker 1: sympathetic to his clients than a grand or trial jury, 781 00:51:44,600 --> 00:51:48,040 Speaker 1: and subsequently presented a thorough trial case at what was 782 00:51:48,120 --> 00:51:51,720 Speaker 1: really just a preliminary hearing. It's not hard to imagine 783 00:51:51,760 --> 00:51:54,440 Speaker 1: a scenario in which the Earths and Holiday were convicted 784 00:51:54,480 --> 00:51:59,040 Speaker 1: of involuntary manslaughter. Arizona law at the time defined involuntary 785 00:51:59,040 --> 00:52:03,120 Speaker 1: manslaughter as an unlawful killing committed either during an unlawful 786 00:52:03,160 --> 00:52:08,640 Speaker 1: act or quote during a lawful act, without due caution 787 00:52:09,000 --> 00:52:13,759 Speaker 1: or circumspection. Did Virgil Irp show due caution when he 788 00:52:13,920 --> 00:52:16,759 Speaker 1: brought Wyatt and Doc, who had been fighting with the 789 00:52:16,800 --> 00:52:20,920 Speaker 1: Clintons and mclowry's all day to try to disarm the cowboys? 790 00:52:21,760 --> 00:52:26,799 Speaker 1: Was giving Doc Holiday a shotgun an especially circumspect move. 791 00:52:27,960 --> 00:52:31,040 Speaker 1: Whatever the answer to those questions, none of them would 792 00:52:31,120 --> 00:52:34,359 Speaker 1: ever be explored in a jury trial thanks to Tom 793 00:52:34,400 --> 00:52:38,600 Speaker 1: Fitch's clever lawyering, Thanks most of all to the power 794 00:52:38,719 --> 00:52:42,640 Speaker 1: of the story he told. Though the Tombstone Hearing has 795 00:52:42,719 --> 00:52:46,479 Speaker 1: largely faded from memory, the narrative of law men verse 796 00:52:46,600 --> 00:52:49,799 Speaker 1: outlaw that the defense crafted at the hearing is one 797 00:52:49,840 --> 00:52:53,520 Speaker 1: that has been repeated over and over again in books 798 00:52:53,600 --> 00:52:58,080 Speaker 1: and TV shows and movies, And despite at first glance 799 00:52:58,280 --> 00:53:01,520 Speaker 1: seeming to be about good versus evil, it's really a 800 00:53:01,640 --> 00:53:07,080 Speaker 1: narrative where the distance between lawmen and outlaw is much 801 00:53:07,120 --> 00:53:11,560 Speaker 1: shorter than you'd think. That's the story of the r 802 00:53:11,719 --> 00:53:14,799 Speaker 1: Holiday case. Stay with me after the break for the 803 00:53:14,840 --> 00:53:20,840 Speaker 1: account of the time Wyatt Erp played judge to disastrous results. 804 00:53:22,600 --> 00:53:26,960 Speaker 1: Before Tombstone, before the Ok Corral, before any of it, 805 00:53:27,640 --> 00:53:32,160 Speaker 1: Wyatt Earp worked on the railroad in the late eighteen sixties. 806 00:53:32,239 --> 00:53:35,960 Speaker 1: Wyatt had helped build tracks for the Union Pacific. In 807 00:53:36,000 --> 00:53:39,080 Speaker 1: the railroad camps, men liked to put on boxing matches, 808 00:53:39,480 --> 00:53:42,640 Speaker 1: so Wyatt learned to box, which he was good enough at, 809 00:53:42,680 --> 00:53:45,719 Speaker 1: and then he learned to referee, which he was very 810 00:53:45,760 --> 00:53:50,440 Speaker 1: good at. He'd officiate matches and manage the money. Wyatt 811 00:53:50,480 --> 00:53:54,000 Speaker 1: was a skilled referee, but officiating a casual boxing match 812 00:53:54,000 --> 00:53:57,160 Speaker 1: in a railroad camp in Wyoming is very different than 813 00:53:57,200 --> 00:54:01,040 Speaker 1: officiating the heavyweight title match in front of thousands in 814 00:54:01,080 --> 00:54:05,600 Speaker 1: San Francisco. That's why when organizers asked Wyatt to officiate 815 00:54:05,600 --> 00:54:09,600 Speaker 1: the fight between Tom Sharky and Bob Fitzsimmons, he hesitated. 816 00:54:10,239 --> 00:54:13,480 Speaker 1: The fight would be conducted under the Marquess of Queensbury rules, 817 00:54:13,920 --> 00:54:17,160 Speaker 1: which Whyatt wasn't sure he was familiar enough with. It 818 00:54:17,239 --> 00:54:20,319 Speaker 1: was eighteen ninety six and Wyatt, now forty eight, was 819 00:54:20,400 --> 00:54:24,600 Speaker 1: managing race horses and deeply in debt. He hadn't been 820 00:54:24,640 --> 00:54:27,440 Speaker 1: official's first choice, but it was now the day of 821 00:54:27,480 --> 00:54:31,600 Speaker 1: the fight, December twod and Sharky and Fitzimmons teams hadn't 822 00:54:31,640 --> 00:54:35,759 Speaker 1: been able to agree on anyone else. Whyatt's name came up, 823 00:54:36,000 --> 00:54:39,720 Speaker 1: perhaps thanks to a journalist. With the fight only hours 824 00:54:39,760 --> 00:54:44,560 Speaker 1: away and ten thousand tickets sold, the organizers pushed Wyatt 825 00:54:44,560 --> 00:54:51,000 Speaker 1: to accept. Eventually he said yes. Unfortunately, Wyatt's inexperience would 826 00:54:51,040 --> 00:54:55,160 Speaker 1: have dire consequences. Things got off to a shaky start 827 00:54:55,200 --> 00:54:58,640 Speaker 1: even before the opening bell, when Wyatt entered the ring 828 00:54:58,760 --> 00:55:03,280 Speaker 1: with a pistol under his jacket. Classic Wyat officials quickly 829 00:55:03,280 --> 00:55:08,160 Speaker 1: confiscated the gun, but after that things settled down. Fitsimmons, 830 00:55:08,320 --> 00:55:11,480 Speaker 1: a quick, shrewd boxer, seemed to have an edge over 831 00:55:11,520 --> 00:55:16,000 Speaker 1: the stronger but slower Sharky. No surprise there, Fitzsimmons was 832 00:55:16,040 --> 00:55:19,600 Speaker 1: the favorite. In the eighth round, Fitzimmons delivered a hard 833 00:55:19,680 --> 00:55:23,839 Speaker 1: uppercut to Sharky's chest, sending Sharky to the ground. For 834 00:55:23,880 --> 00:55:26,640 Speaker 1: a moment, it seemed that Fitzimmons had knocked Sharky out, 835 00:55:27,160 --> 00:55:30,360 Speaker 1: but then Sharky began holding his groin and crying that 836 00:55:30,440 --> 00:55:33,160 Speaker 1: he'd been hit below the belt. Wyatt ran over to 837 00:55:33,200 --> 00:55:37,280 Speaker 1: Sharky and examined him, then called a foul and declared 838 00:55:37,320 --> 00:55:41,480 Speaker 1: Sharki the winner of the match. Perhaps anticipating the controversy 839 00:55:41,480 --> 00:55:45,800 Speaker 1: of this call, Wyat then made a fast exit. Allegations 840 00:55:45,880 --> 00:55:50,160 Speaker 1: immediately followed that the match had been fixed. Fitzsimmons and 841 00:55:50,200 --> 00:55:53,080 Speaker 1: his manager filed charges claiming that there had been a 842 00:55:53,120 --> 00:55:58,200 Speaker 1: conspiracy between Sharky's team and Wyatt. After two weeks of testimony, 843 00:55:58,280 --> 00:56:01,120 Speaker 1: the court dismissed the case, saying that the boxing match 844 00:56:01,200 --> 00:56:03,680 Speaker 1: was illegal and thus not something they would rule on. 845 00:56:04,360 --> 00:56:07,120 Speaker 1: There is no concrete evidence that Wyatt was involved in 846 00:56:07,200 --> 00:56:10,160 Speaker 1: any fix, but the match would haunt him for the 847 00:56:10,200 --> 00:56:13,440 Speaker 1: rest of his life. To most Americans in the early 848 00:56:13,520 --> 00:56:17,200 Speaker 1: twentieth century, Wyatt Earth was better known as the man 849 00:56:17,280 --> 00:56:20,719 Speaker 1: who had cost Bob Fitzimmons his title than as the 850 00:56:20,840 --> 00:56:26,000 Speaker 1: man who'd cost multiple men their lives. Thank you for 851 00:56:26,080 --> 00:56:29,120 Speaker 1: listening to History on Trial. If you enjoyed this episode, 852 00:56:29,160 --> 00:56:32,120 Speaker 1: please consider leaving a rating or review. It can help 853 00:56:32,160 --> 00:56:35,200 Speaker 1: new listeners find the show. To see images of the 854 00:56:35,200 --> 00:56:39,000 Speaker 1: people and places in this episode, check out our instagram 855 00:56:39,040 --> 00:56:42,720 Speaker 1: at History on Trial. My main sources for this episode 856 00:56:42,760 --> 00:56:46,680 Speaker 1: were Stephen Lubet's book Murder in Tombstone, The Forgotten Trial 857 00:56:46,760 --> 00:56:50,200 Speaker 1: of Wyatt Earth, and transcripts from the hearing published on 858 00:56:50,280 --> 00:56:54,880 Speaker 1: Douglas O. Linder's Wonderful Famous Trials website hosted by the 859 00:56:54,960 --> 00:56:58,319 Speaker 1: University of Missouri Kansas City School of Law. For a 860 00:56:58,320 --> 00:57:01,120 Speaker 1: full bibliography, as well as a transcript of this episode 861 00:57:01,160 --> 00:57:05,960 Speaker 1: with citations, please visit our website History on Trial podcast 862 00:57:06,360 --> 00:57:11,719 Speaker 1: dot com. History on Trial is written and hosted by 863 00:57:11,760 --> 00:57:15,560 Speaker 1: me Mira Hayward. The show is edited and produced by 864 00:57:15,640 --> 00:57:19,960 Speaker 1: Jesse Funk, with supervising producer Trevor Young and executive producers 865 00:57:20,080 --> 00:57:25,560 Speaker 1: Dana Schwartz, Alexander Williams, Matt Frederick, and Mira Hayward. Learn 866 00:57:25,600 --> 00:57:29,040 Speaker 1: more about the show at History on Trial. Podcast dot 867 00:57:29,080 --> 00:57:32,920 Speaker 1: com and follow us on Instagram at History on Trial 868 00:57:33,320 --> 00:57:38,160 Speaker 1: and on Twitter at Underscore History on Trial. Find more 869 00:57:38,200 --> 00:57:43,320 Speaker 1: podcasts from iHeartRadio by visiting the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 870 00:57:43,640 --> 00:57:45,680 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.