1 00:00:01,040 --> 00:00:06,160 Speaker 1: You're listening to History on Trial, a production of iHeart Podcasts. 2 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:15,160 Speaker 1: Listener Discretion advised the first sign of something amiss was 3 00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:19,560 Speaker 1: the broken window from the back of the courthouse. The 4 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:25,520 Speaker 1: damage was obvious. One of the tall, thin ground floor 5 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:30,920 Speaker 1: windows was shattered, long cracks radiating out from the window handle. 6 00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:36,560 Speaker 1: The group of officials stared at the window, worry blossoming 7 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:42,640 Speaker 1: in their minds. That broken window, they knew, led into 8 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:47,760 Speaker 1: the courthouse records vault. They had actually been on their 9 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:50,960 Speaker 1: way to the vault when they briefly stopped outside to 10 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:55,760 Speaker 1: survey the construction. The Jackson County Courthouse in Medford, Oregon, 11 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 1: had technically been completed the year before, in nineteen thirty two, 12 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:04,680 Speaker 1: but there were some small projects left to complete. One 13 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:09,280 Speaker 1: of those projects not yet begun was adding bars to 14 00:01:09,319 --> 00:01:13,120 Speaker 1: the windows of the courthouse's record vault to prevent a 15 00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:17,600 Speaker 1: break in. County Clerk Naida Neil led the group back 16 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:21,440 Speaker 1: inside and down the hallway to the vault. The room 17 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:26,600 Speaker 1: looked undisturbed from the outside. Neil entered the combination locks 18 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:33,560 Speaker 1: code and swung open the heavy door. Inside, the damage 19 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 1: was obvious. Neil stared in horror. Only the day before 20 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:43,680 Speaker 1: she had secured the pouches of ballots in the vault. 21 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 1: The men behind her, including attorneys, county officials, and a 22 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:54,440 Speaker 1: circuit court judge, were aghast. They were there to look 23 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:58,640 Speaker 1: at those very ballots, which were crucial in a hotly 24 00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:04,480 Speaker 1: contested sheriff's After months of political fighting, Circuit Court Judge 25 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:08,600 Speaker 1: George Skipworth had ruled that a recount needed to take place, 26 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:15,000 Speaker 1: but now many of the ballots were gone. This was 27 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:18,480 Speaker 1: only the latest drama to bubble up in Jackson County, 28 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:23,640 Speaker 1: located in southern Oregon on the California border. The county 29 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 1: had recently become a hotbed of political intrigue. Governor Julius 30 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:32,680 Speaker 1: Meyer dispatched the Oregon State Police to help the Medford 31 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:37,280 Speaker 1: Police investigate. The team found burnt scraps of ballots in 32 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:42,119 Speaker 1: the courthouse's furnace. Further out, they found water logged ballots 33 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:45,919 Speaker 1: caught in an eddy under a bridge. Whoever had taken 34 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:50,840 Speaker 1: these ballots did not want them counted. Back at the courthouse, 35 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:55,320 Speaker 1: detectives found a clue a piece of fabric had snagged 36 00:02:55,320 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 1: on the broken vault window. Cladus MacCready, the Medford Chief 37 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:05,560 Speaker 1: of Police, surveyed the crowd gathered outside. His eyes caught 38 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:10,200 Speaker 1: on a torn pant leg. The pants, he thought, looked 39 00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:12,959 Speaker 1: to be made of the same material as the fabric 40 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:16,720 Speaker 1: scrap from the window. He fixed his gaze on the 41 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:22,560 Speaker 1: pants owner, twenty year old Mason Sexton. Mason and his 42 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 1: younger brother Milton were temporarily living in a spare room 43 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:31,760 Speaker 1: at the courthouse, doing chores in exchange for lodging. Quietly, 44 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:37,160 Speaker 1: Macready and the detectives took the Sextons into custody. The 45 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:40,280 Speaker 1: Medford police held the brothers in jail for four days 46 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:45,440 Speaker 1: without bail or access to a lawyer. On the fourth day, 47 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:50,560 Speaker 1: Mason Sexton confessed he and Milton had broken into the 48 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:58,240 Speaker 1: courthouse faultroom and stolen the ballots, and they hadn't been alone. 49 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:02,880 Speaker 1: The Sextons were members of Good Government Congress, a controversial 50 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:08,120 Speaker 1: local political organization founded by two Medford men, Llewellyn Banks 51 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:13,560 Speaker 1: and Earl Fayle. The Good Government Congress, or GGC, had 52 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:18,000 Speaker 1: begun as a populist political movement, but had evolved into 53 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:23,040 Speaker 1: something more dangerous. One of the candidates in the contested 54 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:29,440 Speaker 1: sheriff's race, Gordon Skemmerhorn, was affiliated with the group Skemerhorn 55 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:33,719 Speaker 1: had taken office months earlier despite the close race, and 56 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:36,120 Speaker 1: had been trying to put off the recount for as 57 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:40,240 Speaker 1: long as possible, But once Judge Skipworth ruled that the 58 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:45,880 Speaker 1: recount would happen, the GGC had moved into action. The 59 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:49,760 Speaker 1: night of February twentieth, the GGC held a rally in 60 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:53,599 Speaker 1: front of the courthouse. At the same time, a small 61 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:57,960 Speaker 1: crew of men gathered behind the building on a pre 62 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:01,760 Speaker 1: arranged signal. As the crowd cheered for a speaker, a 63 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:06,280 Speaker 1: supporter parked nearby loudly revved his engine. With the noise 64 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:11,160 Speaker 1: covering him, Mason Sexton smashed the vault window with an axe. 65 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:14,680 Speaker 1: The men passed the ballots from the locked room out 66 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:18,360 Speaker 1: into waiting vehicles, which ferried them to the outer reaches 67 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:21,680 Speaker 1: of the county, where the ballot pouches were split open, 68 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:25,479 Speaker 1: their contents dumped in the river or burned in fires. 69 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:30,800 Speaker 1: The Sexton's story was shocking. They implicated a number of 70 00:05:30,839 --> 00:05:34,599 Speaker 1: important local figures, including the mayor of a nearby town, 71 00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:40,960 Speaker 1: Sheriff Skemmerhorn, and the ggc's leaders, Llewellyn Banks and Earl Fayle. 72 00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:46,600 Speaker 1: Fayle had recently won election to county government. The political 73 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:50,840 Speaker 1: situation had been tense in Jackson County before, but this 74 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:55,680 Speaker 1: was a whole new level and things were about to 75 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:59,840 Speaker 1: get worse. As the police pursued the ballot thieves, the 76 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:05,880 Speaker 1: GGC upped its violent rhetoric, and then they acted on it. 77 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:11,400 Speaker 1: Less than a month later, when Medford Constable George Prescott 78 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:14,840 Speaker 1: tried to arrest GGC leader Llewellyn Banks for his part 79 00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:21,039 Speaker 1: in the robbery, Banks shot Prescott dead. The murder would 80 00:06:21,120 --> 00:06:24,560 Speaker 1: lead to a trial that had the potential to extinguish 81 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:30,120 Speaker 1: the burning ember of insurrection in Jackson County or fan 82 00:06:30,279 --> 00:06:37,280 Speaker 1: the flames into an inferno. Welcome to History on Trial. 83 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:43,719 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Mira Hayward. This week Oregon v. Llewellyn 84 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:51,120 Speaker 1: and Edith Banks. At two thousand, eight hundred and one 85 00:06:51,279 --> 00:06:55,599 Speaker 1: square miles, Jackson County is slightly larger than the state 86 00:06:55,720 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 1: of Delaware. It sits atop the Oregon California border, its 87 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:04,960 Speaker 1: western border shooting northward through the Siskiyou Mountains, and its 88 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:10,160 Speaker 1: eastern through the Cascade Range. Between these heavily forested mountains 89 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:14,040 Speaker 1: lies a wedge of fertile valley nourished by the Rogue 90 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:20,280 Speaker 1: River and Bear Creek. The modoc Amqua, Shasta, Takelma, and 91 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:23,240 Speaker 1: La Gawa tribes lived on the land that is today 92 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:28,040 Speaker 1: Jackson County. In the eighteen fifties, white settlers began arriving. 93 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:32,960 Speaker 1: Throughout the decade, these settlers, with assistance from the United 94 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:37,640 Speaker 1: States Army, attacked the native inhabitants, killing hundreds of people 95 00:07:38,040 --> 00:07:42,520 Speaker 1: and eventually driving them from the land onto reservations. With 96 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:46,880 Speaker 1: the native peoples removed, white settlers began transforming the land 97 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:50,800 Speaker 1: for commercial use. Wheat was the first staple product of 98 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:55,680 Speaker 1: the region, but by nineteen hundred, fruit was king. Acres 99 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:58,800 Speaker 1: of pear and apple trees sprung up across the valley, 100 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:02,480 Speaker 1: bringing with them more money and a new kind of farmer, 101 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:07,920 Speaker 1: wealthy outsiders with large holdings. As the fruit industry grew, 102 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:11,600 Speaker 1: so too did the economic and class divides in the county. 103 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:16,280 Speaker 1: Golf courses and country clubs and private hotels sprung up 104 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:21,760 Speaker 1: in the county's largest cities, Medford and Ashland. Alongside this 105 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:26,920 Speaker 1: orchard elite existed smaller farmers, ranchers, and dairy owners, as 106 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:30,600 Speaker 1: well as the county's most rural residents who lived in 107 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:35,480 Speaker 1: the forested foothills of the mountains and mainly worked in mining, logging, 108 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:40,160 Speaker 1: or construction. The class, wealth and cultural divides in the 109 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:44,880 Speaker 1: county made it fertile territory for political movements. Before the 110 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:48,600 Speaker 1: Good Government Congress in the nineteen thirties, there were two 111 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:53,240 Speaker 1: major political upheavals in Jackson County, both during times of 112 00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:58,120 Speaker 1: economic turmoil. In the eighteen nineties, farmers across the country 113 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:01,480 Speaker 1: found themselves suffering under the com bind burdens of low 114 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:07,520 Speaker 1: crop prices, high railroad shipping rates, and unaffordable mortgages. These 115 00:09:07,559 --> 00:09:10,920 Speaker 1: difficulties led to the rise of a populous political party, 116 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:15,840 Speaker 1: the People's Party, which largely consisted of agrarian workers who 117 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:21,679 Speaker 1: opposed industrialists, bankers, and monopolists. A chapter of the People's 118 00:09:21,679 --> 00:09:26,120 Speaker 1: Party was established in southern Oregon in eighteen ninety one. 119 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:28,720 Speaker 1: Jackson County voters were drawn to the party for its 120 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:32,240 Speaker 1: promises to root out corruption and to return power to 121 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:36,920 Speaker 1: the people, the people in this case being white Protestant farmers. 122 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:42,520 Speaker 1: The movement had undercurrents of nativism and religious prejudices. Officials 123 00:09:42,559 --> 00:09:46,840 Speaker 1: hosted rallies, picnics, and other events that attracted large crowds. 124 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:50,720 Speaker 1: By eighteen ninety four, the party had won enough support 125 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:55,559 Speaker 1: to begin to win elections. Though the movement lost momentum 126 00:09:55,559 --> 00:09:58,720 Speaker 1: within a few years, it left a mark on Jackson County. 127 00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:02,560 Speaker 1: As Jeffrey la Land writes in his book The Jackson 128 00:10:02,559 --> 00:10:08,559 Speaker 1: County Rebellion, quote local farmer's time of struggle enabled solidarity 129 00:10:08,679 --> 00:10:14,080 Speaker 1: to overcome individual rural communities extreme localism by focusing their 130 00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:18,640 Speaker 1: attention on an identifiable enemy. This was a formula that 131 00:10:18,679 --> 00:10:22,200 Speaker 1: would prove to be successful time and again in the county. 132 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:26,800 Speaker 1: It was another economic downturn that led to Jackson County's 133 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:31,400 Speaker 1: second political upheaval. In the nineteen tens, the fruit industry 134 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:36,560 Speaker 1: was gravely impacted by a drought, a pest infestation, and 135 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:40,440 Speaker 1: World War One, which led to lowered fruit prices. The 136 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:44,080 Speaker 1: difficult times continued throughout the decade, and by the early 137 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:49,000 Speaker 1: nineteen twenties, tensions in the county were high. In nineteen 138 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:54,559 Speaker 1: twenty one, dissatisfied Jacksonians found a political outlet for their unhappiness. 139 00:10:55,400 --> 00:11:01,320 Speaker 1: The ku Klux Klan, how delightful, attracted members with its 140 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:05,319 Speaker 1: appeals for political reform, support for causes such as prohibition, 141 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:09,920 Speaker 1: and of course, its attacks on Jews, Catholics, and anyone 142 00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:13,880 Speaker 1: who wasn't white. By nineteen twenty two, the KKK was 143 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:17,439 Speaker 1: a powerful presence in the county. A series of night 144 00:11:17,520 --> 00:11:21,600 Speaker 1: riding attacks in which clan members abducted people and threatened 145 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:26,080 Speaker 1: to lynch them drew national attention to Jackson County. The 146 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:29,480 Speaker 1: clan continued to influence events in the county, as well 147 00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:33,800 Speaker 1: as across the country, well into the nineteen twenties. Though 148 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:37,760 Speaker 1: many in the regions supported the KKK, many others opposed it, 149 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:42,040 Speaker 1: and the conflict divided the county for years, But by 150 00:11:42,080 --> 00:11:45,439 Speaker 1: the end of the decade a new concern had arisen. 151 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:50,280 Speaker 1: In the autumn of nineteen twenty nine, the stock market crashed, 152 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:55,560 Speaker 1: signaling the beginning of the Great Depression. The depression's effects 153 00:11:55,640 --> 00:11:59,160 Speaker 1: quickly rippled out into Jackson County, and the timber and 154 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:04,120 Speaker 1: fruit industry struggled to stay afloat. Unemployment was rampant, and 155 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:09,760 Speaker 1: public services experienced huge cuts. That same year, a man 156 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:13,280 Speaker 1: named llu Ellen Banks bought a local newspaper called the 157 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:17,120 Speaker 1: Medford Daily News. The fifty nine year old Banks was 158 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:20,120 Speaker 1: new to the area. He and his wife Edith, had 159 00:12:20,160 --> 00:12:23,439 Speaker 1: only moved to Medford three years earlier, but he had 160 00:12:23,480 --> 00:12:27,640 Speaker 1: made quite a splash. Born into a modest fruit growing 161 00:12:27,679 --> 00:12:32,200 Speaker 1: family from Ohio, Banks now owned citrus groves in California 162 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:36,440 Speaker 1: and orchards across Jackson County. Having been in the fruit 163 00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:40,000 Speaker 1: business his whole life, he had strong ideas about the 164 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:44,440 Speaker 1: industry's future and what changes ought to be made. His 165 00:12:44,559 --> 00:12:49,280 Speaker 1: controversial views on direct selling quickly earned him enemies amongst 166 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:55,079 Speaker 1: Jackson County's established fruit consignment sellers. Buying the Medford Daily 167 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:59,319 Speaker 1: News gave Banks another platform for his beliefs. He began 168 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:02,160 Speaker 1: writing a ca for the paper in which he attacked 169 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:06,040 Speaker 1: the fruit sellers, but over time the scope of his 170 00:13:06,120 --> 00:13:11,720 Speaker 1: political opinions increased, as did his columns frequency. He espoused 171 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:16,480 Speaker 1: conspiracy theories about bankers, regulatory agencies, and the Federal Reserve. 172 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:21,640 Speaker 1: By nineteen thirty one, he was publishing his column every day, 173 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:27,360 Speaker 1: his angry diatribes filling up a whole page. Banks was 174 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:31,360 Speaker 1: not the only controversial publisher in the area. Earl Fayle, 175 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:35,400 Speaker 1: a general contractor and real estate developer in his mid forties, 176 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:39,280 Speaker 1: was the owner of the Pacific Record Herald, a weekly paper. 177 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:44,080 Speaker 1: Like Banks, he went in for conspiracy theories, but his 178 00:13:44,160 --> 00:13:48,199 Speaker 1: focus was more local. Fayle was obsessed with what he 179 00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:52,319 Speaker 1: called the Gang, a cabal of elites who he believed 180 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:56,480 Speaker 1: ran city and county government. Fail did more than just 181 00:13:56,559 --> 00:14:00,480 Speaker 1: write about government, He also tried to join it, running 182 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:04,840 Speaker 1: for Medford mayor four times throughout the nineteen twenties. Another 183 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:09,440 Speaker 1: newspaper editor, Robert Rule of the Medford Mayle Tribune, called 184 00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:13,120 Speaker 1: Fayle quote the hardy perennial who has been running for 185 00:14:13,240 --> 00:14:17,760 Speaker 1: mayor for this city since the Neolithic age. Banks and 186 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:22,400 Speaker 1: Fayle might seem like fringe figures, and in other times, 187 00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:26,800 Speaker 1: in other places they may very well have been, But 188 00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:30,520 Speaker 1: in a county with deep veins of populis sentiment, in 189 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:36,520 Speaker 1: a time of great suffering, their voices resonated. The two 190 00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:40,800 Speaker 1: men became political allies in nineteen thirty, when Banks ran 191 00:14:40,880 --> 00:14:44,360 Speaker 1: for the United States Senate and Fayle again ran for 192 00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:49,640 Speaker 1: Medford mayor. Banks's campaign went nowhere, at least outside of 193 00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:54,040 Speaker 1: Jackson County. Inside the county, he received forty percent of 194 00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:57,360 Speaker 1: the vote. Fail who was running for mayor for the 195 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:02,600 Speaker 1: fifth time, did even better. Though he ultimately lost the race, 196 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:06,280 Speaker 1: it was only by a margin of fourteen votes out 197 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:10,160 Speaker 1: of three thousand, two hundred and forty Over the next 198 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:15,400 Speaker 1: two years, conditions worsened in the county. In nineteen thirty two, 199 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:20,320 Speaker 1: the county's second largest bank failed, and while banks were failing, 200 00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:27,440 Speaker 1: Banks and Fail were also failing, but seriously, both men 201 00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:31,040 Speaker 1: were facing bankruptcy. They were also facing a number of 202 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:35,440 Speaker 1: libel suits from people who they had published unsubstantiated damaging 203 00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:40,600 Speaker 1: conspiracies about Fail. And Banks seemed to be at their 204 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:46,080 Speaker 1: lowest points, but they were, if nothing else, canny men. 205 00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:51,320 Speaker 1: In the dire conditions of the depression. They saw an opportunity. 206 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:57,160 Speaker 1: People wanted change. Banks and Fail thought that they could 207 00:15:57,240 --> 00:16:01,720 Speaker 1: provide that change. Their plan was this, they would take 208 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:06,160 Speaker 1: control of the local Republican party, choose candidates that aligned 209 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:09,880 Speaker 1: with their political views, and use their newspapers to get 210 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:15,040 Speaker 1: those candidates elected. If everything worked out, Banks and Fail 211 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:19,400 Speaker 1: would be running Jackson County. The two men had different 212 00:16:19,480 --> 00:16:25,160 Speaker 1: motivations in creating a movement. Llewellyn Banks frankly needed the money. 213 00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:30,280 Speaker 1: A man accustomed to wealth, he drove cadillacs, wore finely 214 00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:34,040 Speaker 1: tailored suits, and lived in a beautiful house. He was 215 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:38,680 Speaker 1: now barely scraping by. To Banks, the path to power 216 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:42,240 Speaker 1: was also a path to money. He could use his 217 00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:46,120 Speaker 1: government connections to dismiss the suits against him and reduce 218 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:51,400 Speaker 1: his taxes. For Earl Fayle, power was the goal itself. 219 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:55,600 Speaker 1: He dreamed of taking down the so called gang and 220 00:16:55,680 --> 00:16:58,960 Speaker 1: getting revenge for the injustices he believed he had suffered 221 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:03,840 Speaker 1: at their hands. Though their motivations differed, the men shared 222 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:08,960 Speaker 1: a sense of unbridled determination. They would stop at nothing 223 00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:17,200 Speaker 1: to win, even if that meant breaking the law. Earl 224 00:17:17,320 --> 00:17:22,040 Speaker 1: Fayle wasn't satisfied with just electing allies to political office. 225 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:27,480 Speaker 1: He wanted to run himself. Fayle, of course, had previously 226 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:31,480 Speaker 1: tried to become mayor of Medford. This time he picked 227 00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:36,000 Speaker 1: an even more powerful office. He declared his intention to 228 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:40,399 Speaker 1: become county judge. A county judge is akin to a 229 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:44,560 Speaker 1: county commissioner. The judge and the other commissioners make important 230 00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:50,480 Speaker 1: decisions about local taxes, infrastructure, and boundaries of election districts. 231 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:54,960 Speaker 1: Faile ran an aggressive campaign for the Republican primary nomination. 232 00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:59,560 Speaker 1: He toured the farthest reaches of Jackson County, speaking in 233 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:03,560 Speaker 1: school rules and churches, vowing to root out the elite 234 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:07,000 Speaker 1: political gang that he said was oppressing the common man. 235 00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:11,800 Speaker 1: Watch your step, folks, he told a crowd in Shady Cove, 236 00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:15,560 Speaker 1: or they will have you in jail if you can't 237 00:18:15,560 --> 00:18:19,720 Speaker 1: account for every ten minutes of your life. Faile campaigned 238 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:25,080 Speaker 1: alongside his and Banks's chosen candidates for other positions, Thomas 239 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:29,240 Speaker 1: j Enwright running for district attorney and Phil Loud running 240 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:34,120 Speaker 1: for sheriff. Both were young political newcomers and their lack 241 00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:39,760 Speaker 1: of name recognition hurt them. Both men lost their primary races. However, 242 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:44,760 Speaker 1: another ally, Gordon Skemmerhorn, did win the Democratic primary for sheriff, 243 00:18:45,359 --> 00:18:51,679 Speaker 1: beating the longtime incumbent Ralph Jennings, and most importantly, Faile 244 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:57,880 Speaker 1: won his own primary handily. Then on November eighth, nineteen 245 00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:03,280 Speaker 1: thirty two, fail won the general election, and though other 246 00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:08,159 Speaker 1: Faile backed candidates lost their races, incumbent George Cotting managed 247 00:19:08,160 --> 00:19:12,720 Speaker 1: to hold onto the district Attorney's office, Fayle's ally, Gordon Skemmerhorn, 248 00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:17,360 Speaker 1: won the county sheriff election. This should have been a 249 00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:21,840 Speaker 1: thrilling moment for Fayle, after years of failure, he had 250 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:26,840 Speaker 1: finally won and one perhaps the most politically powerful position 251 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:30,760 Speaker 1: in the county at that but behind the scenes, his 252 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:35,919 Speaker 1: personal woes were only increasing. Fayle had lost a number 253 00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:40,359 Speaker 1: of libel cases, including one whose judgment entailed seizing his 254 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:43,919 Speaker 1: printing press. He now had to share a printing press 255 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:47,800 Speaker 1: with Banks. The two men were also facing yet more 256 00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:53,040 Speaker 1: lawsuits when State Circuit Court Judge Harold D. Norton, who 257 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:56,840 Speaker 1: happened to be Fayle's neighbor, refused to dismiss the pending 258 00:19:56,880 --> 00:20:00,760 Speaker 1: libel cases. In the summer of nineteen thirty two, Banks 259 00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:05,240 Speaker 1: and Fayle began an aggressive recall campaign against Norton, though 260 00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:09,480 Speaker 1: they kept their involvement with this campaign a secret. Banks 261 00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:13,480 Speaker 1: and Fayle's political gains were also not quite as solid 262 00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:16,960 Speaker 1: as they might have wished. Though their ally skemmer Horn, 263 00:20:17,119 --> 00:20:20,280 Speaker 1: had won the sheriff's selection, it had been a tight 264 00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:23,879 Speaker 1: race against the incumbent Ralph Jennings, who had run a 265 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:28,200 Speaker 1: write in campaign. After losing the primary, Jennings was now 266 00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:32,119 Speaker 1: asking for a recount. Skemmer Horn was doing his best 267 00:20:32,119 --> 00:20:35,359 Speaker 1: to delay the recount, but it was entirely possible that 268 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:38,360 Speaker 1: he could lose his position if the recount went forward. 269 00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:45,119 Speaker 1: Over the summer, tensions in the area rose. Though Fayle 270 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:50,840 Speaker 1: had many supporters, he faced criticism. Two other local newspaper editors, 271 00:20:51,320 --> 00:20:55,160 Speaker 1: Robert Rule of the Medford Mail Tribune and Leonard Hall 272 00:20:55,359 --> 00:21:00,159 Speaker 1: of the Jacksonville Minor, spoke out against Fayle. Hall was 273 00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:03,919 Speaker 1: an irreverent, bold writer with a gift for parody, and 274 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:07,280 Speaker 1: his attacks on Fayle riled people up so much that 275 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:11,639 Speaker 1: he was physically attacked in the street. Threats of violence 276 00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:16,520 Speaker 1: hung over the county like thunder clouds. Comparing the situation 277 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:19,760 Speaker 1: in Jackson County to that of Europe before the First 278 00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:25,480 Speaker 1: World War. The Oregonian called the area a Balkan powder keg. 279 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:31,080 Speaker 1: Banks and Fayle were central to creating this atmosphere. Banks 280 00:21:31,119 --> 00:21:35,520 Speaker 1: publicly called for a citizen's vigilance committee to remove District 281 00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:39,199 Speaker 1: Attorney Cotting and Circuit Court Judge Norton from their offices, 282 00:21:39,720 --> 00:21:45,800 Speaker 1: even going so far as referencing the hangman's noose. In response, 283 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:50,760 Speaker 1: the American Legion, a veterans organization, posted guards outside county 284 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:55,320 Speaker 1: officials homes. Armed guards became the norm for prominent Jackson 285 00:21:55,359 --> 00:22:00,160 Speaker 1: County citizens. County Commissioner Ralph Billings posted them in his yard, 286 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:04,080 Speaker 1: and Mail Tribune editor Robert Ruhle stationed them outside his 287 00:22:04,119 --> 00:22:09,040 Speaker 1: printing press. A whole gang of ragtag guards, mainly young 288 00:22:09,160 --> 00:22:13,040 Speaker 1: unemployed men who called themselves the Green Springs Mountain Boys, 289 00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:17,800 Speaker 1: took to patrolling banks and Fayle's shared press, and eventually 290 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:23,680 Speaker 1: began personally guarding banks. They swore to quote shoot anybody 291 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:28,000 Speaker 1: who came through the door. Tensions were so high when 292 00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:33,359 Speaker 1: Medford Residence said that quote. Every time a car backfired 293 00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:37,159 Speaker 1: at night, they crawled under the bed. Things did not 294 00:22:37,359 --> 00:22:41,439 Speaker 1: calm down once Earl Fayle took office. Hundreds of his 295 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:45,080 Speaker 1: supporters would show up at County commission meetings and harass 296 00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:49,520 Speaker 1: the other commissioners. At one meeting, Fayle called for opening 297 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:53,760 Speaker 1: the County Commissary, typically only a resource for unemployed residents, 298 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:57,840 Speaker 1: to everyone. The other commissioners said that this just wouldn't 299 00:22:57,880 --> 00:23:03,560 Speaker 1: be possible. In response, the crowd of Fayle's supporters shouted, 300 00:23:04,080 --> 00:23:08,480 Speaker 1: hang them, throw them in the river. As residents became 301 00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:14,200 Speaker 1: increasingly concerned about Banks and faals embrace of extremes, opposition 302 00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:18,639 Speaker 1: to their political efforts grew. In mid January, the American 303 00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:22,080 Speaker 1: Legion and the County Bar Association organized a meeting for 304 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:27,040 Speaker 1: concerned citizens at the Medford Armory some fifteen hundred people 305 00:23:27,119 --> 00:23:31,040 Speaker 1: showed up. The group voted to endorse the integrity of 306 00:23:31,119 --> 00:23:35,240 Speaker 1: county officials like District Attorney Cotting. A smaller subgroup of 307 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:39,480 Speaker 1: attendees formed an anti Banks Fail committee, which they called 308 00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:42,639 Speaker 1: the Committee of the one Hundred. At the same time, 309 00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:47,679 Speaker 1: Banks and Fail were formally organizing their supporters. In January, 310 00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:53,240 Speaker 1: they established the Good Government Congress. Banks became the group's 311 00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:58,840 Speaker 1: honorary president with the final say on all decisions. Membership 312 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:02,040 Speaker 1: was open to anya county voter who paid the fifty 313 00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:07,840 Speaker 1: cent monthly dues. The organization grew quickly. Soon the GGC 314 00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:12,520 Speaker 1: claimed to have over six thousand members. Six thousand is 315 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:16,080 Speaker 1: an impressive number in a county with a total population 316 00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:21,080 Speaker 1: of only thirty thousand, including children. The membership roles have 317 00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:24,520 Speaker 1: been lost, so it's hard to verify this number, but 318 00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:27,879 Speaker 1: Jeffrey L. Land notes that nearly six thousand people voted 319 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:31,280 Speaker 1: for Earl Fayle in his county judge election, and pictures 320 00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:35,520 Speaker 1: of GGC meetings show large crowds. That the group's first 321 00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:40,800 Speaker 1: general assembly on February fourth, approximately two thousand people showed up. 322 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:45,520 Speaker 1: Like past political movements in the county, the GGC appealed 323 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:50,800 Speaker 1: to people's sense of disenfranchisement and unfairness. The group's preamble, 324 00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:56,520 Speaker 1: printed on every membership card, began quote, we, the citizens, 325 00:24:56,600 --> 00:25:01,320 Speaker 1: property owners, and taxpayers of Jackson County, Oregon, are faced 326 00:25:01,359 --> 00:25:05,320 Speaker 1: with economic conditions which, under the existing order of things, 327 00:25:05,720 --> 00:25:13,280 Speaker 1: have passed beyond individual control. After listing these conditions unemployment, foreclosures, 328 00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:18,920 Speaker 1: high taxes, low crop prices, the pre ample concluded quote, 329 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:22,919 Speaker 1: we find it necessary to form ourselves into an organization 330 00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:27,120 Speaker 1: for the protection of our lives, our homes, and our properties. 331 00:25:28,119 --> 00:25:33,119 Speaker 1: The GGC explicitly tied themselves to the American tradition of protest. 332 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:37,680 Speaker 1: Their mission statements reference the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. 333 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:44,199 Speaker 1: Banks compared GGC members to Revolutionary War minutemen. Many members 334 00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:48,000 Speaker 1: of the GGC saw themselves as patriots who wanted to 335 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:51,800 Speaker 1: bring the county's government back to its representative, democratic roots. 336 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:58,200 Speaker 1: Opponents of the GGC saw them differently. Critics called members hillbillies, 337 00:25:58,760 --> 00:26:03,280 Speaker 1: describing them as un educated, unsophisticated rural voters who had 338 00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:08,000 Speaker 1: fallen under the sway of two charismatic demagogues who were 339 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:13,119 Speaker 1: the GGC members. Actually, it's hard to generalize them. Not 340 00:26:13,240 --> 00:26:16,719 Speaker 1: all members of the GGC lived in rural areas. Not 341 00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:20,720 Speaker 1: all rural residents were GGC members. Not all members of 342 00:26:20,720 --> 00:26:24,920 Speaker 1: the GGC were well intentioned advocates of good government. Some 343 00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:28,000 Speaker 1: saw it as a channel for jobs or personal advancement. 344 00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:32,879 Speaker 1: Like all political movements, the GGC attracted a varied group. 345 00:26:33,840 --> 00:26:36,960 Speaker 1: The main thing that these people shared was economic status 346 00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:42,600 Speaker 1: rural or urban, male or female, farmer or small business owner. 347 00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:47,480 Speaker 1: Most GGC members had been devastated by the depression they 348 00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:52,919 Speaker 1: wanted change. Their motives are understandable, but banks and fail 349 00:26:53,119 --> 00:26:56,560 Speaker 1: were not the men they needed, and the group's appeals 350 00:26:56,600 --> 00:27:01,399 Speaker 1: to racism, xenophobia, and anti Catholic and Wish prejudices should 351 00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:06,080 Speaker 1: also not be overlooked. By mid February, the GGC leadership 352 00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:11,120 Speaker 1: was increasingly concerned about the impending sheriff's recount. It seemed 353 00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:15,919 Speaker 1: entirely possible that George Skemmerhorn, the GGC ally and current sheriff, 354 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:20,080 Speaker 1: would be ousted by their recount's results. It was then 355 00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:23,680 Speaker 1: that planning for the courthouse break in began. Though most 356 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:26,480 Speaker 1: of the group's rank and file members had no idea 357 00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:29,880 Speaker 1: about the break in, the group's leadership used a planned 358 00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:33,520 Speaker 1: courthouse rally on February twentieth as cover for the crime. 359 00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:39,480 Speaker 1: After the Sexton brothers arrest and subsequent confession and implication 360 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:43,760 Speaker 1: of the GGC in the crime, local officials moved quickly. 361 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:48,199 Speaker 1: On February twenty seventh, only seven days after the break in, 362 00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:52,800 Speaker 1: a large group of robbery participants were arrested, including Earl 363 00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:57,040 Speaker 1: Fayle and Gordon Skemmerhorn. The police used the Sexons to 364 00:27:57,080 --> 00:28:00,760 Speaker 1: elicit confessions from many of the arrested men. They placed 365 00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:03,840 Speaker 1: each man in turn in a ward alone with the 366 00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:07,800 Speaker 1: Sextons and listened in on the subsequent conversations about the 367 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:11,879 Speaker 1: break in. Skemmerhorn did not fall for this trap, and 368 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:15,880 Speaker 1: Fayle also escaped it. His followers had posted bond for him. 369 00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:20,479 Speaker 1: Shortly after his arrest. Outside the jail, trouble was brewing. 370 00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:27,480 Speaker 1: Diehard GGC members, feeling threatened, went on the attack. Men 371 00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:31,800 Speaker 1: seized newspaper editor Leonard Hall, who opposed the GGC, and 372 00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:36,240 Speaker 1: held him fast while GGC president Henrietta Martin hit his 373 00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:40,440 Speaker 1: face repeatedly with a horsewhip. A large group of GGC 374 00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:44,040 Speaker 1: members assembled outside the courtroom and threatened to break their 375 00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:47,720 Speaker 1: friends out of jail. In response, the National Guards sent 376 00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:51,680 Speaker 1: armed men to guard the jail, and Earl Phayle, once 377 00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:54,800 Speaker 1: released from jail, tried to use the powers of his 378 00:28:54,880 --> 00:28:58,840 Speaker 1: office to subvert the justice process. He issued writs for 379 00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:02,160 Speaker 1: the release of all the jailed men and also issued 380 00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:06,840 Speaker 1: an arrest warrant for Medford Police Chief Claydus MacCready. On 381 00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:10,160 Speaker 1: March sixth, the GGC held a rally at the courthouse 382 00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:14,960 Speaker 1: in front of approximately two thousand people. The ggc's leadership 383 00:29:15,080 --> 00:29:20,680 Speaker 1: railed against their opponents and called for action. Llewellyn Banks, 384 00:29:20,760 --> 00:29:24,640 Speaker 1: who spoke last, was explicit in his calls for a revolt. 385 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:29,520 Speaker 1: Banks was growing desperate. He needed control of the county 386 00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:32,880 Speaker 1: government in order to escape the large number of lawsuits 387 00:29:32,880 --> 00:29:37,320 Speaker 1: and creditors claims against him, and now that control was 388 00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:42,360 Speaker 1: slipping through his fingers. Unless we can have justice, he 389 00:29:42,440 --> 00:29:45,360 Speaker 1: told a group of anti GGC observers at the back 390 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:49,560 Speaker 1: of the crowd, I will take the field of revolution 391 00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:54,800 Speaker 1: against you people. As March war on, Banks's plans for 392 00:29:54,920 --> 00:30:01,320 Speaker 1: revolution became more concrete, his world was crumbling. On March fifteenth, 393 00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:06,200 Speaker 1: law enforcement officials seized his fruit packing house, his orchards, and, 394 00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:11,040 Speaker 1: most devastatingly his newspaper. The ownership of these assets would 395 00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:14,120 Speaker 1: be transferred to the creditors. Banks was deeply in debt 396 00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:17,680 Speaker 1: to and although Banks had not been arrested in the 397 00:30:17,720 --> 00:30:21,560 Speaker 1: first roundup of ballot thieves, he had been intimately involved 398 00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:25,080 Speaker 1: with the crime. He knew it was only a matter 399 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:30,040 Speaker 1: of time before he too was brought in. Banks was 400 00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:34,320 Speaker 1: not going to go down without a fight. For some time, 401 00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:37,640 Speaker 1: Banks and Fayle had been concocting a plan to seize 402 00:30:37,760 --> 00:30:42,040 Speaker 1: da Cotting and other county officials and hold them hostage 403 00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:46,200 Speaker 1: until they stepped down from their positions. They might even 404 00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:49,800 Speaker 1: the two men thought need to kill the county officials 405 00:30:49,840 --> 00:30:55,040 Speaker 1: to smooth the process. Sheriff Skemmerhorn, usually an enthusiastic ally, 406 00:30:55,440 --> 00:31:00,680 Speaker 1: had rejected this plan. Undeterred, Banks had begun recruiting Quote 407 00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:04,280 Speaker 1: a secret group of fighting men, telling them that he 408 00:31:04,560 --> 00:31:09,320 Speaker 1: quote meant business. He told the men to start stashing 409 00:31:09,360 --> 00:31:14,520 Speaker 1: weapons throughout the countryside. Banks also began planning for his 410 00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:18,160 Speaker 1: inevitable arrest. He made a plan to hide out in 411 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:22,720 Speaker 1: a supporter's mountain cabin. He typed up two letters addressed 412 00:31:22,720 --> 00:31:25,840 Speaker 1: to Chief MacCready and Captain Lee Bone of the Oregon 413 00:31:25,920 --> 00:31:31,440 Speaker 1: State Police. I have committed no crime, Banks wrote, and 414 00:31:31,520 --> 00:31:35,040 Speaker 1: I will therefore refuse to submit to arrest on charges 415 00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:40,280 Speaker 1: framed by the power interests and Medford's old gang. Any 416 00:31:40,320 --> 00:31:44,560 Speaker 1: effort to arrest me will result in bloodshed and, to 417 00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:50,480 Speaker 1: no doubt, my death. Medford Police Constable George Prescott had 418 00:31:50,560 --> 00:31:55,120 Speaker 1: heard about Banks's violent threats and he was worried. The 419 00:31:55,200 --> 00:31:59,240 Speaker 1: sixty three year old Prescott shared his concerns with James O'Brien, 420 00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:03,200 Speaker 1: a detective sergeant with the Oregon State Police. When the 421 00:32:03,240 --> 00:32:06,080 Speaker 1: two men met at Medford City Hall on the morning 422 00:32:06,120 --> 00:32:10,280 Speaker 1: of March sixteenth, nineteen thirty three. They were about to 423 00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:15,520 Speaker 1: arrest Llewellyn Banks. O'Brien and Prescott had arrested a number 424 00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:18,960 Speaker 1: of ballot theft suspects over the past month, but Prescott 425 00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:22,680 Speaker 1: worried that this arrest would be different. He had a 426 00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:27,600 Speaker 1: bad feeling about it. This wouldn't be Prescott's first run 427 00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:31,880 Speaker 1: in with Banks. On February eighth, Prescott had gone to 428 00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:36,320 Speaker 1: Banks's office to confiscate his newsprint per a court order 429 00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:41,040 Speaker 1: obtained by one of Banks's unpaid creditors. After Prescott sees 430 00:32:41,120 --> 00:32:45,920 Speaker 1: the newsprint, Banks lashed out at him, in an editorial saying, quote, 431 00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:51,120 Speaker 1: mister George Prescott, in full uniform with a badge of authority, 432 00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:56,000 Speaker 1: sees the paper. Prescott violated the law with full knowledge 433 00:32:56,040 --> 00:33:00,120 Speaker 1: of his act. A state of complete anarchy now exists 434 00:33:00,360 --> 00:33:04,560 Speaker 1: in Jackson County. Prescott's wife had been so upset by 435 00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:07,640 Speaker 1: this public attack on her husband's character that she was 436 00:33:07,720 --> 00:33:13,120 Speaker 1: briefly bedridden. Now O'Brien tried to kid Prescott out of 437 00:33:13,160 --> 00:33:17,080 Speaker 1: his concern. Only the mean die young, he told the 438 00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:21,840 Speaker 1: older officer. The old never die young, Prescott joked back. 439 00:33:22,960 --> 00:33:28,239 Speaker 1: Nerves settled, the two men set out. They arrived at 440 00:33:28,240 --> 00:33:31,080 Speaker 1: the Bank's home on West Main Street around ten point 441 00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:34,640 Speaker 1: fifteen and walked up the porch steps to the front door. 442 00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:40,000 Speaker 1: Edith Banks, Llewellyn's wife opened the door, but only a crack, 443 00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:44,480 Speaker 1: leaving the safety chain latched. She reached the crack and 444 00:33:44,600 --> 00:33:48,239 Speaker 1: dropped the letters Banks had written earlier, saying, here's two 445 00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:52,320 Speaker 1: letters for you. I am sorry, missus Banks, Prescott said, 446 00:33:52,520 --> 00:33:55,720 Speaker 1: but I have a bench warrant for your husband. Edith 447 00:33:55,760 --> 00:33:58,560 Speaker 1: tried to shut the door, but Prescott stuck his foot 448 00:33:58,640 --> 00:34:01,800 Speaker 1: into it and told her just a minute, I will 449 00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:04,480 Speaker 1: give you that warrant. And let you read it. He 450 00:34:04,600 --> 00:34:07,640 Speaker 1: reached into his pocket to grab the warrant, but he 451 00:34:07,680 --> 00:34:11,040 Speaker 1: would never have a chance to pull it out. At 452 00:34:11,040 --> 00:34:14,960 Speaker 1: that moment, Llewellyn Banks appeared in view with his hunting 453 00:34:15,040 --> 00:34:20,200 Speaker 1: rifle aimed at Prescott. Before anyone could react, Banks fired 454 00:34:21,239 --> 00:34:26,920 Speaker 1: the bullet designed to mushroom. On impact, ripped through Prescott's body. 455 00:34:27,920 --> 00:34:34,600 Speaker 1: He fell back into O'Brien's arms dead. Chaos irrupted. O'Brien 456 00:34:34,760 --> 00:34:37,560 Speaker 1: ran from the porch and into a nearby home, where 457 00:34:37,560 --> 00:34:41,360 Speaker 1: he called in the murder. A large force assembled outside 458 00:34:41,400 --> 00:34:44,759 Speaker 1: the Bank's home, armed with teargas in case Banks would 459 00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:49,359 Speaker 1: not surrender, but Edith Banks called the police headquarters and 460 00:34:49,400 --> 00:34:52,840 Speaker 1: said that Banks would surrender peacefully to county Deputy Sheriff 461 00:34:52,880 --> 00:34:57,240 Speaker 1: Phil Loud, a former supporter of Banks. The police agreed, 462 00:34:57,640 --> 00:35:01,759 Speaker 1: and Loud arrived along with State police cam Captain Lee Bone. 463 00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:04,719 Speaker 1: Banks shook Bone's hand and told the two men that 464 00:35:04,800 --> 00:35:09,360 Speaker 1: he had shot Prescott, quote just like any burglar. He 465 00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:14,279 Speaker 1: did not seem upset at all. Prescott's funeral three days later, 466 00:35:14,480 --> 00:35:17,960 Speaker 1: on March nineteenth, was said to be the largest ever 467 00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:23,239 Speaker 1: held in Medford. More than four thousand people attended. Prescott 468 00:35:23,280 --> 00:35:27,600 Speaker 1: had been a beloved community member involved with service organizations 469 00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:31,440 Speaker 1: and the Boy Scouts. He left behind his wife, Lottie, 470 00:35:31,920 --> 00:35:38,239 Speaker 1: and three grown children, Francis, Paul, and Nooda. Soon the 471 00:35:38,280 --> 00:35:42,240 Speaker 1: district attorney charged both Llewellyn and Edith Banks with murder. 472 00:35:43,480 --> 00:35:47,880 Speaker 1: Shock rippled across the community. Tensions had been high, yes, 473 00:35:48,320 --> 00:35:54,760 Speaker 1: but murder it seemed unthinkable. Now people wondered what would 474 00:35:54,800 --> 00:36:01,799 Speaker 1: happen when the Banks went to trial. Given the situation 475 00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:05,800 Speaker 1: in Jackson County, no one was surprised when the Banks's 476 00:36:05,880 --> 00:36:09,880 Speaker 1: lawyers asked for a change of venue. The inhabitants of 477 00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:13,839 Speaker 1: the county are so biased and prejudiced. The defense told 478 00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:17,880 Speaker 1: Circuit Court Judge George Skipworth that a fair and impartial 479 00:36:17,960 --> 00:36:23,439 Speaker 1: jury cannot be selected. Judge Skipworth, an experienced jurist who 480 00:36:23,440 --> 00:36:26,520 Speaker 1: had previously ruled on the sheriff's recount and would now 481 00:36:26,560 --> 00:36:30,800 Speaker 1: be presiding over the Bank's trial, concurred. He moved the 482 00:36:30,840 --> 00:36:34,720 Speaker 1: trial to Lane County, a county several hours drive away. 483 00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:40,160 Speaker 1: May third was set as the trial date. In the meantime, 484 00:36:40,400 --> 00:36:45,440 Speaker 1: both sides prepared for trial. The bankses had five defense lawyers, 485 00:36:45,960 --> 00:36:49,120 Speaker 1: whose fees were paid in part by Llewellyn, Banks's wealthy 486 00:36:49,160 --> 00:36:52,919 Speaker 1: brother in law, and in part by donations raised from 487 00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:57,960 Speaker 1: GGC members. The team consisted of two Jackson County lawyers, 488 00:36:58,440 --> 00:37:02,719 Speaker 1: Thomas Enwright and William Fay, as well as three experienced 489 00:37:02,760 --> 00:37:07,279 Speaker 1: trial lawyers from out of county, Frank Lonergan, Joseph Hammersley, 490 00:37:07,600 --> 00:37:12,560 Speaker 1: and Charles Hardy. Lonargan's name was especially well known the 491 00:37:12,600 --> 00:37:16,120 Speaker 1: former Speaker of the Oregon House. Lonergan was also an 492 00:37:16,120 --> 00:37:19,400 Speaker 1: accomplished athlete and one of the best defense attorneys in 493 00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:24,319 Speaker 1: the state. The prosecution team began with three lawyers, led 494 00:37:24,320 --> 00:37:29,360 Speaker 1: by Assistant Oregon Attorney General William S. Levins, Jackson County 495 00:37:29,360 --> 00:37:33,440 Speaker 1: District Attorney George Cotting and Special Assistant Attorney General Ralph 496 00:37:33,480 --> 00:37:38,760 Speaker 1: Moody assisted Levins, but on May second, as Levin's examiners, 497 00:37:39,440 --> 00:37:44,839 Speaker 1: he began complaining of heart pains. Several hours later, he 498 00:37:44,960 --> 00:37:49,160 Speaker 1: was dead. Moody took the lead role on the prosecution 499 00:37:49,440 --> 00:37:51,840 Speaker 1: only the day before the trial was set to begin. 500 00:37:52,760 --> 00:37:56,640 Speaker 1: It was a large task, but Moody had the necessary experience. 501 00:37:57,520 --> 00:38:01,400 Speaker 1: A former assistant US Attorney General, he had spent the 502 00:38:01,440 --> 00:38:05,439 Speaker 1: past several years as a highly successful corporate lawyer. He 503 00:38:05,520 --> 00:38:09,160 Speaker 1: had been specially appointed as an Oregon Assistant Attorney General 504 00:38:09,239 --> 00:38:13,839 Speaker 1: for the trial. Besides the notable exception of while an 505 00:38:13,920 --> 00:38:19,040 Speaker 1: attorney dying, jury selection was largely uneventful. Six men and 506 00:38:19,160 --> 00:38:23,040 Speaker 1: six women were seated. Wonder would take ill late in 507 00:38:23,080 --> 00:38:26,200 Speaker 1: the trial and be replaced by an alternate, making the 508 00:38:26,239 --> 00:38:30,839 Speaker 1: final composition seven men and six women. On May third, 509 00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:34,840 Speaker 1: the trial began in the Lane County Courthouse. As the 510 00:38:34,920 --> 00:38:39,239 Speaker 1: lawyers presented their opening statements, a three foot tall statue 511 00:38:39,320 --> 00:38:43,920 Speaker 1: of Lady Justice looked imperiously down at them, a sword 512 00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:47,120 Speaker 1: in her right hand, the scales of Justice in her left, 513 00:38:48,080 --> 00:38:51,160 Speaker 1: as per usual in Oregon. And I say this lovingly 514 00:38:51,360 --> 00:38:56,040 Speaker 1: as an Oregonian. It was raining. Ralph Moody delivered the 515 00:38:56,080 --> 00:39:00,440 Speaker 1: opening statement for the prosecution. He did not be around 516 00:39:00,480 --> 00:39:06,480 Speaker 1: the bush. Banks killed Prescott, he said. Missus Banks assisted him. 517 00:39:07,360 --> 00:39:09,720 Speaker 1: They knew he was an officer of the law, serving 518 00:39:09,800 --> 00:39:13,800 Speaker 1: legal papers, and his death had been carefully mapped out 519 00:39:13,840 --> 00:39:18,920 Speaker 1: in advance. They had warned Prescott against coming, and he 520 00:39:19,120 --> 00:39:23,160 Speaker 1: came anyway in the line of duty. There can be 521 00:39:23,280 --> 00:39:26,760 Speaker 1: but one conclusion from the evidence the witnesses will present. 522 00:39:27,760 --> 00:39:32,879 Speaker 1: Prescott was wilfully and maliciously killed according to a premeditated plan, 523 00:39:33,760 --> 00:39:38,480 Speaker 1: it is murder in the first degree. Defense lawyer Joseph 524 00:39:38,480 --> 00:39:41,480 Speaker 1: Hammersley said that the case was indeed a simple one, 525 00:39:42,200 --> 00:39:44,560 Speaker 1: but not in the way that Moody had presented it. 526 00:39:45,480 --> 00:39:49,400 Speaker 1: The story was not one of premeditated murder, Hammersley argued, 527 00:39:49,920 --> 00:39:53,960 Speaker 1: but instead a story about a persecuted man fighting back 528 00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:58,400 Speaker 1: against his attackers. Banks, in the defense's view, was a 529 00:39:58,480 --> 00:40:01,880 Speaker 1: thorn in the side of the power, and the powerful 530 00:40:01,960 --> 00:40:05,120 Speaker 1: had tried to punish him for daring to speak out 531 00:40:05,160 --> 00:40:09,200 Speaker 1: against them. When Banks shot Prescott, it was not a 532 00:40:09,239 --> 00:40:13,880 Speaker 1: cold blooded murder. It was quote the gesture of a 533 00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:17,920 Speaker 1: cornered creature defending his home. It was a warning to 534 00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:21,719 Speaker 1: marauders who were trying to force their way in. Hammersley 535 00:40:21,760 --> 00:40:25,480 Speaker 1: also claimed that Prescott's death was an accident that Banks 536 00:40:25,520 --> 00:40:30,200 Speaker 1: had not aimed to kill. With their parade of witnesses, 537 00:40:30,640 --> 00:40:33,440 Speaker 1: they would call more than sixty over the next two weeks. 538 00:40:33,920 --> 00:40:38,080 Speaker 1: The prosecution hoped to rebut these defense claims. The state 539 00:40:38,200 --> 00:40:41,680 Speaker 1: called E. A. Fleming, a GGC member who had been 540 00:40:41,760 --> 00:40:43,960 Speaker 1: at the Bank's home on the morning of the murder. 541 00:40:45,040 --> 00:40:48,880 Speaker 1: Fleming had stopped by unexpectedly to discuss some GGC business 542 00:40:48,880 --> 00:40:53,320 Speaker 1: with Banks. During their conversation, the matter of Banks's arrest 543 00:40:53,440 --> 00:40:56,399 Speaker 1: came up. No man can come up here with their 544 00:40:56,440 --> 00:40:59,120 Speaker 1: trumped up warrants and serve on me, for I will 545 00:40:59,160 --> 00:41:02,920 Speaker 1: not go. They will take me out feet first, Fleming 546 00:41:02,920 --> 00:41:06,680 Speaker 1: recalled Banks, saying when he warned Banks to be careful, 547 00:41:07,080 --> 00:41:11,160 Speaker 1: Banks doubled down. I will do it, he allegedly told Fleming. 548 00:41:11,719 --> 00:41:14,200 Speaker 1: I have said I will do it, and no man 549 00:41:14,320 --> 00:41:16,959 Speaker 1: can come through that door and take me. They will 550 00:41:16,960 --> 00:41:21,440 Speaker 1: take me over their dead bodies feet first. When the 551 00:41:21,480 --> 00:41:25,200 Speaker 1: officers knocked on Banks's door, Banks told Fleming to leave 552 00:41:25,239 --> 00:41:29,399 Speaker 1: out the back. As Fleming fled, he testified he heard 553 00:41:29,400 --> 00:41:34,000 Speaker 1: someone say look out or get out, and then, almost simultaneously, 554 00:41:34,480 --> 00:41:37,759 Speaker 1: a loud clap, which Fleming thought was the blast of 555 00:41:37,800 --> 00:41:42,440 Speaker 1: a gun. Fleming's account of the sequence of events aligned 556 00:41:42,440 --> 00:41:46,680 Speaker 1: with that of another witness, Oregon State Police detective Sergeant 557 00:41:46,800 --> 00:41:50,279 Speaker 1: James O'Brien, who had been beside Prescott at the time 558 00:41:50,360 --> 00:41:54,719 Speaker 1: of the shooting. As Prescott reached for the warrant, O'Brien testified, 559 00:41:55,160 --> 00:41:58,280 Speaker 1: I saw mister Banks appear and he had this rifle 560 00:41:58,360 --> 00:42:01,400 Speaker 1: leveled to his shoulder and he called out, lookout, and 561 00:42:01,440 --> 00:42:03,920 Speaker 1: I cried look out George at the same instant and 562 00:42:04,040 --> 00:42:07,000 Speaker 1: tried to pull Prescott away, and just as I did so, 563 00:42:07,120 --> 00:42:12,640 Speaker 1: the shot was fired. On cross examination, Frank Lonergan asked 564 00:42:12,680 --> 00:42:17,640 Speaker 1: O'Brien questions about Prescott's use of force. O'Brien confirmed that 565 00:42:17,680 --> 00:42:20,359 Speaker 1: Prescott had quickly stuck his foot in the door as 566 00:42:20,520 --> 00:42:23,520 Speaker 1: Edith Banks tried to close it, but he said that 567 00:42:23,560 --> 00:42:27,640 Speaker 1: Prescott never put his shoulder against the door and forcefully 568 00:42:27,680 --> 00:42:32,160 Speaker 1: denied Lonargan's claim that he and Prescott were quote pushing 569 00:42:32,200 --> 00:42:35,399 Speaker 1: on the door to force it open. With their next 570 00:42:35,400 --> 00:42:38,840 Speaker 1: witnesses a string of law enforcement officials who searched the 571 00:42:38,880 --> 00:42:43,120 Speaker 1: Bank's house after the murder, the prosecution worked to establish premeditation. 572 00:42:44,120 --> 00:42:47,400 Speaker 1: Deputy Sheriff Phil Loud testified to the contents of the 573 00:42:47,480 --> 00:42:49,960 Speaker 1: letter that Banks had written to him before the murder, 574 00:42:50,719 --> 00:42:54,160 Speaker 1: the one in which the defendant had written, quote, any 575 00:42:54,200 --> 00:42:58,080 Speaker 1: effort to arrest me will result in bloodshed and probably 576 00:42:58,200 --> 00:43:02,480 Speaker 1: my own death. Edward H. Thomas, an auditor for the 577 00:43:02,520 --> 00:43:07,319 Speaker 1: State Industrial Accident Commission, testified about a disturbing encounter he'd 578 00:43:07,320 --> 00:43:12,000 Speaker 1: had with Banks on March fourteenth, two days before the murder. 579 00:43:12,480 --> 00:43:16,040 Speaker 1: Thomas came to Banks's home. Thomas was trying to get 580 00:43:16,040 --> 00:43:19,880 Speaker 1: records from Banks about an unrelated labor matter, and Warren 581 00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:21,959 Speaker 1: Banks that if he did not get the record soon, 582 00:43:22,440 --> 00:43:25,960 Speaker 1: he would have to issue a subpoena. Banks's reaction to 583 00:43:26,000 --> 00:43:30,760 Speaker 1: this shocked Thomas. He began swearing and told Thomas, quote, 584 00:43:31,280 --> 00:43:34,680 Speaker 1: I will pluck your heart or any other man's heart 585 00:43:34,880 --> 00:43:37,759 Speaker 1: out that comes to this door to serve papers on me, 586 00:43:38,960 --> 00:43:42,799 Speaker 1: miming picking up a rifle. Banks said again, I can 587 00:43:42,840 --> 00:43:48,440 Speaker 1: pluck any man's heart out that comes up to this door. Thomas, dumbfounded, responded, 588 00:43:49,040 --> 00:43:52,000 Speaker 1: surely you wouldn't be foolish enough to do anything like that. 589 00:43:53,320 --> 00:43:58,360 Speaker 1: Events two days later would prove otherwise. More evidence of 590 00:43:58,400 --> 00:44:03,040 Speaker 1: premeditation came from Rodney Roach, an Oregon State Police officer. 591 00:44:04,040 --> 00:44:07,520 Speaker 1: Roach testified to finding a loaded revolver inside the Bank's 592 00:44:07,520 --> 00:44:11,600 Speaker 1: house after the shooting, as well as extra ammunition, all 593 00:44:11,680 --> 00:44:15,920 Speaker 1: concealed underneath a woman's coat on a cot. The defense, 594 00:44:16,040 --> 00:44:19,200 Speaker 1: in an argument held out of the jury's hearing, objected 595 00:44:19,239 --> 00:44:22,879 Speaker 1: to this testimony. Frank Lannigan said that there was no 596 00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:26,800 Speaker 1: evidence that the revolver even belonged to Banks, and pointed 597 00:44:26,840 --> 00:44:29,320 Speaker 1: out that Roach had found it more than six hours 598 00:44:29,320 --> 00:44:34,360 Speaker 1: after the shooting. The evidence, Lonargan said, was being quote 599 00:44:34,920 --> 00:44:37,960 Speaker 1: introduced here by this state in an effort to show 600 00:44:37,960 --> 00:44:41,239 Speaker 1: that an arsenal existed in the bank's home and to 601 00:44:41,360 --> 00:44:44,360 Speaker 1: lead the jury into the realms of conjecture and speculation. 602 00:44:45,160 --> 00:44:49,000 Speaker 1: The information presented here is done for prejudicial purposes and 603 00:44:49,080 --> 00:44:53,000 Speaker 1: to inflame the minds of the jury. Ralph Moody said 604 00:44:53,000 --> 00:44:55,800 Speaker 1: that the evidence was important for the jury in reaching 605 00:44:55,840 --> 00:45:01,600 Speaker 1: a conclusion about premeditation. The revolver, he argued, demonstrated quote 606 00:45:01,880 --> 00:45:05,520 Speaker 1: the existence of a conspiracy backed by a deliberate and 607 00:45:05,640 --> 00:45:10,160 Speaker 1: premeditated plan in which both defendants took part. Judge Skipworth 608 00:45:10,200 --> 00:45:14,080 Speaker 1: agreed with the prosecution's argument, ruling that the testimony was 609 00:45:14,200 --> 00:45:19,080 Speaker 1: admissible because quote, under the charge of first degree murder, 610 00:45:19,360 --> 00:45:24,160 Speaker 1: the state must show intent, preparedness, and premeditation. While it 611 00:45:24,200 --> 00:45:26,480 Speaker 1: is admitted the weapon was not the one used in 612 00:45:26,520 --> 00:45:30,040 Speaker 1: the alleged slaying of Prescott, it still has a bearing 613 00:45:30,080 --> 00:45:34,000 Speaker 1: on the purported preparedness for battle of the defendants. The 614 00:45:34,040 --> 00:45:39,400 Speaker 1: state was less successful in introducing another piece of evidence. C. A. Warren, 615 00:45:39,520 --> 00:45:42,640 Speaker 1: a sergeant with the State Police, testified that he found 616 00:45:42,680 --> 00:45:44,799 Speaker 1: a letter in the pocket of a coat in llew 617 00:45:44,840 --> 00:45:48,880 Speaker 1: Allen Banks's bedroom. When the prosecution tried to admit this 618 00:45:48,960 --> 00:45:53,000 Speaker 1: letter into evidence, the defense objected, saying that nothing in 619 00:45:53,040 --> 00:45:56,160 Speaker 1: the letter indicated who it was written by or when 620 00:45:56,239 --> 00:45:59,279 Speaker 1: it was written. As such, there was no way to 621 00:45:59,320 --> 00:46:04,160 Speaker 1: connect it to the crime. Judge Skipworth agreed the prosecution 622 00:46:04,280 --> 00:46:08,200 Speaker 1: would try multiple times to get this letter admitted. Why 623 00:46:08,320 --> 00:46:10,960 Speaker 1: was it so important to them? Because it was their 624 00:46:11,000 --> 00:46:15,360 Speaker 1: strongest evidence of Edith Banks's involvement in the case. We 625 00:46:15,400 --> 00:46:19,040 Speaker 1: haven't talked much about Edith yet. Fifty one years old, 626 00:46:19,160 --> 00:46:24,360 Speaker 1: with strong features and round spectacles, Edith cut an imposing figure. 627 00:46:25,000 --> 00:46:27,920 Speaker 1: She wore a mink coat to jury selection and a 628 00:46:28,000 --> 00:46:31,640 Speaker 1: sealskin coat to the trial's opening. She had once been 629 00:46:31,719 --> 00:46:35,799 Speaker 1: Banks's secretary and was now his second wife. They had 630 00:46:35,800 --> 00:46:39,560 Speaker 1: a daughter, Ruth May, who was twelve years old. Edith 631 00:46:39,719 --> 00:46:43,080 Speaker 1: was very involved in the Good Government Congress and well 632 00:46:43,160 --> 00:46:47,120 Speaker 1: aware of her husband's potentially violent plans. In the letter 633 00:46:47,160 --> 00:46:51,040 Speaker 1: that the prosecution wanted to introduce, Edith had counseled Llewellyn 634 00:46:51,280 --> 00:46:54,080 Speaker 1: not to write down any of his instructions for the 635 00:46:54,080 --> 00:46:58,000 Speaker 1: gunmen he planned to assemble. Don't use a written bulletin 636 00:46:58,280 --> 00:47:02,480 Speaker 1: Edith wrote, use word of mouth instead. That way she 637 00:47:02,600 --> 00:47:06,520 Speaker 1: thought he could avoid being charged should legal issues arise. 638 00:47:07,560 --> 00:47:10,840 Speaker 1: She also said quote, if you are going to fight, 639 00:47:11,560 --> 00:47:16,319 Speaker 1: that should be from home. Unfortunately for the prosecution, they 640 00:47:16,360 --> 00:47:19,680 Speaker 1: could not prove that Edith had written the letter. It 641 00:47:19,719 --> 00:47:25,120 Speaker 1: was addressed to Daddy and signed mother. The prosecution brought 642 00:47:25,120 --> 00:47:29,799 Speaker 1: on Llewellyn Banks's former secretary, Marjorie Satterly, who stated that 643 00:47:30,040 --> 00:47:34,160 Speaker 1: Edith and Llewellyn frequently called one another Daddy, dear, daddy, 644 00:47:34,520 --> 00:47:39,319 Speaker 1: and mother, both verbally and in writing. Satterly, who said 645 00:47:39,360 --> 00:47:43,000 Speaker 1: that she was very familiar with Edith Banks's handwriting, also 646 00:47:43,080 --> 00:47:47,000 Speaker 1: identified the writer of the letter as Edith Banks. But 647 00:47:47,120 --> 00:47:51,120 Speaker 1: Judge Skipworth again ruled against admitting the letter, telling the 648 00:47:51,200 --> 00:47:53,480 Speaker 1: lawyers out of the hearing of the jury that the 649 00:47:53,560 --> 00:47:57,480 Speaker 1: letter was too general and vague. If the letter was 650 00:47:57,600 --> 00:48:02,480 Speaker 1: dated and identified specific circuitcumstances of a threat, or indicated 651 00:48:02,520 --> 00:48:07,560 Speaker 1: a specific target, its informative value might outweigh its prejudicial impact. 652 00:48:08,120 --> 00:48:10,600 Speaker 1: But the letter did not have any of those things. 653 00:48:11,160 --> 00:48:14,719 Speaker 1: He therefore ruled that it would not be admitted. The 654 00:48:14,760 --> 00:48:18,799 Speaker 1: prosecution satisfied that they had introduced enough other evidence to 655 00:48:18,840 --> 00:48:23,240 Speaker 1: prove the Banks's guilt gave up the issue. They rested 656 00:48:23,280 --> 00:48:27,360 Speaker 1: their case on the afternoon of May eleventh. As historian 657 00:48:27,480 --> 00:48:30,840 Speaker 1: Joe Blakelee points out in his book Rebellion, Murder, and 658 00:48:30,920 --> 00:48:35,200 Speaker 1: a Pulitzer Prize, the prosecution had presented a solid case, 659 00:48:36,000 --> 00:48:39,560 Speaker 1: but a dry one. The defense, if they could sway 660 00:48:39,600 --> 00:48:45,640 Speaker 1: the jury's emotions, might have a chance. The next morning, 661 00:48:45,760 --> 00:48:51,000 Speaker 1: the defense began their presentation. They came out swinging, calling 662 00:48:51,160 --> 00:48:56,320 Speaker 1: Llewellyn Banks as their first witness. Banks, as usual, presented 663 00:48:56,360 --> 00:49:00,399 Speaker 1: a polished figure, now sixty two years old. He wore 664 00:49:00,480 --> 00:49:04,840 Speaker 1: wire framed spectacles and a gray three piece suit. On 665 00:49:05,000 --> 00:49:09,960 Speaker 1: stage at Giugi c Rally's, Banks seemed larger than life. 666 00:49:10,040 --> 00:49:13,919 Speaker 1: One observer recalled how Banks quote knew how to work 667 00:49:14,000 --> 00:49:17,000 Speaker 1: the crowd. He'd get the tempo going, get them to 668 00:49:17,080 --> 00:49:20,120 Speaker 1: nod their heads. He could get them to do anything. 669 00:49:21,239 --> 00:49:25,359 Speaker 1: But on the stand, Banks appeared nervous and awkward as 670 00:49:25,440 --> 00:49:29,640 Speaker 1: Lanagan walked him through his testimony. Though Banks grew more comfortable, 671 00:49:30,320 --> 00:49:34,360 Speaker 1: he began to gesticulate more, occasionally pounding on the arms 672 00:49:34,400 --> 00:49:37,920 Speaker 1: of his chair for emphasis and even standing up. He 673 00:49:38,000 --> 00:49:40,919 Speaker 1: said that he had been targeted and harassed by law 674 00:49:41,040 --> 00:49:44,359 Speaker 1: enforcement in the county for his political work. He said 675 00:49:44,400 --> 00:49:48,040 Speaker 1: that George Prescott had threatened to shoot him on site, 676 00:49:48,520 --> 00:49:50,480 Speaker 1: and he claimed that on the day of the shooting, 677 00:49:50,840 --> 00:49:54,240 Speaker 1: he quote saw what I believed to be a pistol 678 00:49:54,440 --> 00:49:58,560 Speaker 1: in Prescott's hand. This claim of self defense had not 679 00:49:58,680 --> 00:50:02,880 Speaker 1: been Banks's first idea for a defense strategy. While in 680 00:50:03,000 --> 00:50:06,480 Speaker 1: jail before the trial, he had presented another theory of 681 00:50:06,480 --> 00:50:10,160 Speaker 1: the case, both to his defense attorneys and to Oregon 682 00:50:10,239 --> 00:50:14,200 Speaker 1: State Police Captain Lee Bone. He told them that he 683 00:50:14,280 --> 00:50:17,479 Speaker 1: had not fired the fatal shot at all. The real 684 00:50:17,560 --> 00:50:21,240 Speaker 1: murderer was another man, a private detective he had hired 685 00:50:21,280 --> 00:50:25,400 Speaker 1: to work as his bodyguard. The man, whose name Banks 686 00:50:25,480 --> 00:50:29,200 Speaker 1: would or could not give, had shot Prescott and then 687 00:50:29,320 --> 00:50:31,839 Speaker 1: escaped the police by running out of the back door 688 00:50:32,200 --> 00:50:37,319 Speaker 1: and hiding amongst the gathering crowd. His defense attorneys strongly 689 00:50:37,560 --> 00:50:40,680 Speaker 1: counseled Banks against trying to use this story in court, 690 00:50:41,360 --> 00:50:45,360 Speaker 1: instead convincing him that a self defense and temporary insanity 691 00:50:45,440 --> 00:50:50,160 Speaker 1: defense would work better. Banks initially objected to the insanity defense, 692 00:50:50,360 --> 00:50:54,000 Speaker 1: but eventually agreed to it. To this end, the defense 693 00:50:54,080 --> 00:50:57,360 Speaker 1: called several doctors to the stand to testify to Banks's 694 00:50:57,400 --> 00:51:02,520 Speaker 1: mental condition. Doctor S. E. Josepfi, a specialist in quote 695 00:51:02,560 --> 00:51:07,360 Speaker 1: nervous and mental diseases, examined Banks for several hours in jail. 696 00:51:08,360 --> 00:51:12,759 Speaker 1: From this examination, doctor Josef concluded that quote, at the 697 00:51:12,800 --> 00:51:16,840 Speaker 1: time of the shooting, Banks was insane. He was affected 698 00:51:16,880 --> 00:51:21,759 Speaker 1: with what is known as transitory mania. Under cross examination 699 00:51:21,920 --> 00:51:26,760 Speaker 1: by Moody, doctor Josefe expanded on this condition, quote, mister 700 00:51:26,840 --> 00:51:30,320 Speaker 1: Banks was so confused in thought by the very disturbing 701 00:51:30,360 --> 00:51:34,400 Speaker 1: circumstances of the episode that his mental stability was broken 702 00:51:34,480 --> 00:51:37,279 Speaker 1: down for a time, varying from a few moments to 703 00:51:37,360 --> 00:51:42,760 Speaker 1: several minutes. Doctor B. F. Scaife, another doctor and defense witness, 704 00:51:43,239 --> 00:51:48,760 Speaker 1: concurred with doctor Josefi's conclusions, describing transitory mania as quote 705 00:51:49,280 --> 00:51:53,920 Speaker 1: a frenzied, excited, explosive mania. A patient in that condition 706 00:51:54,160 --> 00:51:58,360 Speaker 1: seems to have an irresistible impulse to accomplish something, whether 707 00:51:58,400 --> 00:52:02,080 Speaker 1: it is homicide, suicide, or whatever flashes into his mind 708 00:52:02,120 --> 00:52:06,400 Speaker 1: at that time. Aside from these expert witnesses, the defense's 709 00:52:06,440 --> 00:52:10,640 Speaker 1: case mainly consisted of two types of witnesses. The first 710 00:52:10,640 --> 00:52:15,400 Speaker 1: group were character witnesses, prominent Jackson County residents who testified 711 00:52:15,440 --> 00:52:19,239 Speaker 1: to Banks being a good man. The second group were 712 00:52:19,239 --> 00:52:23,800 Speaker 1: witnesses who tried to establish the threat against Banks. Several 713 00:52:23,840 --> 00:52:27,879 Speaker 1: testified to hearing George Prescott threatened to kill Banks, while 714 00:52:27,880 --> 00:52:30,759 Speaker 1: others claims to have seen Prescott aiming a gun at 715 00:52:30,760 --> 00:52:32,800 Speaker 1: the bank's house while he walked up the stairs on 716 00:52:32,840 --> 00:52:36,719 Speaker 1: the morning of the murder. The testimony of these witnesses 717 00:52:36,920 --> 00:52:40,839 Speaker 1: was not convincing. They were all GGC members and no 718 00:52:40,880 --> 00:52:44,919 Speaker 1: one could corroborate any of their evidence. The prosecution also 719 00:52:45,080 --> 00:52:49,680 Speaker 1: introduced impartial rebuttal witnesses who disputed accounts of Prescott holding 720 00:52:49,719 --> 00:52:54,680 Speaker 1: a gun. After calling twenty four witnesses, the defense rested 721 00:52:54,719 --> 00:53:00,239 Speaker 1: on May sixteenth. The prosecution called several rebuttal witnesses, ding 722 00:53:00,280 --> 00:53:04,600 Speaker 1: character witnesses who spoke about Officer Prescott's calm nature, as 723 00:53:04,600 --> 00:53:07,560 Speaker 1: well as medical witnesses of their own who disputed the 724 00:53:07,600 --> 00:53:13,600 Speaker 1: diagnosis of transitory mania. On Thursday, the case concluded. Before 725 00:53:13,600 --> 00:53:17,280 Speaker 1: closing arguments could begin, Judge Skipworth spoke to the lawyers 726 00:53:17,360 --> 00:53:20,720 Speaker 1: once more out of the hearing of the jurors he wanted, 727 00:53:20,840 --> 00:53:24,120 Speaker 1: he said, to be sure that the right interpretation is 728 00:53:24,200 --> 00:53:27,120 Speaker 1: placed on the law by both sides of the case 729 00:53:27,200 --> 00:53:30,200 Speaker 1: in appealing to the jury. He then went on to 730 00:53:30,280 --> 00:53:33,360 Speaker 1: explain that the law allows an officer with an arrest 731 00:53:33,400 --> 00:53:37,480 Speaker 1: warrant to quote break open any door or portal if 732 00:53:37,640 --> 00:53:42,359 Speaker 1: entrance is refused. Thus, any self defense arguments would need 733 00:53:42,360 --> 00:53:46,560 Speaker 1: to prove that quote the officer was using more force 734 00:53:46,640 --> 00:53:50,040 Speaker 1: than necessary, or had threatened the defendant and was attempting 735 00:53:50,080 --> 00:53:53,799 Speaker 1: to commit a felony on his person. With that, the 736 00:53:53,880 --> 00:53:59,160 Speaker 1: jury was brought back in and closing arguments began. Ralph 737 00:53:59,239 --> 00:54:03,800 Speaker 1: Moody presented the state's first argument. He disputed the defense's 738 00:54:03,880 --> 00:54:08,680 Speaker 1: self defense argument, saying, quote, nobody was pestering Banks but 739 00:54:08,800 --> 00:54:14,040 Speaker 1: his creditors. That is no justification for Banks to murder Prescott. 740 00:54:15,120 --> 00:54:18,000 Speaker 1: He said that both lew Ellen and Edith Banks had 741 00:54:18,080 --> 00:54:23,000 Speaker 1: planned and prepared for violence. Frank Lnergan and Charles Hardy 742 00:54:23,120 --> 00:54:26,440 Speaker 1: presented a different version of events in their defense closings. 743 00:54:27,280 --> 00:54:33,200 Speaker 1: Hardy called Banks a victim of quote, organized persecution. Lonergan 744 00:54:33,320 --> 00:54:37,600 Speaker 1: described Banks's state of mind on the day of the murder, saying, quote, 745 00:54:38,160 --> 00:54:41,840 Speaker 1: Banks was a hounded man, staying in his home for 746 00:54:41,960 --> 00:54:45,600 Speaker 1: ten days before the tragedy to avoid trouble, planning to 747 00:54:45,680 --> 00:54:49,280 Speaker 1: leave for the mountains to save his own life. Finally, 748 00:54:49,440 --> 00:54:52,160 Speaker 1: when he saw Prescott trying to break into his home 749 00:54:52,239 --> 00:54:56,319 Speaker 1: to get him. Banks lost his reason. He asked the 750 00:54:56,400 --> 00:54:59,720 Speaker 1: jurors to be merciful to the Banks's, who he described 751 00:54:59,719 --> 00:55:02,279 Speaker 1: as an an elderly couple who just wanted to raise 752 00:55:02,320 --> 00:55:06,840 Speaker 1: their daughter, Ruth May in peace. Moody returned to deliver 753 00:55:06,920 --> 00:55:11,720 Speaker 1: the prosecution's final closing argument. Throughout the trial, he wrote 754 00:55:11,719 --> 00:55:15,120 Speaker 1: in a letter he had tried to be quote polite 755 00:55:15,360 --> 00:55:19,040 Speaker 1: but unmistakably firm, and to handle myself in the court 756 00:55:19,160 --> 00:55:23,600 Speaker 1: in a lawyer like manner. But now, perhaps inspired by 757 00:55:23,640 --> 00:55:29,200 Speaker 1: Lonargan's more emotional approach, Moody let loose. He picked up 758 00:55:29,320 --> 00:55:34,200 Speaker 1: Banks's arrest warrant. The warrant had been retrieved from Prescott's 759 00:55:34,239 --> 00:55:38,960 Speaker 1: dead body and was soaked in the man's blood. Moody 760 00:55:39,120 --> 00:55:42,520 Speaker 1: waved it in front of the jury. He said that 761 00:55:42,600 --> 00:55:47,759 Speaker 1: Llewellyn Banks had cold bloodedly murdered George Prescott and Edith 762 00:55:47,800 --> 00:55:51,320 Speaker 1: Banks had helped him do it. He asked the jury 763 00:55:51,360 --> 00:55:55,000 Speaker 1: to find the pair guilty and sentence them to death. 764 00:55:56,040 --> 00:56:01,120 Speaker 1: With that, the trial concluded. Judge Skipworth's instructions to the 765 00:56:01,200 --> 00:56:05,640 Speaker 1: jury were straightforward. He explained the laws regarding self defense 766 00:56:05,680 --> 00:56:09,640 Speaker 1: and insanity He told jurors that the guilt or innocence 767 00:56:09,640 --> 00:56:13,280 Speaker 1: of each defendant should be decided separately, and he provided 768 00:56:13,320 --> 00:56:17,680 Speaker 1: the jurors with six possible verdicts. First degree murder requiring 769 00:56:17,719 --> 00:56:21,160 Speaker 1: the death penalty, first degree murder with a recommendation for 770 00:56:21,239 --> 00:56:25,840 Speaker 1: life in prison, second degree murder, third degree murder, not 771 00:56:25,960 --> 00:56:30,719 Speaker 1: guilty by reason of insanity, or not guilty. When he 772 00:56:30,760 --> 00:56:34,000 Speaker 1: had finished his instructions, he dismissed the jury to deliberate. 773 00:56:34,800 --> 00:56:39,719 Speaker 1: It was three thirty pm on Saturday, May twentieth. The 774 00:56:39,800 --> 00:56:44,480 Speaker 1: jury deliberated all afternoon and into the evening. At nine pm, 775 00:56:44,680 --> 00:56:48,720 Speaker 1: they adjourned. The next day after breakfast in the hotel 776 00:56:48,840 --> 00:56:52,400 Speaker 1: they had been sequestered in during the trial, they resumed 777 00:56:52,480 --> 00:56:57,680 Speaker 1: their discussion at one thirty pm, after approximately ten total 778 00:56:57,719 --> 00:57:01,319 Speaker 1: hours of deliberation, they noticed the court that they had 779 00:57:01,360 --> 00:57:05,160 Speaker 1: reached a verdict. People rushed into the courtroom to hear 780 00:57:05,200 --> 00:57:10,360 Speaker 1: the verdict, reporters, GDC members, local residents just there for 781 00:57:10,400 --> 00:57:14,719 Speaker 1: the show. The jury foreman delivered their decision to Judge Skipworth, 782 00:57:15,120 --> 00:57:19,720 Speaker 1: who asked the defendants to stand. Then he read the 783 00:57:19,840 --> 00:57:24,040 Speaker 1: verdict aloud on the charge of murder in the death 784 00:57:24,120 --> 00:57:29,840 Speaker 1: of George Prescott. The defendant Edith Banks was found not guilty. 785 00:57:30,840 --> 00:57:40,680 Speaker 1: The defendant Llewellyn Banks was found guilty. The jury had 786 00:57:40,720 --> 00:57:45,479 Speaker 1: found Banks guilty of second degree murder. Under Oregon law, 787 00:57:45,720 --> 00:57:49,600 Speaker 1: the mandatory sentence for second degree murder was life in prison. 788 00:57:50,520 --> 00:57:56,640 Speaker 1: Despite this, Banks seemed unemotional, telling reporters quote, I am undismayed. 789 00:57:57,240 --> 00:58:00,800 Speaker 1: I have implicit faith in the eternal cause of righteousness. 790 00:58:01,480 --> 00:58:05,560 Speaker 1: I have been persecuted, prosecuted and convicted by the special 791 00:58:05,600 --> 00:58:11,960 Speaker 1: privilege interests at his side, Edith Banks wept. Banks's crime 792 00:58:12,040 --> 00:58:16,920 Speaker 1: and conviction produced a mixed reaction amongst GGC members. Most 793 00:58:17,000 --> 00:58:21,880 Speaker 1: members were horrified and quickly renounced any affiliation with Banks 794 00:58:22,160 --> 00:58:26,320 Speaker 1: or the group. Shortly after the shooting, many GGC members 795 00:58:26,400 --> 00:58:30,840 Speaker 1: called the District Attorney's office and denounced the murder. DA 796 00:58:31,000 --> 00:58:34,880 Speaker 1: Cotting told people to publicly withdraw their membership, and the 797 00:58:34,920 --> 00:58:40,080 Speaker 1: Medford Mail Tribune printed many withdrawals over the following days. However, 798 00:58:40,440 --> 00:58:43,800 Speaker 1: some die hard numbers supported Banks and believed that the 799 00:58:43,920 --> 00:58:47,600 Speaker 1: murder was just the beginning of the rebellion. One woman 800 00:58:47,680 --> 00:58:51,080 Speaker 1: said publicly that Prescott quote got what was coming to 801 00:58:51,160 --> 00:58:55,040 Speaker 1: him and said quote, there will be more of this 802 00:58:56,240 --> 00:58:59,000 Speaker 1: in Gold Hill. One man said he was going to 803 00:58:59,280 --> 00:59:02,880 Speaker 1: quote take twenty five men to Medford and clean out 804 00:59:02,880 --> 00:59:07,560 Speaker 1: the gang. In Rogue River, a group of hardcore GGC 805 00:59:07,720 --> 00:59:12,920 Speaker 1: loyalists allegedly planned to dynamite a mining operation and a 806 00:59:13,000 --> 00:59:16,760 Speaker 1: hydroelectric plant. But by the end of nineteen thirty three, 807 00:59:17,080 --> 00:59:20,520 Speaker 1: the GGC was on its last legs. Much of the 808 00:59:20,640 --> 00:59:26,000 Speaker 1: organization's leadership faced trials of their own. GGC president Henrietta 809 00:59:26,040 --> 00:59:30,440 Speaker 1: Martin was convicted of variotous, violent and disorderly conduct for 810 00:59:30,560 --> 00:59:35,439 Speaker 1: horsewhipping newspaper editor Leonard Hall, and over the summer, many men, 811 00:59:35,600 --> 00:59:40,080 Speaker 1: including Earl Fayle and former sheriff Gordon Skemmerhorn, were found 812 00:59:40,160 --> 00:59:44,320 Speaker 1: guilty for their roles in the ballot thefts. Skemerhorn was 813 00:59:44,320 --> 00:59:47,640 Speaker 1: sentenced to three years in prison, while Fayle received the 814 00:59:47,680 --> 00:59:53,640 Speaker 1: maximum sentence four years. This sentencing provoked one last eruption 815 00:59:53,920 --> 00:59:58,800 Speaker 1: of GGC violence. The day after the sentencing, a GGC 816 00:59:58,920 --> 01:00:02,320 Speaker 1: supporter named Joe Joseph Johnston got into a fight with 817 01:00:02,480 --> 01:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Chuck Davis, a Fail appointed county employee who had testified 818 01:00:06,680 --> 01:00:10,800 Speaker 1: against fail in his trial. In the ensuing fight, Davis 819 01:00:10,880 --> 01:00:14,880 Speaker 1: knocked Johnston down. Johnston hit his head on a concrete 820 01:00:14,960 --> 01:00:19,560 Speaker 1: curb and died soon after. Writing about these events, the 821 01:00:19,600 --> 01:00:24,600 Speaker 1: Oregonian said, quote, the Johnston tragedy must be counted as 822 01:00:24,640 --> 01:00:28,920 Speaker 1: another to be laid on the doorsteps of Banks. Going further, 823 01:00:29,040 --> 01:00:32,880 Speaker 1: the newspaper behind quote, never has there been in the 824 01:00:32,960 --> 01:00:37,400 Speaker 1: life of Oregon another man who has done such widespread 825 01:00:37,440 --> 01:00:43,160 Speaker 1: harm as Banks. His megalomania, his obsession of persecution, his 826 01:00:43,480 --> 01:00:48,000 Speaker 1: violent hatred of all who crossed his purposes, his terrifically 827 01:00:48,120 --> 01:00:55,040 Speaker 1: perverted leadership have spread untold harm. The Oregonian was not wrong. 828 01:00:55,760 --> 01:00:59,160 Speaker 1: In his quest to escape responsibility for his financial failings, 829 01:00:59,560 --> 01:01:03,720 Speaker 1: Banks had become a demagogue, leading his followers to violence. 830 01:01:04,480 --> 01:01:08,560 Speaker 1: He preyed on people's insecurities and fears for his own ends, 831 01:01:09,200 --> 01:01:13,600 Speaker 1: with deadly results. But Banks was not the only one 832 01:01:13,640 --> 01:01:17,720 Speaker 1: whose behavior in nineteen thirty three was troubling. In their 833 01:01:17,800 --> 01:01:22,360 Speaker 1: quest to defeat the GGC, some elected officials did trample 834 01:01:22,400 --> 01:01:26,760 Speaker 1: on people's rights. The Medford police held the Sexton brothers 835 01:01:26,800 --> 01:01:31,800 Speaker 1: in jail for four days without allowing them to contact anyone, 836 01:01:31,880 --> 01:01:34,920 Speaker 1: and the District attorney's office as they prepared for the 837 01:01:34,960 --> 01:01:37,880 Speaker 1: ballot theft trials in the spring and summer of nineteen 838 01:01:37,960 --> 01:01:42,480 Speaker 1: thirty three, engaged in a variety of underhanded and even 839 01:01:42,560 --> 01:01:48,000 Speaker 1: illegal activities. They placed audio surveillance in the courthouse, using 840 01:01:48,000 --> 01:01:52,360 Speaker 1: it to listen in to privileged attorney client conversations. They 841 01:01:52,400 --> 01:01:57,240 Speaker 1: tapped phones and intercepted letters and telegrams. These measures were 842 01:01:57,240 --> 01:02:02,040 Speaker 1: not just used on defendants, but also on possible jurors, witnesses, 843 01:02:02,080 --> 01:02:06,560 Speaker 1: and attorneys. The District Attorney's office did not use evidence 844 01:02:06,600 --> 01:02:10,520 Speaker 1: obtained the surveillance in any trials, but it certainly informed 845 01:02:10,520 --> 01:02:16,120 Speaker 1: their legal strategy. As Jeffrey Leland notes quote in using 846 01:02:16,240 --> 01:02:20,720 Speaker 1: such measures, Da Cotting gave at least some, albeit after 847 01:02:20,760 --> 01:02:24,720 Speaker 1: the fact, substance to the ggc's charges of a conspiracy 848 01:02:24,840 --> 01:02:28,600 Speaker 1: by the legal officers, And there was a grain of 849 01:02:28,680 --> 01:02:31,760 Speaker 1: truth and banks and fails claims about the need for 850 01:02:31,840 --> 01:02:36,320 Speaker 1: better representation in government. There was no gang, of course, 851 01:02:36,560 --> 01:02:40,800 Speaker 1: no secret cabal of government officials conspiring to oppress the public. 852 01:02:41,440 --> 01:02:45,440 Speaker 1: But there were deep inequalities within the county. The county 853 01:02:45,520 --> 01:02:49,480 Speaker 1: had an elite political class who regularly overlooked the less fortunate. 854 01:02:50,480 --> 01:02:53,720 Speaker 1: People across the county deserved to have their voices heard 855 01:02:53,920 --> 01:02:57,680 Speaker 1: and their needs met. That being said, the Good Government 856 01:02:57,800 --> 01:03:00,840 Speaker 1: Congress was never going to help its members because its 857 01:03:00,920 --> 01:03:05,280 Speaker 1: leaders were not interested in doing so. They were interested 858 01:03:05,400 --> 01:03:09,960 Speaker 1: in personal gain, in being proved right, in putting themselves 859 01:03:10,000 --> 01:03:13,560 Speaker 1: above the law, in grasping power and deploying it for 860 01:03:13,640 --> 01:03:18,160 Speaker 1: their own ends. Fortunately, though their defeat came at the 861 01:03:18,200 --> 01:03:22,800 Speaker 1: cost of George Prescott's life, Llewellyn Banks and Earl Fayle 862 01:03:23,360 --> 01:03:28,880 Speaker 1: did not succeed. Banks refused to accept failure. He still 863 01:03:28,880 --> 01:03:31,840 Speaker 1: claimed that he had been framed. He said that people 864 01:03:31,840 --> 01:03:34,680 Speaker 1: were trying to kill him in prison, going so far 865 01:03:34,760 --> 01:03:37,160 Speaker 1: as to poison himself to try to prove his point. 866 01:03:37,680 --> 01:03:41,120 Speaker 1: He tried to bribe a parole officer. A psychologist who 867 01:03:41,160 --> 01:03:44,640 Speaker 1: examined him reported that Banks dreamed of running Oregon as 868 01:03:44,640 --> 01:03:48,920 Speaker 1: a military dictatorship. All of these things are not looked 869 01:03:48,920 --> 01:03:53,200 Speaker 1: on favorably by parole boards. Banks spent the rest of 870 01:03:53,240 --> 01:03:57,120 Speaker 1: his life in prison. Edith and Ruth May visited him 871 01:03:57,120 --> 01:04:00,280 Speaker 1: for the first two years, but after Banks accus used 872 01:04:00,400 --> 01:04:04,760 Speaker 1: Edith of stealing money from him, Edith stopped coming. Banks 873 01:04:04,800 --> 01:04:08,240 Speaker 1: died of cancer in a prison hospital on September twenty first, 874 01:04:08,440 --> 01:04:14,600 Speaker 1: nineteen forty five, aged seventy five. Edith moved back to California, 875 01:04:15,160 --> 01:04:18,920 Speaker 1: dying at age eighty six on November tenth, nineteen sixty seven. 876 01:04:20,440 --> 01:04:24,760 Speaker 1: Earl Fayle also refused to admit his guilt. Fayle was 877 01:04:24,800 --> 01:04:28,360 Speaker 1: released from prison in late nineteen thirty six and quickly 878 01:04:28,400 --> 01:04:31,720 Speaker 1: resumed his old antics, suing the county to try to 879 01:04:31,760 --> 01:04:35,520 Speaker 1: get his position as county judge back. He and his wife, 880 01:04:35,560 --> 01:04:41,520 Speaker 1: Electa started publishing broadsides which libeled various government officials. He 881 01:04:41,600 --> 01:04:45,640 Speaker 1: filed multiple lawsuits against anyone he could think of. He'd 882 01:04:45,720 --> 01:04:49,280 Speaker 1: tried to buy a rifle and rally the troops. Within 883 01:04:49,360 --> 01:04:52,400 Speaker 1: three months of his return to Jackson County, the county 884 01:04:52,440 --> 01:04:56,080 Speaker 1: had filed a notice of insanity against Fayle, and in 885 01:04:56,120 --> 01:04:59,320 Speaker 1: December nineteen thirty seven, he was committed to the Oregon 886 01:04:59,400 --> 01:05:03,920 Speaker 1: State hospit. After his release four years later, fail quieted 887 01:05:03,960 --> 01:05:07,080 Speaker 1: down somewhat, though he kept up his favorite hobby of 888 01:05:07,120 --> 01:05:10,320 Speaker 1: suing people for the rest of his life. He died 889 01:05:10,400 --> 01:05:13,920 Speaker 1: in his home in Medford on January twenty ninth, nineteen 890 01:05:14,000 --> 01:05:19,640 Speaker 1: sixty two, aged seventy six. By this time, the Good 891 01:05:19,720 --> 01:05:23,800 Speaker 1: Government Congress was long gone, but its legacy can still 892 01:05:23,840 --> 01:05:27,920 Speaker 1: be felt in moments where charismatic leaders feed on the 893 01:05:27,960 --> 01:05:33,040 Speaker 1: fears of their followers and in sight violence in those moments. 894 01:05:33,160 --> 01:05:35,800 Speaker 1: We can learn from the example of those who stand 895 01:05:35,880 --> 01:05:40,280 Speaker 1: up to such violence, including Jackson County newspaper editors Leonard 896 01:05:40,320 --> 01:05:44,840 Speaker 1: Hall and Robert Rule. Both men had been outspoken against 897 01:05:44,840 --> 01:05:47,800 Speaker 1: the GGC, even when it came at a personal cost. 898 01:05:48,760 --> 01:05:53,160 Speaker 1: Hall was horsewhipped and beaten several times, while Rule faced 899 01:05:53,240 --> 01:05:56,360 Speaker 1: threats to himself and his family and had to post 900 01:05:56,480 --> 01:06:01,200 Speaker 1: armed guards outside his newspaper's office. In May nineteen thirty four, 901 01:06:01,800 --> 01:06:06,200 Speaker 1: Rule's paper, the Medford Mail Tribune, was awarded the Pulitzer 902 01:06:06,240 --> 01:06:10,920 Speaker 1: Prize for Public Service reporting. Hall, whose newspaper was a 903 01:06:10,960 --> 01:06:15,040 Speaker 1: little less respectable, did not get such recognition, though even 904 01:06:15,160 --> 01:06:20,240 Speaker 1: Rule thought he deserved it. Another Oregon newspaper, the Eugene 905 01:06:20,280 --> 01:06:24,960 Speaker 1: Register Guard, congratulated the Mail Tribune on its prize and 906 01:06:25,120 --> 01:06:29,000 Speaker 1: hope that the win would send a message, writing quote, 907 01:06:29,840 --> 01:06:33,760 Speaker 1: there are times when the easiest course, often for editors 908 01:06:33,800 --> 01:06:38,480 Speaker 1: and politicians, is to cater to public prejudices and suspicions. 909 01:06:39,200 --> 01:06:42,800 Speaker 1: The Pulletzer award to the Mail Tribune is a warning 910 01:06:42,880 --> 01:06:49,080 Speaker 1: to demagogues that quackery has become a tiresome fashion. Ninety 911 01:06:49,160 --> 01:06:52,440 Speaker 1: years later, it is still a warning that ought to 912 01:06:52,520 --> 01:06:57,640 Speaker 1: be heeded. That's the story of Oregon v. Llewellyn and 913 01:06:57,880 --> 01:07:01,280 Speaker 1: Edith Banks. Stick around after the break for a look 914 01:07:01,320 --> 01:07:05,440 Speaker 1: at how a program of real political reform helped preserve 915 01:07:05,600 --> 01:07:12,720 Speaker 1: George Prescott's memory. In nineteen thirty three, just as the 916 01:07:12,760 --> 01:07:16,360 Speaker 1: ballot theft trials were wrapping up, the first effects of 917 01:07:16,400 --> 01:07:20,960 Speaker 1: the New Deal made themselves felt in Jackson County. President 918 01:07:21,000 --> 01:07:24,240 Speaker 1: Franklin Roosevelt had promised to bring America out of the 919 01:07:24,280 --> 01:07:29,880 Speaker 1: Great Depression, saying in his presidential nomination speech quote, I 920 01:07:30,000 --> 01:07:34,120 Speaker 1: pledge you, I pledge myself to a new deal for 921 01:07:34,200 --> 01:07:38,439 Speaker 1: the American people. Over the next seven years, that new 922 01:07:38,480 --> 01:07:42,880 Speaker 1: deal took shape via an ambitious set of laws, relief programs, 923 01:07:42,880 --> 01:07:47,440 Speaker 1: and public works. Many of these programs benefited Jackson County. 924 01:07:48,280 --> 01:07:52,800 Speaker 1: Highway construction projects provided jobs, while price control codes allowed 925 01:07:52,840 --> 01:07:55,840 Speaker 1: local industries like timber and fruit to get back on 926 01:07:55,920 --> 01:08:00,600 Speaker 1: their feet. Medford also became the regional administrative head quarters 927 01:08:00,600 --> 01:08:04,920 Speaker 1: for the Civilian Conservation Court. The CCC hired more than 928 01:08:05,040 --> 01:08:08,040 Speaker 1: three million young men across the country to work on 929 01:08:08,120 --> 01:08:12,960 Speaker 1: improving public lands. One of the CCC's projects in Medford 930 01:08:13,520 --> 01:08:16,160 Speaker 1: was creating a trail system on land that had been 931 01:08:16,160 --> 01:08:20,799 Speaker 1: donated to the city. The resulting park, with an area 932 01:08:20,880 --> 01:08:25,519 Speaker 1: of seventeen hundred acres, is the second largest park in Oregon. 933 01:08:26,800 --> 01:08:30,599 Speaker 1: In nineteen thirty seven, the park was dedicated to the 934 01:08:30,640 --> 01:08:36,320 Speaker 1: memory of George Prescott. The park Prescott Park still bears 935 01:08:36,360 --> 01:08:41,679 Speaker 1: his name today. Thank you for listening to History on Trial. 936 01:08:42,439 --> 01:08:46,000 Speaker 1: My main sources for this episode were Jeffrey max Leland's 937 01:08:46,040 --> 01:08:50,200 Speaker 1: book The Jackson County Rebellion, A Populist Uprising and Depression 938 01:08:50,200 --> 01:08:55,160 Speaker 1: era Oregon, and Joe R. Blakelee's book Rebellion Murder and 939 01:08:55,200 --> 01:08:59,280 Speaker 1: a Pulitzer Prize. For a full bibliography, as well as 940 01:08:59,280 --> 01:09:02,760 Speaker 1: a transcript of this episode with citations, please visit our 941 01:09:02,760 --> 01:09:09,799 Speaker 1: website History on Trial podcast dot com. History on Trial 942 01:09:10,000 --> 01:09:13,719 Speaker 1: is written and hosted by me Mira Hayward. The show 943 01:09:13,800 --> 01:09:17,519 Speaker 1: is edited and produced by Jesse Funk, with supervising producer 944 01:09:17,600 --> 01:09:23,240 Speaker 1: Trevor Young and executive producers Dana Schwartz, Alexander Williams, Matt Frederick, 945 01:09:23,439 --> 01:09:26,960 Speaker 1: and Mira Hayward. Learn more about the show at History 946 01:09:27,000 --> 01:09:31,200 Speaker 1: on Trial podcast dot com and follow us on Instagram 947 01:09:31,240 --> 01:09:36,040 Speaker 1: at History on Trial and on Twitter at Underscore History 948 01:09:36,080 --> 01:09:40,479 Speaker 1: on Trial. Find more podcasts from iHeartRadio by visiting the 949 01:09:40,520 --> 01:09:44,599 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 950 01:09:44,640 --> 01:09:46,400 Speaker 1: favorite shows.