Murder in Tombstone : The Forgotten Trial of Wyatt Earp

by Steven Lubet

• ISBN13: 9780300104264
• ISBN10: 030010426X
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2004-09-10
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

The gunfight at the OK Corral occupies a unique place in American history. Although the event itself lasted less than a minute, it became the basis for countless stories about the Wild West. At the time of the gunfight, however, Wyatt Earp was not universally acclaimed as a hero. Among the people who knew him best in Tombstone, Arizona, many considered him a renegade and murderer. This book tells the nearly unknown story of the prosecution of Wyatt Earp, his brothers, and Doc Holiday following the famous gunfight. To the prosecutors, the Earps and Holiday were wanton killers. According to the defense, the Earps were steadfast heroeswilling to risk their lives on the mean streets of Tombstone for the sake of order. The case against the Earps, with its dueling narratives of brutality and justification, played out themes of betrayal, revenge, and even adultery. Attorney Thomas Fitch, one of the era's finest advocates, ultimately managedagainst considerable oddsto save Earp from the gallows. But the case could easily have ended in a conviction, and Wyatt Earp would have been hanged or imprisoned, not celebrated as an American icon.

Author Biography

Steven Lubet is professor of law at Northwestern University, where he is the director of the Program on Advocacy and Professionalism. He is the author of numerous books on legal strategy and trial advocacy.

Table of Contents

1. Slap Leather	1	(6)
2. From Dodge City to Tombstone	7	(20)
3. Prelude to a Gunfight	27	(17)
4. Thirty Shots in Thirty Seconds	44	(13)
5. Invitation to an Inquest	57	(14)
6. Judge Spicer's Court	71	(13)
7. "I Don't Want to Fight"	84	(21)
8. "I Think We Can Hang Them"	105	(30)
9. "In Defense of My Own Life"	135	(21)
10. "I Want Your Guns"	156	(23)
11. Decision	179	(24)
12. Aftermath	203	(21)
Notes	224	(9)
Bibliography	233	(11)
Acknowledgments	244	(1)
Index	245