WAS THE TRIAL OF WYATT EARP THE MOTHER OF ALL HIGH-PROFILE CASES? (This is Part Two. Please read Pa
You betcha' this was the trial that became almost mystical, and it took place in in lil ole Tombstone Arizona with Judge Wells Spicer presiding. There was no jury. Soon after the trial began public opinion against Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday quickly changed. The Arizona Star editorialized in part: "The killing of the McLaurys and Clanton at Tombstone seems more dastardly day by day as the evidence is brought before the public."
Wyatt Earp, who was the town Marshall, ( his brother, Virgil, was chief of police) was allowed to issue a prepared statement, which detailed the defendants had been confronted by a band of outlaws who had been threatening them for approximately a year. In the confrontation, he said, "The first two shots were filed by Billy Clanton and myself, he shooting at me, and I shooting at Frank McLaury. I don't know which was fired first. We fired almost together." He went on to say, "I did not intend to fight unless it became necessary in self-defense and the in the performance of my official duty. When Billy Clanton and Frank McLary drew their pistols, I knew it was a fight for life, and I drew in defense of my own life and the lives of my brothers and Doc Holliday."
There was conflicting testimony as to what took place. Some witnesses testified that the Earps had fired on men with their hands in the air. However, a genuinely neutral train engineer, who happened to be in the area, furnished testimony, which led to the Judge's conclusion that it was unlikely that the Earps had fired on men surrendering. This was further borne out by a dressmaker, Addie Borland, who testified that both sides were firing at the same time and if anyone had their arms upraised, she would have seen it.
Perhaps, the findings of a historian are most apt, "They (the Earps and Doc Holliday) may not have been completely blameless, but they turned out to be innocent enough."
-JS
