Deseret Drama

Lindsay and John start to discuss the murder of Dr. Robinson and the fall out it caused throughout the country, including the lynching of Thomas Coleman. To give context for this murder, they briefly discuss many other murders in frontier Utah, such as Lieutenant Brassfield and the Parrish Potter murders. Was Utah really this lawless? Was being a gentile deadly?

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Join Lindsay and John as they talk with Joe Geisner about the famous murder of Parley P. Pratt. Pratt was murdered by the ex-husband of one of his plural wives in a violent incident. They also talk to Craig Foster about the murder of James Monroe when he started to court the plural wife of Howard Egan. Egan claimed he did this “not for anger but for justice,” and cited mountain law as justification. Are these murders justified or plain old revenge? And what the heck is mountain law?

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Was Samuel Smith poisoned to clear the way for Brigham Young to succeed as leader? Did Emma Smith really try to poison Joseph over polygamy? In this episode Lindsay and John discuss poisonings in Mormon history. They are joined by Johnny Stephenson to talk about the poisoning of Samuel Smith, brother to the prophet and claims about Emma Smith poisoning Joseph. Are these claims historical fact or mere supposition?

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Are Mormons more violent than other religious groups? Was frontier Utah a dangerous place? Join Lindsay and John as they introduce extralegal justice in Utah and the West, and describe what is to come on Sunstone’s Crime and Punishment podcast.

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