One thing I don't get
Rick tells his father that killing Matt's wife was an accident. I don't understand why he never told Matt himself that it was an accident and why Craig never told Matt that his son didn't mean to kill her. I don't know if it was an accident or not. Rick told his father that, but the one he should've been telling over and over was Matt. Whether killing her was an accident or not, he should've still been held responsible for his actions. He did attack her and rape her. I'm not sure if you got hung for rape in those days. Maybe you did. And in those days, I'm not sure if they had second degree murder or manslaughter. If he didn't mean to kill her, those were two possible charges to add to the rape charge. If it was an accident, Rick would've been better off standing trial. Even if they managed to run Matt out of town, the whole thing would've never been over. Matt could've come back alone, with backup, or the Indians could've showed up and burned the town to the ground. When he was old enough, Petey could've even went to Gun Hill for revenge. Maybe Rick was too stupid to realize that Daddy wasn't going to be able to get him out of this one. But what was to stop Matt from just putting a bullet in his head or torturing him? If it was me, I wouldn't be able to wait and bring him all the way back to town for a trial and a hanging. Not someone that raped and killed my wife or any member of my family.
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