Always thought that Billy's execution was tacked on for the audience to get sympathetic for him. The really didn't execute juveniles for cattle rustling
even in the 1880s, did they?
There were no laws based on age at that time
Even now 17 & 18 are hardly juvenile, and perps that age are tried as adults
Back then, it was about right and wrong
horse stealing was a hanging offence, you take away a mans means of transportation and or making a living
Cattle rustleing was just as severe, usually not hanging, but this was coupled with murder
Life is hard, it's harder when you're stupid.
You don't have to stand tall, but you have to stand up!
Hanging for stealing cattle was not unusual, actually, going back to colonial days and back into British history.
There was the concept of the age of majority, which for us, goes all the way back to Anglo-Saxon custom and law, but you're correct, it was really restricted to contracts, not as a guideline for deciding whether someone accused of a crime shouldn't be tried.
"The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen."
They had a character witness, but he wasn't allowed to testify!
shareThe judge determined that they had no character, they were closely involved in a crime that resulted in the death of a couple people
You don't have to stand tall, but you have to stand up!
Whether it's 1870 or 2014, politics are politics. Pat Hingle's character pretty much explained it in the movie.....the main goal is statehood for the territory, and proving that you can handle lawbreakers efficiently is one step closer to getting it. Still today, both politicians and DAs love to have a big, newsworthy conviction during an election year.
share"They had a character witness, but he wasn't allowed to testify!"
Well, that's just like today.
Did you forget about the MURDERS? As participants in the rustling of the cattle, during which two people were murdered, they are guilty of the murders, as well, even if they didn't shoot the victims. Read up on "aiding and abetting" sometime. They were quite rightly hanged.
"It ain't dying I'm talking about, it's LIVING!"
Captain Augustus McCrae
> Did you forget about the MURDERS? As participants in the rustling of the cattle, during which two people were murdered, they are guilty of the murders, as well, even if they didn't shoot the victims. Read up on "aiding and abetting" sometime. They were quite rightly hanged.
I won't comment on whether they were "rightly" hanged. But by modern law at least I'll agree they were certainly guilty of the murder.
People don't seem to realize: if you're co-conspirator of a crime that then leads to the death of someone, congratulations, you're guilty of murder, also. They can legally charge someone for driving a getaway car (who didn't know they were driving getaway car, who thought they were doing their friend a "favor")-- and if their friend commits a murder while committing the robbery, they're equally guilty of the murder.
There was a case in Georgia a few years ago where one man was driving the getaway car and the other went into a store to rob it. He killed the store owner. But, since he agreed to testify he got ten years in prison and the man in the getaway car was sentenced to death.
shareThat's the English Common Law principle of "joint enterprise" - if several people jointly engage in a criminal enterprise and either could or reasonably should have foreseen a result (if one of them has a gun, for instance, and uses it) then they're equally guilty. There's the notorious English case of Derek Bentley in 1953 - Bentley was 18 and mentally not too bright, when he went on a burglary with 16-year-old Christopher Craig. Craig had a gun, and they were confronted by Police Constable Sidney Miles. Bentley told Craig "Let him have it, Chris", which the defence argued meant to give Miles the gun; Craig shot him dead. Craig was too young to hang and served I think 10 years in prison; Bentley was hanged even though he didn't fire the gun. He was posthumously pardoned in 1998, though that didn't do him much good. They made a film of the case, "Let Him Have It" starring Christopher Ecclestone.
shareOur world would be a much better place if we executed our criminals quickly like they did.
shareWith today's technology, ie, DNA, executions should take place within a year of sentencing.
shareThe justice system was harsh back then. Bruce Dern's character deserved hanging for sure, but I would have had a hard time hanging those two boys.
shareI've mentioned this before, but why didn't the judge (Pat Hingle) give the defense an opportunity to cross-examine Clint Eastwood? I don't recall the defense questioning Eastwood at all, just the prosecution.
shareI've mentioned this before, but why didn't the judge (Pat Hingle) give the defense an opportunity to cross-examine Clint Eastwood?
It is bad to drink Jobus rum. Very bad.share
Hi Strntz,
It still seems to me that the Judge(Hingle) still violated due process procedures by not allowing the defense to cross-exam. The judge could have overruled the defense if the defense went outside of proper procedures.
The judge could have overruled the defense if the defense went outside of proper procedures.
It is bad to drink Jobus rum. Very bad.share
Got it.
Maybe as a territory the judge may not have been fully and legally bound to the U.S. legal system at that time. Also, the judge may have had his eye on being governor. Best.
Judges in US territories at the time were more directly bound to the federal legal system, appeals went directly to federal appellate courts, territorial judges were appointed by the Attorney General of the US or by the President.
shareWell I'm all broken up about those boys' rights.
shareThat's for damm sure
shareCattle rustling was a hanging offense and I love that swift justice.
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