Ep 70: The Sheriff and Outlaw Henry Plummer Part 3

“The severest justice may not always be the best policy.”

- President Abraham Lincoln

 

Location: Nevada City, Montana. Settled on June 6, 1863, it was one of two major commerce towns in the territory, along with its sister city, Virginia City, MT. Presently, Nevada City has been restored as an Outdoor Living History Historical Museum and tourist attraction.

 

Background:

The case of Henry Plummer represents the gray area between due process and necessary action, depending on whether you view a rise in criminal activity as a matter for the justice system no matter how lacking, or local imperium no matter how brutal.  In an interview with Frederick Allen, author of A Decent, Orderly Lynching: The Montana Vigilantes, we discuss his initial interest in the story, the motivations of the people involved, and the debate their actions spurred, then and now.

 
 

Related Books:

Vigilante Days and Ways
By Nathaniel Pitt Langford
Buy on Amazon
Idaho's Vigilantes
By William J. McConnell, James S. Reynolds
Buy on Amazon
 

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The Dark Myths Collective

http://darkmyths.org/

 

Credits:

Episode 70: The Sheriff and Outlaw Henry Plummer (Part Three) - Interview with author Frederick Allen.  Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Audio Editing by Sarah Vorhees; Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a.k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2017 Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Photos taken by Forrest Burgess, Copyright July, 2004.