Speakers Bureau Speaker
Paul T. Hietter, Gilbert
Paul T. Hietter has taught U.S. and Arizona history at a variety of colleges since 1991, and is currently a residential faculty member in history at Mesa Community College. Dr. Hietter has published a number of articles on his area of specialization: crime and criminal justice in territorial Arizona.
Presentations are suitable for high school as well as adult audiences.
How the Judge’s Brother Got Away with Murder: The Prosecution of Frank C. Kibbey
W. Wood Porter was riding his bicycle on Florence's main street the evening of Friday, June 24, 1892, when he was shot and mortally wounded by a drunken and enraged Frank Kibbey. Kibbey had recently concluded that his wife, Louise, and Porter were having an affair. Frank Kibbey was the brother of territorial supreme court justice and future territorial governor Joseph H. Kibbey. His victim was the nephew of former territorial supreme court justice William Wood Porter. The prominence of victim and attacker guaranteed that the criminal proceedings would be sensational. Ironically, the social stature of the participants also kept the episode from becoming part of Arizona's criminal justice lore. As numerous historians have argued, Anglo Americans who moved West were often more concerned with recreating the society they had left behind than with creating a new one. The behavior of witnesses, lawyers, jurors, and journalists reflected common late Victorian-era attitudes regarding gender roles and behavior. It also explains how Frank Kibbey got away with murder.
How Wild Was It? An Overview of Crime and Justice in Arizona Territory
Writers often use sensational anecdotes to describe conditions in the Trans-Mississippi West during the 1800s. The West, these incidents suggest, was a violent and crime-ridden place where ineffective criminal justice institutions forced citizens to take the law into their own hands. But, few historians have attempted a systematic examination of crime and criminal justice in the 19th century West. What types of crimes occurred most often? How effective was the justice system? How did contemporary residents perceive crime and the justice system? This presentation provides a fascinating glimpse into the Arizona Territory’s justice system using data from court cases and newspapers, and explores the types of crimes most commonly committed and the justice system’s response to them.
No Better Than Murderers: The Story of the Canyon Diablo Train Robbery of 1889
In March 1889, four men robbed the Atlantic Pacific train near Canyon Diablo. The robbers were eventually caught in what became an epic manhunt led by Yavapai County Sheriff William "Bucky" O’Neill. The chase lasted nearly two-and-a-half weeks, covered a reported 300 miles, and brought O’Neill nationwide fame. The robbery also served as the first test case for a new Arizona law making train robbery a capital offense. The bandits eventually pled guilty, but were not sentenced to death. Instead, they received sentences ranging from twenty-five to thirty years. Examine the Canyon Diablo Robbery within the context of the capital punishment law. The crime itself was serious, and the fleeing bandits fired on the pursuing lawmen on a number of occasions. Nonetheless, the criminals were not viewed as "no better than murderers" by the territorial judicial system. As a result, they were not executed for their crimes. This presentation explores why this was the case, and in the process explains why a blanket death penalty for all train robberies was not an appropriate response to the crime.
Popular Justice Run Amok: The Globe Lynchings of 1882
During the summer of 1882, Cicero and LaFayette Grime, along with Curtis B. Hawley, a local lumber contractor, attempted to rob the Wells Fargo & Company's express between Casa Grande and Globe. The results were a disaster. Hawley and LaFayette ended up killing two people, and three days later, the would-be bandits were in jail, waiting for their day in court that never came. During the night of August 23, enraged Globe residents intimidated the sheriff, seized the prisoners, and after a brief and informal trial, hanged Hawley and Lafayette. Although observers might accurately describe Globe as a tough and rowdy mining town, it was far more complex than that. One could reasonably expect that alleged criminals would be arrested and stand trial in front of a competent judge and jury. Globe residents seemed to be relatively peaceful, orderly and law-abiding—certainly not individuals who would engage in a public lynching. But they did anyway, and this presentation explains why.
