Item Detail
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17099
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16
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16
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English
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Joseph Smith and the Missouri Court of Inquiry : Austin A. King's Quest for Hostages
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BYU Studies
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2004
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43
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4
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92-136
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In November 1838, a Criminal Court of Inquiry presided over by Judge Austin A. King resulted in Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, and three others being held in Liberty Jail on charges of treason. Madsen reviews the events of the inquiry, particularly the absence of due process, the presentation of vague testimony failing to connect the defendants to specific criminal acts, and the charge of treason. Madsen explains the "Bollman," "Burr," and "Lynch" decisions that influenced the development of United States law defining treason, and then compares them to the trial and charges brought against Joseph Smith. He concludes that the order binding Joseph Smith over for treason fails for six reasons: 1) due process was ignored; 2) testimony attributed Smith with conspiratorial words, which is not a treasonable offense; 3) the absence of an armed assemblage; 4) some of the reported inflammatory language was spoken outside of the county in which the charges were made; 5) two corroborating witnesses were not produced; and 6), treason cannot be committed against a state. Madsen theorizes with Hyrum Smith that the intention of the treason charge was to hold Joseph Smith and the others on some non-bailable offense until all of the Saints had been removed from Missouri.
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Documents, Volume 6: February 1838-August 1839
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The Joseph Smith Papers, Documents, Vol. 12: March 1843 - July 1843
The Joseph Smith Papers : Documents, Volume 6 : February 1838–August 1839
The Joseph Smith Papers : Histories. Volume 2, Assigned Histories, 1831-1847
The Oxford Handbook of Mormonism
Toward a Mormon Jurisprudence
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History of the Late Persecution Inflicted by the State of Missouri Upon the Mormons
Judge Austin A. King's Preliminary Hearing : Joseph Smith and the Mormons on Trial
Missouri Conflict
Missouri Mormon Manuscripts : Sources in Selected Societies
Mormon Redress Petitions : Documents of the 1833-1838 Missouri Conflict
Smith, Joseph : Legal Trials of Joseph Smith
The 1838 Mormon War in Missouri
The Book of Daniel in Early Mormon Thought
The Missouri Persecutions