Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeWaters
So Juanita argued that Lee was a scapegoat.
But at the end of the day he was still guilty of murder, as GN points out.
What is it about Juanita's account that led to Lee being vindicated by the church (i.e. priesthood blessings restored), instead of leading to others being "condemned"?
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An interesting question. I'm not sure this answers it, but according to Brooks, there were rumors that the church made an agreement with the D.A. that, if Lee could be convicted and executed, all the charges against other suspects would be dropped.
Lee never denied his involvement, but contended that he was acting under military orders from superiors, and his first trial ended with a hung jury.
I wonder if these questions of due process affected later LDS leaders. Also, I suspect he might have been exonerated for keeping temple covenants to "avenge the blood of Joseph Smith."
Just some ideas.