Two unsolved murders. One Black Mormon born into slavery. A doctor who challenged Brigham Young’s power. And a mutilated body left on Arsenal Hill with a warning pinned to its chest. In the winter of 1866, Salt Lake City became the scene of a story involving blood atonement, racial terror, vigilante violence, and a possible …
Tag: Mormon legal history
Episode 146: Runaway Judges with John Dinger
In this episode, legal historian John Dinger joins us to uncover the little-known world of rogue probate judges in frontier Utah. These weren’t your average courtroom clerks. Mormons wielded sweeping powers, defied federal authority, and turned probate courts into parallel governments under Brigham Young’s theocracy. What happens when local law outruns the Constitution? Tune in …