A law for the lion : a tale of crime and injustice in the borderlands / Beatriz de la Garza.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

De La Garza, Beatriz Eugenia.

Series:

Jack and Doris Smothers series in Texas history, life, and culture ; no. 11.

Jack and Doris Smothers series in Texas history, life, and culture ; no. 11

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Trials (Murder)--Texas--Laredo.

Trials (Murder).

Mexican Americans--Texas--Laredo--Social conditions.

Mexican Americans.

Texas, South--Social conditions.

Texas, South.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (161 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Austin, TX : University of Texas Press, 2003.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"Esto no es cosa de armas" (this is not a matter for weapons). These were the last words of Don Francisco Gutiérrez before Alonzo W. Allee shot and killed him and his son, Manuel Gutiérrez. What began as a simple dispute over Allee's unauthorized tenancy on a Gutiérrez family ranch near Laredo, Texas, led not only to the slaying of these two prominent Mexican landowners but also to a blatant miscarriage of justice. In this engrossing account of the 1912 crime and the subsequent trial of Allee, Beatriz de la Garza delves into the political, ethnic, and cultural worlds of the Texas-Mexico border to expose the tensions between the Anglo minority and the Mexican majority that propelled the killings and their aftermath. Drawing on original sources, she uncovers how influential Anglos financed a first-class legal team for Allee's defense and also discusses how Anglo-owned newspapers helped shape public opinion in Allee's favor. In telling the story of this long-ago crime and its tragic results, de la Garza sheds new light on the interethnic struggles that defined life on the border a century ago, on the mystique of the Texas Rangers (Allee was said to be a Ranger), and on the legal framework that once institutionalized violence and lawlessness in Texas.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Part I August 1912

Part II A matter for weapons

Part III So great a prejudice

Part IV A jury of his peers

Epilogue: August 1917

Afterword

Works cited

Acknowledgments

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [130]-133) and index.

ISBN:

0-292-79627-7

OCLC:

191662544