OK Corral Aftermath

The judge received death threats that may have worked.

For Tombstone Justice of the Peace Wells Spicer, his decision to dismiss murder charges against the Earps and Doc Holliday in the OK Corral shootout wasn’t the end of things. In December 1881, Spicer received death threats, likely from the Cow-boy element. He responded with a courageous article in The Tombstone Epitaph, saying he wouldn’t be cowed. However, less than two months later—and before his JOP tenure was over—Spicer moved on to prospecting, first in Pima County and then into Mexico. Whether the threats had their intended impact is not clear.