1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910777511203321

Autore

De La Garza Beatriz Eugenia

Titolo

A law for the lion [[electronic resource] ] : a tale of crime and injustice in the borderlands / / Beatriz de la Garza

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Austin, TX, : University of Texas Press, 2003

ISBN

0-292-79627-7

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (161 p.)

Collana

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

Disciplina

364.15/23/09764462

Soggetti

Trials (Murder) - Texas - Laredo

Mexican Americans - Texas - Laredo - Social conditions

Texas, South Social conditions

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

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

Nota di contenuto

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

Sommario/riassunto

"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.