Gunfight at the O.K. Corral central figure in the gunfight. It was only discovered much later that "Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal", based on eight interviews with Earp, was largely fictional. The book and later Hollywood portrayals embellished Wyatt's reputation and magnified his mystique as a western lawman. Morgan Earp had no known experience with gunfighting prior to their arrival in Tombstone. While Wyatt was Pima County Deputy Sheriff on July 27, 1881, Morgan Earp took over his job as shotgun messenger for Wells Fargo. Morgan also occasionally assisted Virgil and at the time of the gunfight was wearing a deputy city marshal's badge and drawing
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral go to trial. The prosecution was led by Republican District Attorney Lyttleton Price, assisted by John M. Murphy, James Robinson, and Benoodrich. They were joined by William McLaury, Frank and Tom's older brother, he also being an able attorney, who played a key role on the prosecutor's team. The Earps' attorney Thomas Fitch was an experienced trial lawyer and had earned a reputation as the "silver-tongued orator of the Pacific." Spicer took written and oral testimony from a number of witnesses over more than a month. Accounts by both participants and eye-witnesses were contradictory. Those loyal to one side or