The Virginian (1962)

S2E2 To Make This Place Remember

Judge Garth is persuaded by his old friend Roseanna Dobie (Joan Blondell) to visit Arapaho, Wyoming, after the tragic death of her son. While officially deemed an accident from a horse fall, the truth reveals a darker story involving Judge Garth’s acquaintance, rancher and lawyer Frank Sturgis (John Dehner). Sturgis had headed a lynch mob that executed John Dobie, accused of murdering a young woman who had spurned him. Roseanna insists on her son's innocence and pushes for a posthumous trial to clear his name. Judge Garth orchestrates a unique trial with Sturgis as prosecutor, including the other lynchers and the victim's father as jury members, while he serves as the defense attorney.