Murdering Holiness

A riveting microhistory and legal examination of the murders and subsequent trials associated with the Holy Roller sect of the Pacific Northwest in the early twentieth century.

Murdering Holiness explores the story of the "Holy Roller" sect led by Franz Creffield, a charismatic, self-styled messiah, in the early years of the 20th century.

Murdering Holiness explores the story of the "HolyRoller" sect led by Franz Creffield in the early years of thetwentieth century. In the opening chapters, the authors introduce us tothe community of Corvallis, Oregon, where Creffield, a charismatic,self-styled messiah, taught his followers to forsake their families andworldly possessions and to seek salvation through him. As his teachingsbecame more extreme, the local community reacted: Creffield was tarredand feathered and his followers were incarcerated in the state asylum.Creffield himself was later imprisoned for adultery, but shortly afterhis release he revived the sect. This proved too much for some of theadherents' families, and in May 1906 George Mitchell, the brotherof two women in the sect, pursued Creffield to Seattle and shot himdead.

The authors take us into the courtroom for the trial that madeheadlines across North America, as Mitchell was acquitted of murder.Though the formal plea was insanity, the defence built its case on the"unwritten law" that justified killing to protect or avengefamily honour. Based on court records and archival sources, this casestudy includes a detailed examination of the trial, the media’sresponse to it, and the dramatic aftermath, and sheds light on the riseof ardent religion in the Pacific Northwest, the justice system inSeattle, and the role of the press in influencing public opinion.