The whole thing was a mess. Giving orders for the half-trained, un-certified kid...er..."armorer"...orders to leave the guns out on the cart and go off and do other production jobs ("rolling cowboy cigarettes" was one early story) while a half-written scene not requiring the presence of the gun, let alone a previously unmentioned crossdraw, results in death. The smartest one in the show, aleck, had been already accused of previously plinking with live ammo with the same gun, and after the shooting was found with live ammo in pockets and ammo loops. The gal the hapless halftrained kid was working for, and the ammo supplier, both admitted to what amounts to tampering and/or disposal of evidence, but werent charged. The kid was effectively set up, compounded by her own personal errors. The amatureish handling of the whole affair by local yokels was repeatedly criticised. As for the trials, the evidence which freed aleck should have applied to free harried two-jobs hannah.
The verdict will never satisfy everybody, and the loopholes and plot complications will forever be fodder for speculation.
