Two Mothers

Originally Aired: September 18, 1960 Gunsmoke #441, "Two Mothers," begins at a graveside service for a young man killed in a brawl. Marshal Dillon tries to offer condolences to the victim's mother, Miss Lorenda Henshaw, while another woman, Hattie Meisner, desperately attempts to speak with her. Lorenda refuses to talk, and for good reason: it was Hattie's son Jake who pulled the trigger. Though the shooting happened during a drunken fight, Jake used his gun on an unarmed man, and now he sits in jail awaiting execution. Hattie, a respected and God-fearing woman known throughout Dodge City for her kindness and strength, is consumed by grief and desperation over her son's fate. In a shocking confrontation at the marshal's office, Hattie delivers an ultimatum to Matt Dillon: if Jake hangs on Thursday, she will kill the marshal. Matt knows she's serious and capable with a firearm, yet he also recognizes she's a good woman driven to the edge by unbearable circumstances. With no legal way to save Jake and no desire to harm Hattie, Matt faces an impossible situation, leaving Doc Adams and Kitty to wonder how he can possibly protect both himself and this grieving mother from a tragedy neither wants.