Temple Houston’s Soiled Dove Plea

In 1899 in Woodward, Oklahoma, Temple Lea Houston, a former gunslinger turned lawyer, stood up in a makeshift courtroom to defend a prostitute named Minnie Stacey, who had no money and no attorney. Speaking entirely off the cuff, he delivered the "Soiled Dove Plea," a closing argument that described her as "an immortal soul in ruin," blamed men for her fall, and asked the jurors whether a "prodigal daughter" had any path back home. He then urged them to follow the example of Jesus toward such women and finished with the line, "Tell her to go in peace." The all-male jury retired and quickly returned a unanimous not guilty verdict, and lawyers still cite that plea as a model of the perfect closing argument.

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