Nephi trial shows up judicial inability

A Book of Mormon murder trial

Seantum was on his way to assassinate his brother, the chief judge.

Nephi, the son of Helaman, climbed a tower to ritualistically mourn his nation's descent into sin.

People gathered and heard Nephi denounce their corruption and warned them that, unless they repented, their bodies would \"become meat for dogs and wild beasts\" (Helaman 7:19).

Several of the corrupt judges were present and cried out to the crowd, \"Why do ye not seize upon this man and bring him forth, that he may be condemned according to the crime which he has done?\" (Helaman 8:1).

Why were these judges afraid to take action on their own?

According to John W. Welch, a professor of law at Brigham Young University, they couldn't.

\"That the judges did not bring an action against Nephi themselves indicates quite clearly that judges in Zarahemla did not have authority in the law of Mosiah to initiate ordinary lawsuits,\" Welch wrote in his book, \"The Legal Cases in the Book of Mormon.\"

To get a lawsuit against Nephi for reviling the law, the judges had to persuade an ordinary citizen — one or some of the people — to take action.

But the people did not come to agreement. They argued — some for Nephi, some against. Like many ancient legal settings, this was a public event.

Nephi broke the stalemate with a prophetic challenge. He would prove that he knew of the corruption in the government by giving an immediate example which he could only know by divine help — the chief judge Seezoram had just at that moment been murdered by his brother Seantum.

Five men were quickly sent to see if this was true. It was.

Seezoram's servants saw the five near their dead master. The five were blamed for the murder and imprisoned.

In his book, Welch explained that, under the Israelite system of justice, circumstantial evidence was not sufficient to convict. Two witnesses were needed. The murder of chief judge was a difficult case because there were no witnesses of the deed.

After the confusion about the five was cleared up, the suspicion came upon Nephi.

The people believed the only way he could have known about the murder was if he was a \"confederate,\" someone who had planned it with the actual murderer.

Unlike modern law, however, Nephi was not in danger of being convicted as a murderer even if he had planned the assassination.

Welch explained that in Jewish law only the actual murderer is considered guilty of the murder. A person who encourages a murder may deserve some punishment, but not as a murderer.

\"Accordingly, the record merely states that the judges hoped that Nephi would 'confess his fault (not his guilt) and make known unto (them) the true murderer of this judge,' \" Welch wrote (Helaman 9:17).