The Executioner: A Brother’s Trap and a Marshal’s Regret

Originally Aired: April 15, 1956 In Gunsmoke #210, “The Executioner,” Marshal Matt Dillon faces the moral cost of frontier justice when a notorious gunman named Tom Clegg rides into Dodge, bringing a trail of dead men and a reputation built on quick draws and provoked duels. After Clegg kills Abe Curry in a “fair” fight, Abe’s brother Morgan refuses to carry a gun for revenge—choosing instead to shame and unsettle Clegg with relentless, silent pursuit. But when Morgan is finally goaded into a fatal confrontation, unarmed and desperate, it falls to Matt Dillon to end Clegg’s reign of fear with his own gun. In the aftermath, Matt must reckon with being made an unwilling executioner—forced into violence by the very men he’s sworn to protect. A tense meditation on justice, reputation, and the terrible burdens lawmen bear. Cast: William Conrad, Parley Baer, Georgia Ellis, Howard McNear, Sam Edwards, Vic Perron, John Dehner Tags: western, morality, gunfighter, justice, WilliamConrad, ParleyBaer, GeorgiaEllis, HowardMcNear, theexecutioner, oldtimeradio, vengeance, classicdrama, DodgeCity, 1950sradio, brotherhood, deathwish, lawman, suspensepodcast