baskin became friends with a dr. robinson in salt lake city who was assassinated on october 22, 1866. dr. robinson was building the first public hospital in salt lake city when the police tore it down and warned him not to "renew his operations there." brigham young later said about dr. robinson's hospital: "the band of men had done wrong; that instead of going by night to destroy the building, they should have gone through it in broad day." dr. robinson contacted baskin in contemplation of bringing a suit to recover damages for the destruction of his property. a few weeks after the suit was instituted dr. robinson was called from his bed at midnight by some unknown person who said that a friend of dr. robinson was injured. ignoring the advice from his wife he went with the person, but at the corner of third south and main in downtown salt lake he was beaten to death. standing over the mutilated body of his friend, baskin resolved that he would do all in his power to increase federal authority in utah, as a prominent harvard trained, protestant attorney in utah. according to an article appearing in the "deseret news" on august 26, 1918, "he did much to develop utah mines, prosecuted john d. lee, wrote his reminiscences, exposed mormon apostle orson f. whitney, and was active in politics, especially against polygamy. he drew and procured the cullom bill, was mayor of salt lake city elected under the utah liberal party in 1892, and was associate justice of the supreme court of utah (sworn in january 3, 1899). baskin died at his home in salt lake city on august 26, 1918.