A Reputation that Kills

Tom Horn dies for a murder he may not have committed.

November 20, 1903. Tom Horn–one day short of his 43rd birthday–is hanged in Cheyenne, WY. He’d been convicted of the 1901 murder of 14-year-old Willie Nickell. Supposedly, Horn killed the boy by mistake, aiming for his father instead. Some scholars believe Horn was innocent, convicted by a drunken confession that would be illegal nowadays. One thing is for sure: Tom Horn had a reputation as a hired killer in Wyoming, and his background only added to the evidence against him.