On September 3, 1875—the day six men were hanged in Fort Smith, Arkansas—Isaac Parker earned his nickname, “Hanging Judge.” Parker had not been on the job long, starting as the federal judge over the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas on May 10. Over the next few months, he sentenced eight convicted murderers to death; one was killed trying to escape, and another got his sentence commuted and was later pardoned. With a biblical bent, Parker sternly lectured ea


Already Signed Up? Log in here.

Read this article now for Free!

Ready for a third free article? Create a free account by entering your email address and a password below.

— OR —

Sign Up Now for $29.95 a year and have immediate access to all of True West content, including the complete True West Archives dating back to 1953!

SIGN UP NOW or SIGN IN

This digital subscription is in no way connected to your Print Subscription. They are totally separate and cannot be connected. If you have a Print Subscription with True West, you will need to pay for a separate subscription to access this website and will receive a totally different Log In password. If you have an existing digital component to your Print subscription, you'll need to Sign In and request a new password.