A Young Murderer Hanged 1874

First, let's talk about the news article below. It was published by the New York Sun. It was circulated by the syndicated telegraph wire and published by the Los Angeles Herald on March 19, 1874:

A "Boy" Murderer Hanged.

Jacksonville, Florida, February 27th. --- William Keene was executed today for the murder of Valentine in November last. Keene first made his appearance in this city about the 1st of October, 1873. He was quite youthful, being about eighteen years of age, and prepossessing in appearance and manner. A few days after his arrival, he was joined by Valentine, a person much older than Keene. They appeared to be warm friends. 

About the 1st of November, Valentine started up the river on a hunt, and was followed by Keene, who returned a few days after, bringing Valentine's boat, gun, and watch. Valentine's body was found near Black Point, with evidence that he had been foully murdered. The brain was pierced with a shot, the throat gashed, and the legs weighted. 

At the Coroner's inquest, Keene admitted in a careless way that the body was that of Valentine, and afterwards confessed that he committed the crime, adding that it was done in self-defense. His story was that he quarreled with Valentine about a loan of money. Valentine stooped to raise a revolver, and he fired and killed him. He denied having cut the victim's throat, and attributed the cuts to the fish. 

The theory of defense was upset by the fact that Valentine had been shot in the back of the head, and this, together with Keene's concealment of the crime and his haste to get possession of the dead man's property, sufficiently proved his guilt. 

His air of cool levity in the prisoner's box made an unfavorable impression. The proof was clear, and he was sentenced to be hanged today. His counsel made a motion for a new trial, but withdrew the motion, and the death warrant was signed. 

After his sentence, Keene began to reflect on his condition. He was received into the Methodist Episcopal Church and wrote verses devoid of literary merit, but showing that he realized his approach, ending. 

At half-past 10 this morning, he was hanged in the jail enclosure. He met his fate calmly and was pronounced dead within thirty minutes. About one hundred persons witnessed the execution. 

Tomorrow, Keene would have been nineteen years old. Valentine, the murdered man, was a native of Charlton, Saratoga county, New York, and has one brother and two sisters now living. He left home and went to California nineteen years ago, and was never heard of by his relatives until an account of his murder was seen in the New York Sun. 

L. L. Gillespie and his wife, of Troy, New York, the latter a sister of the murdered man, arrived here on Monday and had an interview with Keene. 

— end of article from the New York Sun. 

Now, let's talk about young folks committing crimes such as murder in the Old West. Keene was 18 when he killed Valentine in 1874. And yes, that's pretty young to commit murder. But really, I wouldn't call an 18-year-old murderer a "boy" like the newspaper did.

Of course, William Bonney, aka Billy the Kid, was 16 years old when he committed his first crime. It's true. In 1875, he stole food for himself and his brother from a laundry. He was also arrested for stealing clothing and firearms around the same time, and later escaped from jail. Billy the Kid was either 17 or 18 years old when he committed his first murder. 

Legend has it that it took place when Billy killed a blacksmith named Frank P. Cahill on August 17, 1877, in Arizona. He was involved in an argument with Cahill, which escalated into a physical fight. Billy shot and killed Cahill during the altercation. It's supposedly marked his first known killing and set him on a path to becoming a notorious outlaw.

While some mistakenly think he was just a youngster when he stole a horse, Wyatt Earp was not a youngster when he ended up in jail for horse theft. He was a grown man, 23 years old, when he was arrested and placed in jail for stealing a horse in 1870 in Butler County, Kansas. If he were convicted of stealing that horse, he faced the prospect of a five-year prison sentence. Knowing that, he escaped jail.

Just as what happened later when he was wanted in Arizona for the murder of Frank Stillwell, Wyatt Earp escaped the law and never answered for either crime.

Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid, and William Keene were all pretty old when they broke the law when compared to the youngest killer known to have committed murder in the Old West. Of course, some say that distinction goes to an unnamed 8-year-old girl who killed her brother in Cassville, Missouri, in 1867. Others say that sad distinction rightfully goes to James Arcene. He was 10 years old when he participated in a robbery and murder in Fort Gibson, Oklahoma in 1872. He was convicted of murder and hanged for his crime when he was 13. 

I find it interesting that young people committing crimes in the Old West, while present, were not as common as some people think. While some young people engaged in typical youthful misbehavior like petty theft, gambling, and carrying weapons, serious juvenile crime was relatively rare in many areas. It probably has something to do with keeping young people busy. So, instead of dealing in violence, many towns in the West focused on keeping young people busy by working, joining civic groups, and being a part of building their communities. 

That's not to say young people, especially young boys, in boomtowns didn't try to emulate elders by smoking, drinking, gambling, and carrying weapons, though not always responsibly. With some mining towns being more violent than others, I find it interesting that petty theft and vandalism were the extent of what was common back in the day. Of course, young people involved in minor offenses usually did so to test boundaries or gain attention. 

It's said that in the boomtown of Bodie, a group of teenage boys was known for loitering and using foul language. Their activities were generally considered more annoying and not dangerous. Serious juvenile crime, such as violent offenses, was not a widespread issue in many parts of the West.

The fact is that organized criminal gangs of very young boys committing serious crimes were not the norm at all in the West. And while that claim couldn't be made about what was going on in the cities in the East, even though law enforcement resources were often limited in towns in the West, the focus was often on maintaining basic order and dealing with juvenile delinquency by nipping it in the bud before it grew. 

Today, popular culture exaggerates the level of violence and lawlessness in the Old West. This is especially true regarding young people committing violent crimes. It just didn't happen as often as Hollywoood tries to say it did.

Tom Correa