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| George Maledon |
By Terry McGahey
George Maledon served as Judge Isaac Parker's Chief Executioner in Fort Smith, Arkansas, during the so-called Wild West period, and later became known as the Prince of Hangmen.
Born in Germany on June 10, 1830, his family immigrated to the United States of America while he was still a small child. As an adult, George ended up in Fort Smith working as a police officer. When the Civil War began, he enlisted in the Arkansas Light Artillery, first battalion, serving through the conflict. At war's end, George went back to Fort Smith and resumed working as a police officer, but this time he became a deputy sheriff. Then, several months later, he became the turnkey (Jailer) for the federal jail in 1871. Several months later, he became the Special Deputy in charge of executing condemned prisoners.
With over sixty hangings and the shooting of five prisoners trying to escape, killing two, he had become Judge Parker's favorite executioner over the next twenty-two years. During the years between 1873 and eighteen, the hangings became public, drawing large crowds of onlookers. During this time period twenty-two men were hung on top of the twenty-foot-wide scaffold, which could process up to twelve hangings at one time. The most hung at one time upon the scaffold was six men on September 3rd, 1875.
This was truly a publicized event, and one week before the executions took place, people from near and far, as well as many news reporters from many papers of that time, converged on Fort Smith, bringing over five thousand people to watch the gruesome event, as these men met their final destiny. Of the six men, three were white, two were native American, and one was black, all being hung at the same exact time once the death warrants were read to each one and then given their chance to say any last words.
In 1878, a sixteen-foot-high fence was built around the gallows, that disallowed any further witness by the public to the executions. From that point on, there were usually less than fifty people within the fenced area.
After twenty-two years, George Maledon retired in 1894 and opened a grocery business in Fort Smith. The following year, his eighteen-year-old daughter Annie was murdered by a man named Frank Carver. The two met in Fort Smith while Carver was being tried on whiskey charges. Annie fell in love and followed Carver to Muskogee, Oklahoma where she found out that Carver was already married to an Indian woman, they got into a huge argument and Carver being drunk, shot Annie. She was taken back to Fort Smith, where she passed away on May 17, 1885.
Frank Carver was found guilty of murder, and Judge Parker sentenced him to hang. Carver found a slick lawyer who appealed to the Supreme Court, and Carver's sentence was reduced to life in Prison.
After this huge disappointment, George Maledon left Fort Smith and took his memorabilia with him, and started his own road show. He would display some of the ropes he used, a piece of the gallows beam, and many pictures of the notorious outlaws whom he had sent to their final reward. People flocked to see the famous hangman wherever he went.
George Maledon was not a very large man, standing about five feet six inches tall with a slight build, dark eyes, dark hair, fair complexion, and a long beard. He very rarely smiled and was a quiet man who mostly wore black clothing, which seems appropriate for his profession. In 1905, George's health took a bad turn, and he entered an old soldiers' home in Humboldt, Tennessee. According to government records, he passed away on May 6, 1911, and was buried at the Johnson City Cemetery.
George Maledon has the dubious honor of sending more men to their final eternity than any other executioner.
Once, George was asked if he had a bad conscience or was afraid of possible spirits he had hung. He replied, "No, I have never hanged a man who came back to have the job done over". The last execution in Fort Smith took place on July 30, 1896. Eleven and a half months later, the gallows were destroyed, and their remains were burned. In 1981, the gallows were rebuilt as part of the Fort Smith National Historic Site.
Terry McGahey is a writer and Old West historian.
This once-working cowboy is best known for his epic battle against the City of Tombstone and its historic City Ordinance Number 9, America's most famous gun-control law.
Terry was instrumental in finally repealing Tombstone City Ordinance Number 9. He is directly responsible for compelling the City of Tombstone to adhere to Arizona's laws.
If you'd like to read about his epic battle against the City of Tombstone, click here: The Last Gun Fight -- The Death of Ordinance Number 9 (Chapter One)
This was truly a publicized event, and one week before the executions took place, people from near and far, as well as many news reporters from many papers of that time, converged on Fort Smith, bringing over five thousand people to watch the gruesome event, as these men met their final destiny. Of the six men, three were white, two were native American, and one was black, all being hung at the same exact time once the death warrants were read to each one and then given their chance to say any last words.
In 1878, a sixteen-foot-high fence was built around the gallows, that disallowed any further witness by the public to the executions. From that point on, there were usually less than fifty people within the fenced area.
After twenty-two years, George Maledon retired in 1894 and opened a grocery business in Fort Smith. The following year, his eighteen-year-old daughter Annie was murdered by a man named Frank Carver. The two met in Fort Smith while Carver was being tried on whiskey charges. Annie fell in love and followed Carver to Muskogee, Oklahoma where she found out that Carver was already married to an Indian woman, they got into a huge argument and Carver being drunk, shot Annie. She was taken back to Fort Smith, where she passed away on May 17, 1885.
Frank Carver was found guilty of murder, and Judge Parker sentenced him to hang. Carver found a slick lawyer who appealed to the Supreme Court, and Carver's sentence was reduced to life in Prison.
After this huge disappointment, George Maledon left Fort Smith and took his memorabilia with him, and started his own road show. He would display some of the ropes he used, a piece of the gallows beam, and many pictures of the notorious outlaws whom he had sent to their final reward. People flocked to see the famous hangman wherever he went.
George Maledon was not a very large man, standing about five feet six inches tall with a slight build, dark eyes, dark hair, fair complexion, and a long beard. He very rarely smiled and was a quiet man who mostly wore black clothing, which seems appropriate for his profession. In 1905, George's health took a bad turn, and he entered an old soldiers' home in Humboldt, Tennessee. According to government records, he passed away on May 6, 1911, and was buried at the Johnson City Cemetery.
George Maledon has the dubious honor of sending more men to their final eternity than any other executioner.
Once, George was asked if he had a bad conscience or was afraid of possible spirits he had hung. He replied, "No, I have never hanged a man who came back to have the job done over". The last execution in Fort Smith took place on July 30, 1896. Eleven and a half months later, the gallows were destroyed, and their remains were burned. In 1981, the gallows were rebuilt as part of the Fort Smith National Historic Site.
This once-working cowboy is best known for his epic battle against the City of Tombstone and its historic City Ordinance Number 9, America's most famous gun-control law.
Terry was instrumental in finally repealing Tombstone City Ordinance Number 9. He is directly responsible for compelling the City of Tombstone to adhere to Arizona's laws.
If you'd like to read about his epic battle against the City of Tombstone, click here: The Last Gun Fight -- The Death of Ordinance Number 9 (Chapter One)
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