The Gallows-Fort Smith National Historic Site - Fort Smith AR
Posted by: 
Don.Morfe
N 35° 23.260 W 094° 25.807
15S E 370113 N 3916974
When a jury found defendants guilty in these capital cases, federal law mandated the death penalty. In Fort Smith, that meant an execution by hanging on a “crude and unsightly” gallows.
Waymark Code: WM1415A
Location: Arkansas, United States
Date Posted: 03/26/2021
Views: 3
With the largest criminal jurisdiction of any federal court at the time, the Western District of Arkansas handled an extraordinary number of murder and rape cases. When a jury found defendants guilty in these capital cases, federal law mandated the death penalty. In Fort Smith, that meant an execution by hanging on a “crude and unsightly” gallows.
A visitor to the city in 1893 recommended constructing a new gallows to evoke the “sacredness and majesty of the law.” This was never achieved and a year after the last execution, the city of Fort Smith destroyed the gallows structure.
“I do not desire to hang you men. It is the law.” Judge Isaac C. Parker
Group that erected the marker: National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
301 Parker Ave
Fort Smith, AR USA
72901
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