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Fort Smith National Historic Site Cherokee Bill on scaffold with noose hanging above his head. His mother stands next to him.
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Fort Smith National Historic Site
January 25, 1889 Execution
noose
On January 25, 1889 Richard Smith was executed for the murder of Thomas Pringle. Although a dying Pringle named Smith as his assassin, the key to conviction was a unique footprint at the crime scene. This showed that the murderer wore a pair of boots with soles full of roundheaded tacks, twenty-one in the right foot and fourteen in the left. When arrested, Smith was wearing boots matching the footprints but the heels and tacks had been removed. A witness led officers to the location where Smith had thrown the heels and while the tacks were never found, the holes from them were visible in the shoe soles. Despite confessing to the deputy who arrested him, Smith declared his innocence on the gallows.

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Parker seated at his bench in 6th Street courtroom

Did You Know?
The only known image of Judge Parker in his courtroom is this one from the federal courthouse on Sixth Street which dates from the 1890s. There are no photographs of the courtroom located in the former military barracks.
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Last Updated: June 16, 2007 at 16:32 MST