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Fort Smith National Historic Site old photo of commissary when used as museum
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Fort Smith National Historic Site
July 9, 1890 Execution
noose
John Stansberry was executed on July 9, 1890, having been found guilty of murdering his wife. Although he and his wife had a new baby, Stansberry had fallen in love with someone else. To sever the ties that prevented his marriage to another woman, Stanberry killed his child on September 20, 1889. About a month later, he murdered his wife with repeated blows from an axe. Stansberry was arrested while still at his wife's grave after the funeral and was convicted shortly thereafter.

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Interior of jail cell with box for prisoners to visit with their lawyers

Did You Know?
The conditions at the federal jail at Fort Smith were so horrible that it received the nickname "Hell on the Border." Up to 50 men were crowded into one large cell with limited ventilation and poor sanitary conditions.
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Last Updated: June 16, 2007 at 21:01 MST