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Fort Smith National Historic Sitesidewalk path along Arkansas River
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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.
deputy marshals pose with their rifles for a formal portrait  

Did You Know?
Fort Smith National Historic Site has records of over 1,770 people employed by the Federal Court for the Western District of Arkansas from 1872-1896. The majority of these employees were U.S. Deputy Marshals.

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Last Updated: June 16, 2007 at 16:32 EST