The Branch and the ScaffoldThe Branch and the Scaffold

When Judge Isaac Parker arrived in Fort Smith, Arkansas, the town had thirty saloons and one bank. Inheriting a corrupt court and a lawless territory, he immediately put the residents on notice by publicly hanging six convicted felons at one time. For the next two decades, his stern an implacable justice brought law and order to the West, and made him plenty of enemies. Parker's severe judgments scandalized Washington and took an onerous toll on his private life - but the "Hanging Judge of the Border" never flinched from his duty.