Talk:Isaac Parker
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Isaac Parker (1838-1896 was an important figure of the American frontier in the post Civil War period. As a judge he presided over the Western District of Arkansas where he earned the sobrioquet, the 'Hanging Judge.'
Parker was born in a log cabin in rural Ohio on October 15, 1838. He passed the bar in 1859 and moved to St. Joseph, Missouri where he gained a reputation as an honest lawyer and a leader in local politics. In 1868 he was elected a judge of the twelfth Missouri circut. He resigned his judgeship in 1870 to run for the U.S. Senate on the Republican ticket. He was electec and held this position until 1874 when the politics of Missouri shifted away from the republicans.
Parker sought and received the judgeship of the Western District of Arkansas which also gave him jurisdiction over the vast and lawless Indian Territory (modern Oklahoma). The territory was a notorious haven for bandits and other outlaws, and the district had been marred by corruption. From his seat in Fort Smith, Arkansas Parker had the daunting job of supervising the policing of the area.
Parker's term as judge was marked by a reputation for incorruptability and by a strict, even harsh, zeal for law enforcement. In his term he sentenced 75 men and 4 women to execution by hanging. This made him a controversial figure, especially when he had a special gallows built that could hang six people at once. The gallows was first used on September 3, 1875, earning Parker his nickname. George Maledon, the hangman during Parker's long tenure, became known as the "Prince of Hangmen."
Judge Parker continued on as judge over the territory until his death on 1896. He is a powerful symbol of the imposition of law on the "Wild West." He has been portrayed in fiction several times, notably in the film True Grit {1969}with James Westerfield playing Parker. The character played by Pat Hingle in Hang 'em High has a different name, but is clearly meant to be Parker.
Sources: http://www.legendsofamerica.com/AR-IsaacParker.html
Above text does not add anything significant to biography, is not bias free, and contains many errors. The wiki article itself is currently far better in content and substance.E leonard 02:31, 16 April 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Merge from Issac Parker
There was a separate article on this same judge at Issac Parker. I have merged content from that article into this one, and converted that one to a redirect to this article. I merged only content that seemed to me to possibly add soemthing to the current article, but it may need further editing. The history of the article I merged from can be found here. DES (talk) 17:38, 25 January 2006 (UTC)
