Tag: America

• The Broderick-Terry duel of 1859, the last notable duel in California.

  

  The duel between US Senator David Broderick and David Terry, former Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court is a rollicking tale of friendship-turned-feud; politics, pistols, slavery and slander. Their duel on 13 September 1859 would have made a terrific historical novel or movie and still might. Duels over political disagreements, personal enmity and often…

  CrimeScribe

  September 13, 2020

  History, Press And Politics, True Crime, Uncategorized

  37th Texas Cavalry, 49ers, 8th Texas Cavalry, Aaron Burr, abolitionist, Adairville, African-Americans, Alexander Hamilton, America, American Civil War, Americans, Appomattox, Arizona, Attorney-General, Bowie knife, Brodericl-Terry duel, Calhoun Benham, California, California Constitution, California Supreme Court, Chief Justice, Chivs, Civil War, Codo Duello, Colonel David Terry, Confederacy, Confederate, Confederates, David Broderick, David Colton, David Neagle, David Terry, Democratic Convention, Democratic Party, Democrats, Deputy US Marchal, duel, duelling, duelling pistols, duellists, duels, Federal Government, Fort Sumter, Frederick Douglas, free soil, gentleman, gentlemen, habeas corpus, History, insurrection, Intercontinental Hotel, Jim Bowie, judge, judges, justice, Kansas, Kentucky, Lake Merced, Lathrop, Lecompton Constitution, Marshal Franks, Merced, Mexico, Missouri, Munsey's, Munsey's Magazine, murder, murderer, murderers, murered, Native Americans, New Jersey, Northern California, Northerners, Palmito Ranch, Politics, Portsmouth Square, POTUS, President, President Andrew Jackson, President of the United States, pro-slavery, Reconstruction, Russelville, San Francisco, San Francisco Vigilance Committe, sbolitionists, Senator, slavery, South Carolina, Southern, Southern Confederacy, Southern gentleman, Southern gentlemen, Southerner, Southerners, statehood, Stephen Douglas, Stephen Field, Sterling Hopkins, Stockton Rural Cemetery, Tennessee, Texas, Tombstone, Treasury Secretary, Union, United States, US Attorney-General, US Attorney-General William Miller, US Senator, US Senator William Sharon, US Supreme Court, US Supreme Court Justice Stephen Field, War Between the States, War of Northern Aggression, Warner Cope, Weehawken, William Miller, William Sharon

• On This Day in 1964 – Joseph Johnson, Jr., the night they drove Old Sparky down.

  

  “The crunch. The mounting whine and snarl of the generator. The man’s lips peel back, the throat strains for a last desperate cry, the body arches against the restraining straps as the generator whines and snarls again, the features purple, steam and smoke rise from the bald spots on head and leg while he sick-sweet…

  CrimeScribe

  July 30, 2020

  History, Press And Politics, True Crime, Uncategorized

  African-American, America, Americans, Charles Brooks Jr, Charles Reynolds, Civil Rights, condemned, death, Death Row, death sentence, Don Reid, electric chair, electrocute, electrocuted, electrocution, Ewell Morris, executed, execution, executioner, executions, Furman, Furman vs Georgia, George Washington, Gregg vs Georgia, have a seat, Huntsville, Huntsville Item, Joe Byrd, Joseph Johnson Jr, last mile, lethal injection, Mack Matthews, Melvin Johnson, New York, Oklahoma, old sparky, ride the lightning, Southern hospitality, State Senator J W Thomas, Supreme Court, Texas, Texas Prison Museum, Texas Thunderbolt, the last mile, United States, US, US Supreme Court, USA, William Kemmler

• On This Day in 1851 – Josefa ‘Juanita’ Segovia, rough justice or legal lynching?

  

    Present-day California is often seen as the most liberal, tolerant state in the Union. It‘s sold with images of sunshine, surfing, and hippies; a relaxed, easy-going kind of place where, within reason, anything goes. This is a fallacy. While 1967 might have been California’s ‘Summer of Love’ July of 1851 wasn’t. Certainly not for…

  CrimeScribe

  July 5, 2020

  History, True Crime, Uncategorized

  1848, 1849, 1850, 1851, 1967, America, American, Anglos, Arizona, California, Californians, capital punishment, circuit judge, Colorado, Craycroft Saloon, crime, crime and punishment, crime history, criminal history, Cyrus Aiken, death penalty, Downieville, Foreign Miners Tax Act, Frederick Cannon, gold, Gold Rush, Golden State, hanged, hanging, History, hung, J.D. Borthwick, Jersey Bridge, Joaquin Murieta, Josefia Segovia, Juanita, lynch law, lynched, lynching, Mexican, Mexican War, miner’s justice, miners law, murder, murdered, murderer, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon Territory, Rio Grande, Sacramento, San Francisco, State of California, statehood, Summer of Love, Sutter’s Mill, Texas, Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, truecrime, United States, USA, Utah, Wyoming, Yuba County, Yuba County Court of Sessions, Yuba River

• Doctor George Henry Lamson, the ‘Sleight of Hand Poisoner’; Not as clever as he thought.

  

  All in all, a sorry fate for a man who'[d once shown such promise.

  CrimeScribe

  April 28, 2018

  True Crime

  addict, America, American, American Ambassador, black cap, cold meat shed, condemned, condemned cell, Court of Criminal Appeal, crime, crime and punishment, criminal, death, death penalty, death sentence, drug, drug addict, drug addiction, drugs, George Henry lamson, H L Mencken, History, Home Secretary, London, morphine, Mr Justice Hawkins, murder, Old Bailey, poison, poisoner, poisoning, punishment, trial, USA, Wandsworth, Wandsworth Prison, William MArwood

• I wrote a book.

  

    It’s been quite some time since I last posted ere, but I have been extremely busy with paid work and earning a living. Part of that has been writing my first book. Criminal Curiosities is a collection of crooks, all with something about their crime, trial or punishment that is singular to them. The…

  CrimeScribe

  October 19, 2017

  True Crime

  America, arsenic, art, California, capital punishment, convict, convicted, conviction, crime and punishment, crime history, criminal curiosites, cyanide, death penalty, electric chair, England, Eva Coo, executed, execution, executioner, firsts, forged, forgeries, forgery, France, gallows, gas chamber, Gee Jon, George Westinghouse, Goering, guillotine, Han van Meegeren, hanged, hanging, hangman, Herbert Rowse Armstrong, Hermann Goering, History, Holland, Japan Sadamichi Hirasawa, last, Lincoln, long drop, Luftwaffe, murder, Nazis, Nevada, New York, Nicolas jacques Pelletier, only, Paul Jaworski, Pennsylvania, poison, poisoned, poisoner, poisoning, prison, prisoners, punishment, robbery, Sing Sing, Thomas Edison, true crime, UK, Unit 731, USA, variable drop, Vermeer, Vermeers, William Horry, William Kemmler, William MArwood, writing

• Wild West – The ‘Gunslinger’ Myth

  

  The Wild West, home of many colourful (often disreputable) characters. Native Americans, gold prospectors, gamblers, cattle ranchers, miners and immigrants scrambled to extend the new frontier. They spread further West in search of their fortunes. With law-abiding, hard-working citizens came criminals. The most notorious were gunslingers, hired guns who’d rob a bank one month, protect…

  CrimeScribe

  October 5, 2015

  True Crime

  Abilene, America, Americans, casualties, Clay Allison, coach gun, Colt, crime, Dallas Stoudenmire, danger, Derringer, Dodge City, gunfighter, gunfighters, gunslinger, gunslingers, lawman, lawmen, Marshal, murder, outlaw, outlaws, rifle, shootist, shootists, shotgun, Tombstone, Wichita, Wild Bill Hickock, Wild West, Winchester