George Maledon
Encyclopedia
George Maledon was a hangman
aptly nicknamed "The Prince of Hangmen", who served in the federal court of Judge
Isaac Parker
.
. His family migrated to Detroit, Michigan
while he was still a child. He moved to Fort Smith, Arkansas
soon after his 18th birthday, and began working as a police officer
. He held this position for many years. At the outbreak of the Civil War
, he enlisted in the Arkansas
Light Artillery, serving in the 1st Battalion.
. Maledon died in 1911, just shy of his 81st birthday, of natural causes. He is buried in the Johnson City Cemetery.
Executioner
A judicial executioner is a person who carries out a death sentence ordered by the state or other legal authority, which was known in feudal terminology as high justice.-Scope and job:...
aptly nicknamed "The Prince of Hangmen", who served in the federal court of Judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
Isaac Parker
Isaac Parker
Isaac Charles Parker served as a U.S. District Judge presiding over the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas for 21 years and also one-time politician. He served in that capacity during the most dangerous time for law enforcement during the western expansion...
.
Early life
Maledon was born on June 10, 1830, in GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. His family migrated to Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
while he was still a child. He moved to Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...
soon after his 18th birthday, and began working as a police officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
. He held this position for many years. At the outbreak of the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, he enlisted in the Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
Light Artillery, serving in the 1st Battalion.
Federal Court career: Jailer and "Hangman"
After the wars end, Maledon returned to Fort Smith, where he began working as a night guard in the Federal jail. Records indicate that Maledon supervised executions from the mid-1880s until 1891, and then again in 1894. Maledon was not the only jailer who participated in the executions. Contemporary newspaper accounts mention other jailers as well.Legend, myth, and the "Prince of Hangmen"
Remembered today as the "prince of Hangmen," George Maledon's actual work at Fort Smith is much more difficult to document. He stopped working for the federal court in 1894, and began traveling the area with a tent display showing gallows relics, including nooses and photographs of the men who died on the gallows.http://www.nps.gov/fosm/historyculture/gallowsfaqs.htm The 1899 publication of "Hell on the Border" documented Maledon's ties to the executions of the Federal Court, and first bestowed the title of "prince of hangmen."http://www.nps.gov/fosm/historyculture/prince-of-hangmen.htmEnd of Life and burial
In 1905, in failing health, Maledon entered an "Old Soldiers Home" in Humboldt, TennesseeHumboldt, Tennessee
Humboldt is a city in Gibson and Madison counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The population was 8,452 at the 2010 census, a decline of 1,015 in 2000. It is the principal city of and is included in the Humboldt, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Jackson,...
. Maledon died in 1911, just shy of his 81st birthday, of natural causes. He is buried in the Johnson City Cemetery.