Capital Crime and Federal Justice in Western Missouri: Four Cases
by Michael P. Donnelly (1971-)
Less than 1 percent of the criminal cases tried in the lower federal courts in Western Missouri involved capital crimes, and it was up to federal prosecutors whether or not to seek the death penalty in these cases. Principally relying on court records in the National Archives - Central Plains Region and filling in the gaps with secondary sources such as newspapers, I examine four cases that captured public attention: United States v. Jarvis M. Barker (1854) - treason; United States v. Rose Pastor Stokes (1918) - espionage; United States v. Carl Austin Hall and Bonnie Heady (1953) - kidnapping; and United States v. Arthur Ross Brown (1956) - kidnapping. The unique judicial personalities of the judges assigned to each case explained why they allowed certain evidence and testimony, ruled as they did, and, in cases where juries determined sentences, to what degree, if any, judges influenced jurors.
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