Description
The haunting specter of hanging trees holds a powerful sway on the American imagination, conjuring images of rough-and-tumble frontier towns struggling to impose law and order in a land where violence was endemic. In this thoughtful study, former New Mexico State Historian Robert T rrez examines several fascinating criminal cases that reveal the harsh and often gruesome realities of the role hangings, legal or otherwise, played in the administration of frontier justice.
At first glance, the topic may seem downright morbid, and in a sense it is, but these violent attempts at justice are embedded in our perception of America's western experience. In tracing territorial New Mexico's efforts to enforce law, T rrez challenges the myths and popular perceptions about hangings and lynchings in this corner of the Wild West.
Author: Robert J. Tórrez
Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
Published: 04/01/2008
Pages: 200
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.73lbs
Size: 9.01h x 6.29w x 0.57d
ISBN13: 9780826343796
ISBN10: 0826343791
BISAC Categories:
- Social Science | Penology
- History | United States | State & Local | General