Did Judge Parker sentence a man named Jose Gonzales to be executed on the gallows?
No. A persistent piece of folklore is the so called ‘death sentence of Jose Manuel Miguel Xavier Gonzales.’ This legend plays on Judge Parker’s speaking style and includes racist statements. Records list no such man as ever having appeared before the court. This death warrant is an excellent example of how the legend of the Gallows and the Hanging Judge has taken on a wide variety of epic forms. Didn’t Judge Parker’s court close after his death? The federal court for the Western District of Arkansas still exists today, holding court in the Judge Isaac C. Parker Federal Building, three blocks from the National Historic Site. Today the court has federal jurisdiction over the western counties of the State of Arkansas. The Indian Territory jurisdiction of the court came to an end on September 1, 1896; thus ending the unique nature of the court.
