Isaac Parker

Isaac Charles Parker (October 15, 1838 – November 17, 1896) served as a U.S. District Judge presiding over the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas for 21 years. He served in that capacity during the most dangerous time for law enforcement during the western expansion. He is remembered today as the legitimate "Hanging Judge" of the American Old West.

Quotes

 * The object of punishment is to... lift the man up; to stamp out his bad nature and wicked disposition.
 * Letter to U.S. Attorney General Augustus Hill Garland (May 27, 1885).


 * I am the most misunderstood and misrepresented of men. Misrepresented because misunderstood.
 * September 1, 1896; reported in Alton Pryor, The Lawmen‎ (2006), p. 103.


 * I have ever had the single aim of justice in view. No judge who is influenced by any other consideration is fit for the bench. 'Do equal and exact justice,' is my motto, and I have often said to the grand jury, 'Permit no innocent man to be punished, but let no guilty man escape.'
 * September 1, 1896, reported in Homer Croy, He Hanged Them High (1952), p. 218.