Frank James Western Outlaw

Frank James turned himself in to Missouri Governor Thomas Crittenden in 1882. He surrendered his pistol and gun belt in a quiet room at the Capitol in Jefferson City, asking only for a fair trial.

He got it. After several weeks behind bars, Frank was acquitted. Public sentiment had softened, and the state couldn’t prove its case. Unlike the Youngers, Frank James never spent a day in the penitentiary.

He lived out the rest of his days quietly guiding tourists, giving the occasional interview, and tending to chickens on his farm. He died in 1915, an old man who had once terrorized the railroads.