A Pardon for the Main Street Saloon Brawler
After serving three months for a violent assault during a dice game, William Bullard walks free thanks to a gubernatorial pardon.
William Bullard, convicted of assault with a deadly weapon for striking a man with a piece of gas pipe in a Main Street saloon, was released from custody yesterday after receiving a pardon from Governor McBride. Bullard had served three and a half months of his eleven-month sentence. The pardon was secured after Judge Brents and numerous county officials signed a petition on his behalf, citing his behavior as a model prisoner. The original assault occurred during a quarrel over a dice game, leaving the victim hospitalized for several weeks.
“Bullard was convicted of striking a man over the head with a piece of gas pipe in a Main street saloon... The assault followed a, quarrel over a dice game.”
This reflects the era's reliance on informal justice systems, where community influence—such as a judge's signature—could easily overturn a court-mandated sentence. It highlights the prominence of 'saloon culture' as a site of both social life and sudden, violent crime in turn-of-the-century Walla Walla.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.