Verdict for Youth Tortured in Saloon Dispute
A one-armed youth wins a $500 judgment after being bound in wire and strapped for thirteen hours by a saloon owner.
The jury in Judge Clifford's court rendered a verdict of $500 damages in the suit of William Roberts, a one-armed youth, against Owen O'Farrell. Roberts had sued for $10,000. Evidence confirmed the lad's statement that he had been tied with a strap and wire, keeping his head and feet drawn close together for 13 hours. O'Farrell claimed he caught the youth attempting to pry open a window of his saloon and had administered the punishment as a lesson. The boy disputed this account entirely.
“Evidence adduced yesterday confirmed the lad's statements that he had been tied up with a strap and piece of wire so that his head and feet were drawn close together.”
This case offers a brutal glimpse into the 'frontier justice' meted out by business owners in the early 1900s. It reflects a time when private individuals felt empowered to enforce vigilante 'lessons' outside of the formal legal system.
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