Hanged In 1903, Wild West Gunman To Get New Trial -- Tom Horn Was Framed, Say Descendants

IN A CHEYENNE, Wyo., courtroom tomorrow, a prosecutor and a defense attorney will begin a new trial - not a re-enactment - of a gunslinger hanged for murder in 1903. -------------------------------------------------------------------

BOULDER, Colo. - A long-dead gunslinger who lies six feet under in Boulder's Columbia Cemetery is still waiting for justice, according to his descendants.

Tom Horn - either one of the most murderous human beings to strap on a gun, or one of the truest people to try cleaning up the West - was hanged Nov. 20, 1903, in Wyoming after being convicted of killing a 14-year-old boy.

Some people think Horn was framed for political reasons.

Horn occasionally visited his brother, Charles Horn, who lived in Boulder, but "he wasn't a family sort," said Kathy Van Arsdale, one of Horn's relatives who lives in Englewood, outside of Denver.

After the hanging, his brother brought Tom's body back to Boulder and had it buried in the cemetery.

The controversial murder case, which still draws an emotional response from people, will be retried starting tomorrow in Cheyenne, Wyo. It will be in the same courtroom where Horn was tried and convicted 90 years ago, said Joseph Moch, a Michigan attorney who has taken the case.

"It is clear the man received a very inadequate defense," said Moch, who is taking the for-real trial very seriously.

A spent casing from the type of rifle used by Horn was found "two weeks later and two miles from the killing," Moch said, and was allowed as evidence for the prosecution.

"Five of the witnesses had that caliber rifle and two were owned by the Millers, who were originally arrested for the killing," Moch said.

The widely reported details of the case - Horn was one of the last well-known hired guns and helped capture the Apache chief Geronimo - describe the turbulent reality of living in the turn-of-the-century frontier. (Steve McQueen played the title role in the 1980 movie "Tom Horn," which portrayed the last days of the gunslinger.)

Horn was hired by the Wyoming Stock Owners Association to rid the region of cattle rustlers. The law couldn't be relied on, and Horn was reportedly given a free rein to deal with the problem.

"He would warn them first," Van Arsdale said. "Then he knocked them off if they didn't heed the warning."

Horn was convicted of killing Willie Nickell, whom he apparently mistook for a rustler. Nickell was shot twice and a third shot missed, an odd circumstance for one of the most renowned sharpshooters in the region.

"He was in combat," Moch said, noting that Horn fought in the Spanish-American War. "Is he going to be afraid of a 14-year-old kid? He could have dropped the kid from 300 yards with one shot between the eyes."

Moch and Van Arsdale are convinced that, as the region was being tamed by hordes of homesteaders, Horn was a symbol of the Old West and became a political liability.

"He took his loyalty to the gallows," said Van Arsdale, noting that Horn never tried to drag his employers into the case.

Chip Carlson, author of "Tom Horn: Killing Men is My Specialty," believes that many circumstances conspired against Horn. Horn worked for "big business" and was not liked by many in the general populace. And outrage over the killing of a boy created pressure that provided an opportunity for politicians "to further their careers," Carlson said.

Witnesses lied and a drunken confession spilled out under questionable circumstances, say many who are familiar with the case.

A number of lawyers declined to prosecute the upcoming case, which will be tried in front of a jury. Moch said that new evidence of Horn's innocence will be introduced in the trial, which will be prosecuted by a county attorney.

Van Arsdale thinks losing the case would be a political liability for the county, even in 1993.

There are many who don't want to see the case reopened, Carlson agreed. But when asked if Horn can get a fair trial in the 1990s, he responded, "Fairer than the last one."