On May 25, 1889, Charles Palmer, who lived in the Chickasaw Nation near Emit, was shot and killed on an isolated road. Though the reason was not immediately apparent, Palmer’s neighbor, Tom Moore, who had earned the suspicion of the Palmer’s for his past behavior, was arrested a few days later.
In legal proceedings that lasted years, Moore was tried four times; two trials ended in a mistrial, a third resulted in a conviction that was overturned on appeal, and the fourth resulted in Moore’s execution.
His first trial began on October 22, 1890 in federal court in Paris, Texas, and resulted in a conviction that was subsequently reversed on appeal. A trial that began on May 13, 1891, resulted in a hung jury, as did a third trial that began on November 6, 1891.
At trial on April 22, 1892, Moore was again convicted and sentenced to death. That conviction was sustained on appeal
Tom Moore was hanged in Paris, Texas, on September 28, 1894.
The Federal Death Penalty Project 