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The Prisoner Who Escaped Death Because The Sheriff Forgot To Hang Him
A murderer escaped execution after the man responsible for carrying out the sentence forgot to kill him
Staring down a death sentence as a prisoner must be a terrifying prospect to live with. Knowing that the end of your life has a prescribed time and date is like living through a countdown. However, the relief must be enormous if you’re somehow able to escape your planned demise. Years ago, a man sentenced to be executed for a murder found himself with a second chance so to speak after the sheriff forgot to hang him.
In 1921, Lonnie Eaton was in prison after having been convicted of murder. In 1917, he was found guilty of killing Charles McQuiller near Monroe, Louisiana, the result of shooting the man in the back following a fistfight that was caused by the other man allegedly failing to yield half the road when they passed each other in buggies. The case Eaton, who was Black, particularly stirred up the area, which was very likely due to McQuiller being white.
Eaton was sentenced to hang, a punishment expected to be carried out by Sheriff T.A. Grant of Ouchita Parish in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on February 4, 1921. However, an abundance of work responsibilities caught up to the lawman and he completely forgot to kill his prisoner as charged.
The week following his dereliction of duty, Grant realized his oversight and reached out to Governor Parker appraising him of the unusual situation, explaining that the execution had “completely slipped his mind.” Knowing he had missed his deadline, he asked for instructions on what to do next.
It turned out to be a lucky day (perhaps not given the notorious harshness of Louisiana prisons — especially a century ago) for Eaton. Because his execution came and went without a noose going around his neck, the State Board of Pardons elected to commute the condemned man’s sentence to life in prison. Once news of this hit, the sheriff was roundly criticized for having dropped the ball and allowing a convicted killer to live out his days in his facility.
