While researching a silent film, I stumbled onto a legal saga that reads like a thriller.
Ernest Presti, an Italian immigrant in Prescott, Arizona, was a gambler, red light district bartender, and lightweight boxer who fought under the name Kid Kirby.
He was shot in front of the Palace barber shop
Ernest Presti, an Italian immigrant in Prescott, Arizona, was a gambler, red light district bartender, and lightweight boxer who fought under the name Kid Kirby.
He was shot in front of the Palace barber shop
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The men had played blackjack and Campbell had lost $20. He paid by check but stopped payment before Kirby could collect.
Campbell obtained the gun, found Kirby on the street and fired at him twice. One shot missed, the other was fatal.
Campbell surrendered to the police, who suddenly decided they should probably do something.
However, Campbell was quickly put on trial, convicted and sentenced to death.
Campbell's friends had not forgotten him and petitioned the governor for clemency. They told a very different story of the murder.
And Campbell didn't cheat Kirby, it was Kirby who refused to pay and used both brass knuckles and a rubber hose against Campbell