11. William Jackson Marion and the non-murder of John Cameron
William Jackson Marion – called Jack by all – and his friend John Cameron departed Liberty, Nebraska in 1871, bound west to work on America’s booming railroads. Jack returned in 1872, without John, and when locals began to harbor suspicion that he had murdered his friend, he again left town. In 1873 a body was found, which some identified as being Cameron (from clothing) but by then Marion’s whereabouts were unknown. When he was found he was in the unfortunate situation of being in a Kansas jail, awaiting sentencing for theft. He was taken back to Nebraska, indicted, tried and convicted of murdering Cameron, and sentenced to death.
He was tried twice for the same offense after Nebraska’s Supreme Court intervened, but after the second conviction and subsequent appeals, he was hanged for the murder in Nebraska in March 1887. Four years later Cameron reappeared, explaining that he had fled to Mexico and traveled through other remote regions, including Alaska, primarily because he was afraid he had been about to be served with a paternity suit. His being alive exonerated Marion, and he further exonerated him by explaining that Jack had been in possession of Cameron’s horses when he returned to Nebraska – cited as evidence in the murder trial – by producing the bill of sale by which he had purchased the animals. Nebraska exonerated Marion in 1987.