A Kentucky community was rocked by a courthouse shooting in 1922. • Kentucky Lantern

On March 6, 1922, 29-year-old Deputy Sam Galloway shot and killed 30-year-old Graves County Sheriff John T. Roach in the sheriff’s office. Galloway apparently killed Roach after hearing that the sheriff planned to fire him.

Stines, who immediately turned himself in to authorities, pleaded not guilty and remains in jail without bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 1.

The Whitesburg shooting drew state and national media coverage. Likewise, the Mayfield shooting made headlines across Kentucky and the country. The latter eventually led to a book titled “A Courthouse Tragedy: Politics, Murder and Redemption in a Small Kentucky Town,” written by the late Murray attorney Sid Easley, a Graves County native. It was published 10 years ago and is still available on Amazon.

Easley wrote that Roach and Galloway were friends. Both planned to run for sheriff in the August 1921 Democratic primary. Apparently the two men agreed to a deal: Galloway would retire in favor of Roach, who would appoint him deputy, a post that often served as a stepping stone to sheriff.

After winning the primary and handily defeating a Republican in the general election, Roach kept his word. But when Galloway discovered that Roach was planning to cut his pay and hours, trouble was brewing. Worse, Galloway later learned that his days as deputy were numbered.

Galloway confronted Roach at the sheriff’s office on District Court day. They both became angry; According to Easley’s book, Galloway shot Roach three times with a .45-caliber pistol.

Galloway quickly handed over his weapon and allowed himself to be arrested. Fearing mass violence against the prisoner, authorities transported him to the McCracken County Jail in Paducah.

On March 7, the Graves County grand jury indicted Galloway on a charge of first-degree murder, which carries a maximum penalty of death or life in prison. The case against Galloway seemed open and closed. After all, there were several witnesses.

Roach’s death was a historic first for Kentucky. His widow, Lois Roach, was named his successor. Apparently she was the first female sheriff in the state. She was self-elected in 1923 and re-elected for a second two-year term in 1925.

Galloway’s trial began on June 26. Because he and the late sheriff had many friends in Mayfield and Graves County, District Judge W.H. Hester called a jury from neighboring Ballard County.

Galloway pleaded self-defense and claimed he only fired when he saw Roach reaching for his pistol in his pocket. His statement was controversial; The prosecution described the deputy as a cold-blooded murderer.

The jury deliberated for three days and reached no verdict. Hester had declared the trial invalid and was preparing to set a date for a second trial, Easley wrote.

Hester opened court on July 26 with jurors from Carlisle County, which also borders Graves. The judge canceled the trial after a juror died unexpectedly on July 28. The judge scheduled a third trial for Aug. 1, with Carlisle residents also on the jury.

In his indictment to the jury, Hester said Galloway could be found not guilty, found guilty of murder and sentenced to death or life imprisonment, or found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to “not less than two nor more than twenty-one years.” be imprisoned. “Easley wrote.

On August 4, the panel convicted Galloway of the lesser charge and sentenced him to seven years in prison. Hester then rejected a defense request for a further trial and Galloway’s lawyers waived a fourth trial.

After his release from Eddyville Penitentiary, Galloway moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma with his second wife. His first wife died shortly after his imprisonment. The couple had two sons; One was 72 years old, the other, born while the deputy was in prison awaiting his first trial, died at the age of 5.

Galloway was 74 when his life ended in Tulsa in 1968. He is buried in a cemetery in Tulsa.

Roach and his widow, who died in 1979 at age 83, are buried in the old Maplewood Cemetery in Mayfield. A metal plaque identifies her as the first female sheriff in Kentucky. In addition to his wife, Roach is survived by their three-year-old daughter Ruth, who lived to the age of 86.

The old 1880s red brick courthouse where Galloway Roach’s life was violently ended and punished for his crime is gone, a victim of the deadly Dec. 10, 2021, tornado that devastated much of Mayfield.

Easley ended his book with a quote from the editor of the Mayfield Weekly Messenger, who, three days after the shooting, urged citizens to be “calm, composed and full of the spirit that controls sadness and tears.” And yet it is “It is time for wise men and those who love the integrity and honor of Mayfield to stand up for peace and the law.”

The author concluded: “This editor’s voice eloquently reminded the community that the Spirit of redemption was ever present and that the wise among them should reach for the healing that its restorative power provides.”

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