In the small town of Falco, Alabama, a routine law enforcement action on Sunday, May 31, 1914, ended in tragedy for a young lawman. William J. Hart, a 30-year-old white male serving as the town Marshal, was shot and killed as he and deputies from the Covington County Sheriff's Office attempted to serve a warrant. The officers were trying to arrest a man for the illegal sale of whiskey, a common offense in the area at the time.
The suspect, aware of the officers' presence, had barricaded himself inside his home. As Marshal Hart and the deputies approached, the man opened fire from within the house. The gunfire struck Marshal Hart, inflicting a fatal wound. A deputy was also wounded in the exchange. Hart, who had only been the Falco marshal for a year, was survived by his wife and four children.
Following the shootout, the suspect was taken into custody. He was subsequently tried and convicted of first-degree murder for the death of Marshal Hart. A judge sentenced him to life in prison for his crime. However, the convicted man did not serve his entire sentence. He was granted parole and released from prison on January 20, 1926, nearly twelve years after the death of the lawman he had killed.
