James Melvin Short

Death by Force

In the summer of 1977, the life of James Melvin Short, a 40-year-old male taxi driver from Purcell, Oklahoma, was tragically cut short in a brutal act of violence that stemmed from a desperate prison escape. His death was not an isolated incident but rather a grim chapter in a violent crime spree orchestrated by two escaped convicts, Paul Ruiz and Earl Van Denton. The duo had broken out of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary on June 23, 1977, where they had been serving life sentences for armed robb ...Read More

Encyclopedia of Arkansas: Encyclopedia of Arkansas

Arkansas Executes 2 Killers Who Fled Oklahoma Prison

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