Deputy Sheriff Joseph Littleton Edwards

Joseph Littleton Edwards

Deputy Sheriff Joseph Edwards was shot and killed while attempting to serve a warrant on a man who was wanted for stealing a cow.

He was transporting another prisoner to Selma along the Benton Road when he stopped at a home near Soapstone Creek. He believed the wanted person was inside of the home and knocked on the door. The person inside refused to open the door and demanded that Deputy Edwards leave. A citizen who was assisting Deputy Edwards with the prisoner transport also attempted to convince the occupant to open the door so that Deputy Edwards could serve the warrant.

After several attempts to have the occupant let them in, Deputy Edwards forced the door open. As he did so the man inside shot him in the chest with a Winchester rifle, killing him instantly. The man was later arrested and charged with murder. The man was convicted of second-degree murder in 1903 but the judge immediately set the conviction aside and the charges were nolle prossed.