The Trial of Jesse James, Jr.: The Son of an Outlaw Stands Accused

The killing of the outlaw Jesse James did little or nothing to put an end to train robberies in the state of Missouri. After a daring train robbery just outside of Kansas City in 1898 the usual suspects were suspected, and this time the son of Jesse James, known by all as Jesse James, Jr., was thrown into the mix. At the age of 23, the son of the bandit was a popular, handsome young man with a reputation as an honest, hard worker. Had young Jesse decided to follow in his infamous father's footsteps after all, or was this just another chance for a railroad detective and a prosecutor to "get themselves a James" in a county that had never successfully prosecuted a train robbery case in its history? Read the events of this true story as they unfolded, in the words of the reporters who covered the case and in the words of the James family, who thought the days of persecution on account of their name were long behind them. Includes a four-chapter excerpt from the book, "Jesse James, My Father," written by Jesse James, Jr.