A picture of Charles Troutman and others, some years after the events of this story, as they displayed their cars on a Canoe street.
On April 3, 1906 Fred L. Hancock awaited his fate from an Escambia County jury for the slaying of Canoe School Professor Jesse Troutman. As one local newspaper printed, "Hancock will know early tomorrow whether the shackles of the law which have bound him fifteen months are to be burst or whether he is to be punished for slaying Jesse A. Troutman on January 1, 1905."
The trial had been a sensational one, with more than 50 witnesses taking the stand and with Judge Samuel E. Brewer presiding over the trial. Brewer was said to be a no-nonsense judge who was punctual and demanding of both defen...