Justice Served, But at What Cost: Taylor Acquitted of Britton’s Murder

The verdict of ‘not guilty’ handed down in the Heischel Taylor murder trial last Thursday morning left the courtroom stunned. Taylor, charged with the fatal shooting of Arthur E. Britton, the night marshal at Texico, on October 11, 1914, claimed self-defense, citing that Britton was unarmed and attempting to disarm him at the time of the incident. The jury, after deliberating through the night, delivered the verdict, sparking a mixture of reactions from the packed courtroom. Britton’s murder occurred at the notorious Red Light district in Texico, a seedy underbelly of the small New Mexico town.