Deputy Sheriff Jesse L. English

Jesse L. English

Deputy Sheriff Jessie English was shot and killed as he attempted to arrest two men who had escaped from the Ferguson State Prison Farm.

Deputy English, along with the Houston County sheriff and Grapeland city marshal, had received word the men would be in the area and began searching for them. Deputy English encountered the men along a dirt road at approximately 11:00 p.m. After ordering them to stop three times, one of the men opened fire with a shotgun, striking Deputy English in the head. He died from his wounds approximately 7 hours later.

Both men were apprehended after the shooting. On November 4, 1923, the suspect, 29, who shot Deputy English was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He escaped from Ramsey Prison Farm on May 15, 1932.

Deputy English was survived by his wife and three children.