JUSTICE STORY: Mild-mannered family man turns tables on escaped convicts who kidnapped him
James E. Denton was a mild-mannered Oklahoma oil field worker who wanted nothing more than to be home with his wife and children. But for a brief t...
James E. Denton was a mild-mannered Oklahoma oil field worker who wanted nothing more than to be home with his wife and children. But for a brief time in July 1937, he was the talk of New York City. The unlikely hero, whose middle name was Ethel because his parents wanted a girl, was in the city because he shot two dangerous prison escapees—Fred Tindol, 27, and Roy ('Pete') Traxler, 29, known as Oklahoma's Dillinger. 'Tells How It Feels to Kill His Kidnapper' was the Daily News headline for Denton's first-person account on July 22, 1937.