Roy Bean proclaimed himself the only law west of the Pecos, building an international reputation as a ruthless hanging judge who, despite the myth, never actually hanged a single person. A lifelong grifter who survived a real lynching that left a permanent rope scar, he filled a vacuum of authority in the lawless Texas railroad camps.

Appointed Justice of the Peace in 1882, Bean merged his saloon and courtroom into a single profitable machine, tailoring fines to whatever cash defendants carried and pocketing the money himself. He relied on a single outdated 1879 law book and staged elaborate publicity stunts to transform himself into a national celebrity.

• Before his judgeship he watered down milk, stole neighbors' timber, and rustled cattle.
• He fined a corpse the exact $40 it carried for the crime of carrying a concealed  ...