Alexander Campbell

Alexander Campbell (c. 1833 – June 21, 1877) was a tavern owner, who, with three other convicted Molly Maguires, was hanged for the murders of two mine operatives.

Campbell proclaimed his innocence to the end, and in doing so, slapped a muddy handprint on the wall of his prison cell, declaring the mark would remain forever as a sign of his innocence. Legend has it that despite many attempts to remove it, including building a new wall, the mark still remains today.

Life Campbell was born in Dungloe, County Donegal, Ireland around 1833. In 1868, he emigrated to the United States, where he began operating a tavern in the eastern Pennsylvania town of Tamaqua. Campbell later moved to Storm Hill in Lansford, where he served as a recruiter for the Ancient Order of Hibernians. He became a hotel owner, and liquor distributor, and was allegedly a member of the Mollies. In 1877, along with three other men (Michael Doyle, John Donahue and Edward Kelly), Campbell was convicted of the murders of John P. Jones and Morgan Powell, Evidence collected was presented by a single detective from the Pinkerton Agency.

Pennsylvania legislature Both branches of the Pennsylvania legislature have passed resolutions (House Resolution No. 527, Session of 2005, and Senate Resolution No. 235 Session of 2006) asserting that the trial of Campbell and the three other accused Molly Maguires was "inherently unconstitutional."

In popular culture The story of Campbell's handprint was also featured in the second season of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, in a segment named "The Wall".