Court records from the archives of the Powhatan Courthouse preserve the brief story of Samuel Helms, who was found guilty of murder in the first degree by a jury led by foreman James A. Snow. Judge William Byers sentenced him to be kept in the Lawrence County jail until Friday, December 17, 1875, and then to be hanged by the neck until dead by the sheriff of Lawrence County. Sheriff W.G. Wasson certified that he received the transcript at 9 o'clock A.M. on December 16, 1875, and carried out the execution at Powhatan on Friday, December 17, 1875, between sunrise and sunset. Those sentenced to execution were hung from a tree near the jail.