The man who killed Jesse James never received his $10,000 reward!

The old adage of "live by the sword, die by the sword" certainly rings true for Robert Newton Ford.

Born in Ray County, Missouri in 1861, Robert "Bob" Ford became one of the more famous American outlaws of the 1800's, but for the wrong reason.

From an early age, Ford was an admirer of Jesse James, both for his Civil War activities as well as his criminal record. James, as a member of the civil war guerrilla movement, slotted easily into criminal life, and together with his brother, Frank, were members of the notorious James-Younger gang.

Young Ford eventually got to meet Jesse James in 1880 and a year later was a member of his gang. By this time the gang was under increasing pressure from authorities and James had become the most wanted man in America. In 1882, a $10,000 reward was been placed on James's head.

This significant amount of money did not go unnoticed by Ford, who began plotting a method of collecting the reward. Eventually, in late 1882, Bob Ford shot Jesse James in the back of the head while he was adjusting a picture on his lounge wall.

Ford then proceeded to hand himself in with expectation of collecting the reward. He was a little shocked to be immediately arrested for the murder of James. In one of the swiftest courses of justice, Ford was indicted, pled guilty and sentenced to death, all in the space of one day. But, just two hours later, Ford was granted a full pardon and set free.

While he gained significant notoriety for being the man who killed Jesse James, he only ever received around $500 of the promised $10,000, proving once again that crime really does not pay.

He died at the hands of one Edward O'Kelley, who fired both barrels of his shotgun into Ford's chest for no apparent reason other than to become known and the man who killed the man who killed Jesse James.