Deputy Sheriff John L. Waller

John L. Waller

Deputy Sheriff John Waller was shot and killed while responding to a domestic disturbance at a farmhouse three miles south of Wisner.

Deputy Waller, along with an agent with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, arrived at the 23-year-old man's home to find him brandishing a shotgun on his front porch. As the officers stepped out of their car the man shot Deputy Waller in the neck killing him instantly. The agent managed to wrestle the gun from the man and took him into custody.

Fourteen days later the man was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. Three years later he received a new trial and was again sentenced to death. He was executed in the electric chair on August 16th, 1957.

Deputy Waller was survived by his wife, two stepchildren, a sister, two brothers, and six half-siblings. One of his brothers was the sheriff of Franklin Parish.