author
J. R. S. (James Robert Soda) Pitts
1832–1920
A country physician and local sheriff in Mississippi, he is remembered for a vivid 19th-century account of the outlaw James Copeland. His writing preserves the voice and atmosphere of Southern true crime as it was told in his own time.
1 Audiobook
Life and bloody career of the executed criminal, James Copeland, the great Southern land pirate
by J. R. S. (James Robert Soda) Pitts
About the author
J. R. S. Pitts, usually identified as James Robert Soda Pitts, was a 19th-century American writer best known for Life and Bloody Career of the Executed Criminal, James Copeland, the Great Southern Land Pirate. Book and publisher listings consistently connect him with that sensational true-crime narrative, which was first issued in the 1850s and reprinted later.
Publisher biographies describe him as a country physician and also the sheriff in Augusta, Mississippi, the town where Copeland was hanged. Those details help explain the direct, eyewitness quality often associated with his account.
Sources checked for this overview confirm his identity and long life, though they do not offer much more personal background beyond his medical work, local office, and authorship. I could not confirm a suitable portrait image from the pages I searched, so no profile image is included.