John Henry Selman (November 16, 1839 – April 5, 1896) was sometimes identified as an outlaw and sometimes a working lawman of the Old West.

He is best known as the man who fatally shot John Wesley Hardin in the Acme Saloon in El Paso, Texas, on August 19, 1895.

[citation needed] After his father's death on December 16, 1861, Selman joined the 22nd Texas Cavalry and served during the Civil War.

[2] Selman and Larn fought against rustlers and vigilante justice in the lawless area of northwest Texas.

Even though Selman was out of town at the time, he was implicated in the theft, and found himself a wanted man, hunted by these same vigilantes, who were friends with several men who had previously been either arrested or killed by him.

However, the end of the war and the resulting dissolution of the Confederacy rendered any prior charges null, and Selman was free to return to the United States.

[clarification needed] Selman's wife died in 1879, while giving birth to a stillborn child.

Selman was captured shortly thereafter by Texas Ranger Joe McKidrict, and taken to Shackelford County for trial.

[2] Selman escaped, and fled again to Chihuahua, Mexico, where he hid out until around 1888, when his name was cleared and all charges against him were dropped.

[citation needed] On April 5, 1894, Selman killed a former Texas Ranger named Bass Outlaw.

Outlaw created a disturbance at Howard's place, resulting in his fatal shooting of Texas Ranger Joe McKidrict.

Period newspaper accounts differ as to the exact nature of their bad blood; one account attributes it to an ongoing gambling dispute, while another states that Selman (who was tastefully described as having lived a "stormy life") had become an unpredictably violent drunk after the publicity and controversy of killing John Wesley Hardin.

According to Scarborough, they exited to the alley where Selman attempted to enlist him in a conspiracy to cross the border the next morning and stage a jail break to free Young John.

Scarborough expressed sympathy but declined, stating "no bad breaks must be made in Juarez", whereupon Selman flew into a rage, exclaiming "You God damned son-of-a-bitch, I am going to kill you!

[citation needed] When it was found that Selman's gun was not at the scene Scarborough was arrested for murder.