True Crime Chronicles: Vigilante justice saw the end of one life and the end of freedom for another
- Dennis McCaslin
- Apr 28, 2025
- 2 min read
A decade ago, the quiet community of Rudy in Crawford County was rocked by a brutal crime that culminated in the conviction of Nicholas R. Barrows for the first-degree murder of 19-year-old Jamison Lee Plum.
On June 24, 2014, Barrows, then 19, shot and killed Plum, an Alma resident, in an act prosecutors described as premeditated. According to court documentsBarrows was driven by allegations that Plum had raped his girlfriend.
The confrontation ended with Plum being shot multiple times, his body later discovered buried in a shallow grave on property owned by Barrows’ grandmother near Rudy.
Barrows, now 30, pleaded guilty on August 11, 2015, to first-degree murder and possession of a firearm during a felony. He was sentenced to 40 years for the murder charge and an additional 15 years for the firearm offense, totaling a 55-year sentence. Currently incarcerated at the Varner Unit in Gould, Arkansas (ADC #161556), Barrows’ parole eligibility date is set for December 28, 2052, according to Arkansas Department of Corrections records.
Details from local news reports at the time paint a grim picture of the crime’s aftermath. Investigators found Plum’s body after a tip led them to the rural property. The shallow grave, hastily dug, underscored the calculated nature of the act, prosecutors argued. Barrows’ guilty plea spared the community a lengthy trial, but it did little to quell the grief felt by Plum’s family and friends.
Barrowshas had a turbulent decade behind bars. Department of Corrections records note multiple disciplinary violations, including battery, possession of contraband, and refusal to submit to substance abuse testing between 2016 and 2021.
The motive for the murder--retribution for an alleged assault--added a layer of complexity to the case. While no public court records confirm the rape allegations, they were cited as a key factor in Barrows’ decision to confront Plum.
Legal analysts at the time noted that such motives, while emotionally charged, do not justify c under Arkansas law.
As of 2025, Barrows remains in the Varner Unit of the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
His case, while no longer in the headlines, serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of unchecked anger.
