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215 stories matching bail
- The $5,000 Price of a Farmer’s Freedom
In January 1891, Seattle Judge Humes upheld an excessive bail for George Watkins, sparking a legal debate over whether justice should be measured by wealth rather than guilt.
- The Coal Creek Massacre: A Coroner’s Inquest into the Battle Between Knights of Labor and Mine Owners
In January 1890, Seattle Sheriff Cochrane deployed militia to Newcastle to suppress a miners' strike. When a riot erupted at Coal Creek, one man was killed and ten arrested. The subsequent coroner's inquest revealed a chaotic scene where union men claimed self-defense against armed mine owners, while the sheriff dismissed the Knights of Labor as 'too excitable.'
- Tacoma's Assistant City Clerk Walked Out on $1,000 Bail—and Friends Told Him to Run
A forgery case against a city official grows stranger: allies urge flight, Treasurer Boggs is drawn in, and a brother stays behind bars.
- The Bunko Men and the Judge
A Seattle judge is under fire for releasing two known con-men on cash bail—funded, ironically, by the very money they stole from their victims.
- The Old Man’s Last Stand: A Father’s Flight from Greedy Heirs Ends in a Sheriff’s Chase
P.V. Thorpe, an elderly pioneer fleeing false rape accusations and property theft by his son and son-in-law, was arrested for carrying a revolver in Seattle—only to be vindicated when the truth about his family’s blackmail scheme came to light.
- Tacoma’s Secret 'Fining' System
Mayor Wright and Chief Malony allegedly operated a shadow tax on gambling and vice, using fake names to funnel illicit profits through the city’s ledgers.
- The Murder Foretold: Three Japanese Laborers Held Without Bail
A witness testifies that one suspect predicted the killing hours in advance, and a bloody butcher knife is found in a kitchen wall. Three Japanese men are ordered held without bail for the murder of a Japanese boss near Christopher.
- The Lynching of an Innocent Youth in Conconully
An Okanogan boy was snatched from legal custody and murdered by a mob, despite having been granted bail by a court commissioner.
- The Blind Doctor’s Lethal Prescription
Dr. William Campbell, a blind pioneer and one of Olympia’s oldest residents, was charged with manslaughter after a 14-year-old epileptic girl died under his lobelia-and-capsicum treatment. A justice set bail at $2,000 and sent the case to the January superior court term.
- A Bungled Case of Robbery and Bad Paperwork
A classic instance of municipal incompetence led to suspected robbers walking free after their bail money was returned due to a clerical error in the police department.
- The Cattle Thief Who Disappeared
A man accused of cattle theft in Seattle jumped bail and vanished, only to be tracked down in a Montana prison.
- The Price of Being a 'Wide Open' Town
Tacoma’s city officials are formalizing a system of monthly 'bail' payments for gambling house owners, effectively legalizing the industry through a protection racket.
- City Hall Corruption and the Great Bail Reduction
A dramatic day in court sees prominent figures accused in a city treasury scandal secure reduced bonds as the machinery of municipal justice grinds on.
- The Murderer Who Bought His Freedom: Angus McClain Bailed Out in Shelton
After three years of legal maneuvering for the murder of hotel keeper Harry Conner and arson at Shelton’s Grand Hotel, the convicted killer is finally released on $1,000 bail.
- The Deadly Man-Trap of Whatcom
A man is held without bail after a spring-gun trap set on his property results in a fatal shooting.
- City Hall Launches New 'Disorderly' Tax
Tacoma officials move to turn police regulation of vice houses into a monthly revenue stream.
- The Great Telephone Wars of Tacoma
A rival phone company manager staged a bizarre arrest of his competitor to derail a franchise bid—only for the plot to unravel at the police station.
- Vigilante Justice in Okanogan County
A young indigenous man held in the Conconully jail is abducted and lynched by a masked mob, leaving behind a chilling report of frontier lawlessness.
- Spokane Women Form Protective Association
Nearly 300 women crowded into court to demand justice for a victim of sexual assault, signaling a new era of civic activism.
- Seattle’s fire chief indicted for fraud — and he saw it coming
A federal grand jury in Tacoma charges Chief Albert B. Hunt; a deputy marshal arrests him at Seattle headquarters, then trails him through town on a hunt for a bondsman.
- Tacoma’s Blindfolded Taxman
An investigation reveals how police collect secret 'fines' from gamblers and slot machine operators, turning the city into a partner in its own vice.
- The Murder of the Syrian Peddler
A Skokomish man faces trial for the killing of an itinerant merchant, exposing tensions and fear in the local court system.
- The Great Bail Bond Fiasco
Two swindlers arrested on a Puget Sound steamer have vanished after a two-year legal delay, leaving the state helpless to punish them.
- Spokane Relief Funds Vanish
A local official jumps bail after being accused of stealing supplies meant for the relief of those in need.
- The Whisky Trial That Ended With an Empty Chair
Charles Burns was on trial in Port Townsend for selling liquor to Indians. When the evidence tied his whisky to a Native man's suicide, Burns skipped bail and vanished.