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618 stories matching convict
- The Iron Hotel: Seattle's Jail Let Convicted Killers Wait Out the Law
A 1905 exposé inside the King County jail found convicted murderers lingering for years in a steel cage while appeals stalled, one prisoner fashioning a pistol from a shoe shank and escaping, and taxpayers footing the bill.
- The Warden Fights Back: Prison Labor, Jute Sacks and a Seattle Newspaper Scandal
Accused of selling prison-made sacks to middlemen and brutalizing convicts, Walla Walla’s warden answers his critics with a detailed defense—and a challenge to inspect the prison.
- A Wooden Pistol Emptied the King County Jail
Thomas Blanck, awaiting appeal for murder, locked the night jailer in a cell and walked out with eight other prisoners—armed with a black wooden fake.
- The Hangman's Verdict: John Thompson Convicted of Murder in Snohomish
A trial that captivated the entire Territory ends with a death sentence for a man accused of killing his friend during a drunken brawl over a card game.
- Prison Guard Shoots Inmate in Jute Mill Fight
A convict is wounded during a prison brawl after guards are ordered to use live ammunition to stop frequent fighting.
- Masked Vigilantes Hang a Convicted Murderer in Dayton Jail
James McPherson, convicted of murdering E. H. Cummins at New York Bar, was taken from the Dayton jail by masked men and hanged, despite a governor's reprieve and a new trial order.
- The Brutal Reality of Convict Leasing in the Washington Territory
A scathing look at the state's profit-driven 'convict lease' system, where human beings were treated as disposable capital and exploited for labor with zero accountability for their survival.
- A Jury Played Cards While a Murder Case Hung in the Balance
Convicted murderer Murphy was sentenced to fifteen years—again—as his lawyer attacked a jury that reportedly spent its 42-hour deliberation playing whist and pedro.
- The Converted Burglar and the Wire That Carried Him to Seattle
A Salvation Army convert walked into the Post-Intelligencer office to tell how he crossed the Kansas penitentiary wall hand over hand on an electric-light wire. This week a Kansas keeper came to take him back.
- A Convict Killed a Fellow Prisoner. Could He Be Tried While Already Serving Twenty Years?
The killing of Reif by convict Hoyt at Walla Walla set off a legal puzzle: whether a prisoner already serving a murder term could face another trial — and whether the governor could suspend his sentence to allow it.
- The Penalty for a Paper Crime
A man's attempt to exercise his right to vote leads to a felony conviction over his status as a former convict, testing the limits of the law.
- The Sheriff Who Shot a Convict: A Wenatchee Neighbor’s Defense of Deadly Force
In July 1905, just days after a chaotic manhunt in Ellensburg, local residents weighed in on the ethics of Sheriff Thomas shooting an escaped convict. One guard called it 'right,' while others questioned the necessity—echoing modern debates over police accountability.
- The Bunco Men Convicted
A trio of swindlers who targeted two young Norwegian women finds themselves behind bars, but the local paper blames the victims for their own misfortune.
- The Jailbreak That Almost Toppled the Penitentiary
A clever prisoner uses his talent for locksmithing to craft duplicate keys, nearly sparking a mass escape at the Walla Walla prison.
- The Man Who Tried to Break Out of Jail (And Failed)
Chester Collins, a convict serving time for assault, was caught trying to escape the Thurston County jail in January. He escaped, fled to Shelton, and immediately got into trouble again—landing him back in the Walla Walla Penitentiary.
- The Prosecutor's Record: 'Arrest on Suspicion, Investigate Afterwards'
A Stevens County election fight turns on the county's criminal docket — who jailed innocent men, and who got his convictions.
- The Verdict Was Thrown Out. Now Wilcox Faces a Second Fight for His Life.
William A. Wilcox, once convicted of manslaughter in the 1893 slaying of Charlotte Fetting, will be retried in Seattle. Both prosecution and defense claim new evidence — and the defense says the real killers are still at large.
- A Saloon Killing, a 42-Hour Jury, and a Second Conviction
James Murphy is convicted again of shooting Fritz Dawe in the old Copper Chief saloon — but his lawyers vow the verdict will not stand.
- The Price of a Human Life
A Seattle newspaper critiques the wildly inconsistent sentencing for murder in Washington Territory, highlighting how local bias and venue changes drastically altered justice for accused killers.
- Debs’s Defense Tour Reaches Seattle as the Railroad Union Fights On
A convicted strike leader says the American Railway Union is alive, announces a Eugene V. Debs lecture, and predicts the courts will reverse the contempt convictions.
- The Fight to Save Nordstrom: Money, Friends, and a Legal Race Against the Noose
Convicted of murder and sentenced to hang, C. Nordstrom finds a network of supporters—including the Swedish consul—raising funds for a last-ditch appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Convicts to Pave the Way?
Walla Walla's Commercial Club debates a new state law to employ penitentiary inmates in road construction.
- A Seattle Editor Convicted of Libeling the Police Chief
Charles H. Lugrin of the Seattle Daily Telegraph was found guilty after a four-day municipal court trial for an article about Chief of Police Bolton Rogers.
- A Convicted Killer Gets a Second Trial on a Legal Technicality
James Murphy, convicted of shooting Philip Dawe across the counter of a Seattle saloon, won a new trial and was being brought back to face the charge again.
- A Lumberman, a Ransom Plot, and a Jailhouse Betrayal
Donald Boyd is convicted of kidnapping Seattle lumberman Patrick McCoy, as a convicted accomplice’s courtroom gambit exposes a plan to seize wealthy Skagit County men.
Also about this, in other words
- The Convict Philosopher Walks Free
After years in the state penitentiary, a young man charged with forgery is released to mourn his brother—leaving behind a legacy of 'convict letters' on redemption.
- The Unlikely Bond Between a Convict and His Keeper
A rare glimpse of humanity inside the grim walls of a frontier jail, where a long-term prisoner and the man paid to guard him found a surprising connection.
- A Convict’s Violent Outburst in Whatcom Court
A notorious criminal threatens a judge with violence before being transported to the state penitentiary in Walla Walla.
- Released Prisoner Arrested at the Gates
Richard Perkison walked out of the penitentiary a free man only to be immediately detained by an officer from Nebraska.
- The Convicts Who Walked the Streets: A Walla Walla Jailbreak
In March 1889, prisoners in a Walla Walla jail refused to work on city streets. Their defiance sparked a standoff that ended with the threat of starvation rations and the promise of armed guards.
- The Jailbird Strikebreaker
A man serving time in the county jail is identified as a former railroad worker who crossed a picket line.
- The Governor’s Unacknowledged Son
A condemned prisoner in the city jail delivers a final, shattering letter to the Governor, revealing a secret connection that exposes the cruel indifference of the ruling class.
- The Hypocrisy of Convict Labor
An editorial draws a direct, nativist parallel between New York's stance on prison labor and the push to expel Chinese laborers from the Pacific coast.