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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1862 | 11 |
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| 1864 | 1 |
| 1872 | 3 |
| 1876 | 7 |
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| 1878 | 1 |
| 1880 | 1 |
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| 1885 | 6 |
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| 1887 | 4 |
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| 1903 | 11 |
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208 stories matching imprison
- The Constitutional Right to Not Be Imprisoned for Debt
When local merchants tried to jail a man for unpaid loans to prevent him from leaving town, a Seattle judge put the state’s progressive constitution to the test.
- The Murderer Stays Behind Bars
A federal judge refuses to release a death-row inmate, ruling that while the state court erred, the prisoner must exhaust his legal appeals first.
- The Inhumanity of the City Jail
A plea for the humane treatment of women in Seattle's overcrowded, mixed-gender prison system.
- A Seattle Editor's Jail Sentence—and His Gallows Joke
C. H. Lugrin of the Telegram got three months and a $500 fine for criminal libel against Police Chief Bolton Rogers. He appealed—and joked that the judge couldn't hang him.
- The Legal Quandary of Chinese Exclusion
A local judge grapples with the harsh realities and administrative conflicts of the 1892 Chinese Exclusion Act.
- Coxey’s Army and the Capital Crackdown
Industrial protesters are jailed for trespassing on Capitol grounds, as federal troops mobilize across the West to protect railroad lines.
- The Last Bridge Isn't Crossed Yet
A Seattle prisoner reacts to a five-year sentence with a defiant promise to keep fighting, despite the jury's unanimous verdict.
- The Army Occupies the Armory
When the Coxey's Army movement reached Seattle in 1894, federal troops were brought in to prevent a rescue of imprisoned protesters.
- The Juror Who Ate Himself into Jail
A Seattle juror’s hunger at the Occidental Hotel led to an invalidated trial, a stern rebuke from the bench, and three months in the county jail.
- The Price of a Night in Jail
A 67-year-old gardener sues Seattle police for $7,000, alleging he was assaulted and permanently injured during an unlawful arrest.
- The Forgotten Prisoners of McNeil Island
Thirteen men held in limbo for years, caught between a nation that didn't want them and a border that refused their return.
- The Price of Secrecy in the Puyallup Coal Fields
When a contractor is jailed for contempt, the future of a key territorial infrastructure project hangs in the balance.
- Notorious Land Swindler Gets Prison Sentence
Federal judge sentences N. H. McLean to one year in prison for subornation of perjury in a major land fraud case.
- The Unlucky Lookalike
A man mistaken for a fugitive because of a shared physical trait files a $5,000 lawsuit for his false imprisonment.
- The Wife Who Couldn't Bear the Badge of Shame
In 1903 Spokane, a woman secured a divorce from her husband not because he was abusive, but because his life sentence for murder made her social standing untenable.
- New Federal Law Targets Chinese Residents
A harsh new congressional act forces Chinese laborers to prove their identity and secure certificates of residency or face deportation and hard labor.
- The Doctor Who Didn't Report Scarlet Fever
A Seattle physician is hauled into court for failing to tell the health office about a sick child — a test of the city's power to track contagious disease.
- Four Prisoners Escape City Jail Through Brick Wall
Four prisoners vanish from the city jail after a creative structural modification to the facility's masonry.
- The Collapse of the Failing Hotel
A tragic construction failure in Seattle results in the conviction of the building's owner for manslaughter.
- The Courthouse War
A fierce battle between a judge and county officials leads to a standoff, a jail sentence, and a wild threat to tear down the jailhouse to free the prisoner.
- The Fight to Ban Boxing in 1891 Washington
As the state legislature considered a sweeping crackdown on 'prizefighting' in 1891, the proposed law sparked debate over what constitutes public violence versus private athletic exercise.
- Prison Sentence for Fatal Automobile Accident
In a stern sentencing, a Tacoma man was sent to the state penitentiary for manslaughter following a highway crash that claimed the life of Mrs. Minnie Hogue.
- A Mother's Sorrow at the City Jail
A woman travels from Spokane to Seattle to reunite with her son, only to find him imprisoned for vagrancy.
- The Salvation Army Jailbreak
When Nooksack officials imprisoned Salvationists for the crime of 'obstructing the highway,' the town rose up to tear down the jail.
- Federal Crackdown on Illegal Trade on Reservations
Superintendent of Indian Affairs issues a stern warning that trading, selling, or gifting liquor to Indigenous populations in Washington Territory is a federal crime punishable by imprisonment.