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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 3 |
| 1876 | 5 |
| 1877 | 3 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1883 | 5 |
| 1884 | 2 |
| 1885 | 3 |
| 1886 | 6 |
| 1887 | 3 |
| 1889 | 6 |
| 1891 | 6 |
| 1892 | 13 |
| 1893 | 15 |
| 1894 | 7 |
| 1895 | 22 |
| 1899 | 2 |
| 1903 | 3 |
| 1904 | 3 |
| 1909 | 3 |
| 1917 | 1 |
112 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 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 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.
- 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.
- The Collapse of the Failing Hotel
A tragic construction failure in Seattle results in the conviction of the building's owner for manslaughter.
- 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.
- Seattle's Anti-Cigarette Law Made Possession a Crime
A new Washington law going into effect in June 1909 banned not just selling cigarettes but simply having them.
- Logan Billingsley Saws His Way Out of Detention
After his sentencing in a high-profile whiskey graft trial, Logan Billingsley vanished from the immigration detention station using a hacksaw.
- Five Years Barred From Marrying Again: A Judge's Plan to Rewrite Divorce
Judge Frater's bill would fix the grounds, put every divorce on the record, let courts forbid remarriage for up to five years — and jail anyone who tries it anyway.
- Domestic Violence at the Gas Works
A husband is sentenced to the county jail after a brutal assault on his wife using a grindstone and a revolver.
- The Price of a Madison Street Robbery
A young man is sentenced to prison after holding up a bystander at knifepoint.
- The High Price of Ten Cents
A local man sued for damages after he was arrested, fired, and deserted by his wife over a petty accusation of wood theft.
- The Carpenter Who Went to Jail on Principle
A local carpenter faces jail time after refusing to pay a poll tax, equating his plight to the political climate of Tsarist Russia.
- The Tomale Peddler and the Hen Roost
A South Seattle widow loses her flock to a hungry vendor who is quickly caught and sentenced to jail.
- The Territory Outlaws Oyster Poaching
A new statute aims to prevent the total depletion of local oyster beds by banning harvesting during the summer breeding season.
- The Fight for Breathable Air in Seattle's Tenements
City health officials launch an inspection campaign to enforce density limits in overcrowded boarding houses.
- The City Moves to Regulate Plumbing
A new city ordinance establishes a Board of Examiners to license plumbers, aiming to crack down on substandard work in Seattle.