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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1858 | 2 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1864 | 3 |
| 1865 | 3 |
| 1872 | 3 |
| 1876 | 33 |
| 1877 | 31 |
| 1878 | 16 |
| 1879 | 3 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1882 | 6 |
| 1883 | 38 |
| 1884 | 16 |
| 1885 | 37 |
| 1886 | 27 |
| 1887 | 39 |
| 1888 | 20 |
| 1889 | 65 |
| 1890 | 6 |
| 1891 | 63 |
| 1892 | 125 |
| 1893 | 131 |
| 1894 | 105 |
| 1895 | 130 |
| 1898 | 3 |
| 1899 | 17 |
| 1900 | 10 |
| 1902 | 2 |
| 1903 | 86 |
| 1904 | 60 |
| 1905 | 6 |
| 1907 | 2 |
| 1908 | 14 |
| 1909 | 96 |
| 1910 | 15 |
| 1911 | 2 |
| 1912 | 2 |
| 1914 | 8 |
| 1915 | 6 |
| 1916 | 11 |
| 1917 | 7 |
| 1918 | 1 |
| 1923 | 7 |
| 1924 | 4 |
1,267 stories matching jail
- A Counterfeiter's View of the Seattle Jail
A convicted woman, while en route to San Quentin, dismisses the Seattle jail as the 'poorest excuse' in the country.
- Locking Down the County Jail
Walla Walla’s City Council moves to secure the jail with a high fence to stop well-meaning citizens from helping prisoners escape.
- A Runaway from the Olympia Jail
A man named Simmons, recently confined in the Olympia jail, has been spotted in Steilacoom.
- The Struggle to Build the First King County Jail
After years of delay, the King County Commissioners finally moved to secure land for a permanent jail—using $3,500 in county warrants to purchase a lot between Jefferson and Mill Streets.
- An Empty Cage: Sheriff McGraw’s ‘Ghost’ Jail
In a turn of fortune for the Seattle jail, the cells have emptied out, leaving the Sheriff with little to do but manage a single remaining debtor.
- Fire Threatens Seattle’s Courthouse
A late-night blaze at Slorah's malt house on Mill Street forced the evacuation of the jail and nearly consumed the county’s official records.
- The Old Log Jail That Outlived Two Colvilles Sells for $25
The county's first jail—built in old Colville, moved to the new townsite, and finally replaced—is auctioned off and will be hauled to a farm.
- The Unruly Everett Jail Riot
A rowdy group of local troublemakers battered their way into the Everett jail to liberate an associate, leaving the facility in shambles.
- The Sheriff’s Son and the Jailbreak
A quick-thinking schoolboy foils a planned escape at the Vancouver county jail.
- Vigilante Mob Executes Prisoners in Oysterville Jail
After the supreme court granted a new trial to two men accused of murder, a Pacific County mob took matters into their own hands, storming the jail and killing the suspects.
- The Shame of the King County Jail
A scathing report from a grand jury reveals a 'standing disgrace' where prisoners are packed into windowless cells and the county government operates in squalid, cramped quarters.
- The Jailbreak That Never Was: A Seattle Jail Security Crisis
When guards discovered tunneling and hidden tools in the city jail, the potential for a mass breakout triggered a city-wide security lockdown.
- The Iron Cage of Fort Adams
A rare glimpse into the brutal security measures at a Washington Territory jail in the late 19th century.
- The Saw and the Jailer
A petty thief's daring attempt to escape the county jail ends in a swift, unsuccessful pursuit.
- The Cook Who Robbed the Till—and Then Fled to Canada
Newport restaurant man James Warren spent eight months in jail before a plea deal, because the only witness had vanished into British Columbia.
- The Jail-Breaking Charlatan of Seattle
A notorious criminal uses a fake pardon and a religious disguise to walk right out of the county jail.
- The Silent Protest at the County Jail
A Japanese man held in the county jail initiates a desperate hunger strike, vowing to abstain from food until Russia is defeated in the ongoing conflict.
- Eight Months Forgotten in the County Jail
Charles K. Steele sat in the Tacoma jail awaiting trial until the evidence, the witness, and finally the prosecutor's memory all vanished — so he pleaded to a lesser charge and walked out in 90 days.
- A Violent Prison Break in Early Seattle
A brutal struggle erupts in the King County jail as desperate inmates ambush the jailer in a failed escape attempt.
- The Jailhouse Scuffle
A drunken brawl in a jail cell turns into a messy confrontation between a prisoner and the jailer.
- Tacoma’s Plan to Deter 'Tramps' with Forced Hygiene
Facing a seasonal rise in homelessness, Tacoma city officials considered a mandatory daily shower ordinance for jail inmates to keep the city unappealing to vagrants.
- Delirium Tremens in the City Jail
A man suffering from severe alcohol withdrawal sparks a violent disturbance at the city jail.
- Hard Labor on the Hill
As the Seattle county jail hits capacity, the sheriff puts inmates to work clearing brush on the city's hills.
- Sheriff Offers $250 After Five Escape King County Jail
When five prisoners escaped from the King County jail in 1878, the local sheriff issued a bounty for their capture—a high-stakes display of frontier justice.
- City Jail Expands Capacity for Homeless
With winter's chill settling in, Tacoma installs bunks to replace cold cement floors for the indigent.
Also about this, in other words
- The Jailer and the Cell: A Brutal Scuffle in 1891
A repeat offender turns the city jail into a ring for a violent, bloody showdown with his longtime adversary, the jailer.
- The Jailbird Who Refused to Leave
After serving sixty days for grand larceny, a Seattle man found freedom so underwhelming that he immediately tried to steal his way back into a cell.
- The Inhumanity of the City Jail
A plea for the humane treatment of women in Seattle's overcrowded, mixed-gender prison system.
- Jailbreak in Montesano
Two prisoners assault a deputy sheriff and escape into the woods, leaving the jailer senseless.
- The Great Jailbreak of 1889
In 1889, fifteen of 31 prisoners escaped a city jail through a sawed hole in the wall; none were recaptured.
- The Jail That Wasn't: A Tour of Port Madison’s Fortress
While Seattle’s own jails were often little more than wooden rooms with locks, the new facility on Port Madison was built like a fortress—iron spikes, windlass doors, and a view of the sound. But its warden faces a grim reality: no work for his prisoners.
- Neglect of Duty Leads to Jailbreak
A night jailer is suspended for ten days after a lapse in security allows an inmate to escape the city jail.
- The Great Jailbreak of 1878
Five inmates, including a man held for attempted murder, escaped a Seattle jail using a key hand-crafted over six weeks.