The Great Jailbreak of 1886
After being convicted of a sensational local murder, a Seattle man pulled off a daring escape from the county jail by using clever DIY tools.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
In the case of W.W. Sanders, on trial for the murder of Charley Campbell, the jury returned a verdict late last night of murder in the first degree, and the judge stated that he would sentence Sanders on Wednesday next. When the jail was opened this morning, the discovery was made that Sanders had made his escape during the night. An examination showed that someone must have sawed on the bolts which held the lock of his cell and had cleverly substituted others made of lead painted black. Having gained the corridor, he made his escape to the outside.
“An examination showed that someone must have sawed on the bolts which held the lock of his cell and had cleverly substituted others made of lead painted black.”
Long before the modern challenges of King County's correctional facilities, the 1886 jailbreak of W.W. Sanders highlighted the fragility of frontier-era security. Today's debates about incarceration and public safety continue to shadow these same city blocks, though our locks are significantly less susceptible to lead substitutes.
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