The Case of the Camera-Shy Thief (1903)
Harry Grayson, who made his living robbing post offices, didn’t like to have his picture taken. Maybe he worried the camera would steal his soul, or perhaps he feared his likeness would become a fixture in rogue’s galleries, and the … Continued
GO TO JAIL! (c. 1900)
The two men earnestly watch as the turnkey finishes his rounds and then disappears down the corridor leading into the adjacent sheriff’s residence. When the flickering of the guard’s kerosene lantern disappears, the prisoners begin sawing through the iron bars of … Continued
The Last Pirate: Joseph Kerwin, the Erie Strangler (1904)
On the night of Thursday, September 13, 1904, Mrs. Adelia C.B. Sweeting—a native of Jackson, Michigan, making the voyage aboard the Western States from Buffalo to Detroit—was jarred awake from a deep slumber by a squeezing sensation around her throat. … Continued
Bad Seed: Tom Johns and the Great Leavenworth Prison Break (1898)
Official Ft. Leavenworth mugshot of Tom Johns, prisoner #826 (reg. no. 475). From a negative in the author’s possession. The original is housed in the National Archives Kansas City depository. Tom Johns (alias Charles Burton), part of an 82-man detail … Continued
John Grindstone, AKA Prisoner No. 1 (1889)
Rare 1889 mugshot of John Grindstone, who would become prisoner No. 1 at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary (author’s collection) His name was John Grindstone, and by all contemporary accounts, he was one of the toughest, unruliest cons to do time inside … Continued
The High Price of Beaver: the Fatal Beauty of Pearl Beaver Odell, Part 2 (1920)
Part 2 Leave it to Beaver Love and Weidenmann took James Odell’s statement to the second floor cell where Pearl sat on a cot. Pearl’s mouth dropped open when Love read James Odell’s confession. Pearl insisted the crime was … Continued
The High Price of Beaver: the Fatal Beauty of Pearl Beaver Odell, Part 1 (1920)
Part 1 “Did you wrong her?” As the taxicab neared a desolated spot in the forests on the outskirts of Rochester, New York, twenty-three-year-old Edward Kneip felt his heart throbbing. He twisted his wrists, but the handcuffs binding his … Continued
The Least Successful Train Robber in America (1910)
With his bowler hat and three-day beard, George Ebeling certainly looked the part of a wild-west desperado, and over the previous two and a half years, he did his best to play the role as well. Unfortunately, train robbery just wasn’t … Continued
He Cheated the Hangman…Four Times (1907)
Christ died on a Friday, and for years, convicted felons expiated their “sins” on “Hangman’s Friday.” For John E. Schuyler, however, Friday would prove to be his lucky day. On occasion in the history of capital punishment, some condemned … Continued
‘Til Death Do Us Part…Again (1888, 1918)
Spousal abuse is a vigorously prosecuted crime in the United States, but spousal abandonment? Not so much. Although it’s still a crime to walk out on a spouse in most jurisdictions, seldom does a district attorney prosecute a runaway husband. … Continued