Inmates of the Idaho Penitentiary 1864-1947 - Idaho State Historical ...

INTRODUCTIONA HISTORIC MYSTERY, SOLVEDby Rachelle N LittauResearching history is like detective work. You scourthe scene, look under every rock, talk to every possiblewitness, review security tapes (okay, historic photos)and from your findings try to present the most accuratepicture of an event as you can. Of course, the findings aresubject to the detective’s interpretation. The Old IdahoPenitentiary can be a particularly difficult and sometimesfrustrating case to crack.The Old Idaho Penitentiary at Boise served as Idaho’sprison for 101 years. Following the Idaho Departmentof Correction’s move to a new institution south ofBoise in 1973, the Idaho State Historical Society tookover administration of the site. The acquisition of theprison site and its subsequent opening to visitors gavepeople from around the world the opportunity to enterthe cellblocks and walk the yards where prisonersworked and lived for more than a century. While simplywandering through the site is a powerful experience, thatexperience becomes more meaningful through sharingstories of these prisoners. This is where the detectivework comes into play.Beyond the physical prison site, the Idaho StateHistorical Society administers a vast amount of resourcesthat contribute to the interpretation of this historicinstitution. The Idaho State Historical Museum holdspersonal artifacts used by guards and inmates, whilethe Society’s Public Archives and Research Libraryholds a vast collection of research materials includingphotographs, oral histories, wardens’ reports, and inmatefiles. Yet even with all these resources the Old IdahoPenitentiary still contains mysteries that require detectivework to try to solve.The case of Douglas Van Vlack (no. 5264) is an excellentexample of just one of those mysteries. Van Vlack receivedthe death penalty for the kidnapping and murder of hisestranged wife. He was sentenced to hang at the prisonon 10 December 1937. He never made it to the gallows.After visiting with his mother on 9 December, Van Vlackslipped past guards at the prison and climbed into therafters of his cellhouse. After a short time in the rafters,Van Vlack proclaimed, “My mother told me it was allright for me to choose the way I wanted to die. I’ll neverhang on that rope.” He then dove head first into thecellhouse’s concrete floor. He died from his injuries afew hours later.The story sounds straightforward but one small bit ofthe tale is difficult to determine. Which Old IdahoPenitentiary cellhouse was the location of Van Vlack’ssuicide? There are two possibilities. Today, these twobuildings are called the “New” Cellhouse and “TwoHouse.” Inconsistencies in the existing evidence add tothe confusion. However, an educated guess can be madeby examining and interpreting all the available evidence.The Idaho Statesman, a Boise newspaper, provided a greatdeal of evidence for this story in articles published in thedays leading up to Van Vlack’s impending execution andfollowing his subsequent suicide. These events were frontpage news in the 8, 9, and 10 December 1937 editions.Most of the evidence from the Statesman indicates thatTwo House was the site of the suicide. Photographs inboth the 8 and 9 December editions show the exteriorof Two House and identify it as the building where VanVlack awaited his fate. The 10 December edition printedan interior photograph of Two House as well as an “X”drawn where Van Vlack purportedly climbed onto a tableto gain access to the second floor to begin his upwardascent. No table is shown in the photograph.Three articles about Van Vlack and the event appearedin the 10 December edition of the Statesman. One ofthese articles stated that Van Vlack “…hurtled from asteel rafter 28 feet above the concrete floor in the deathhouse.” Again the evidence points directly to Two House.It has steel rafters as opposed to the wooden rafters in the“New” Cellhouse.There are, however, a few instances in the 10 DecemberStatesman that throw doubt on the assumption that TwoHouse is the location of the suicide. The 10 December “Condemned Prisoner Suicides In Wild Leap To Corridor Floor AfterEluding Prison Guards,” Idaho Statesman (10 December 1937), p2, c4 The “New” Cellhouse, the first cellhouse built after the original structurein 1870, was constructed in 1889. Construction on Two House, alsoknown as the North Wing, began in 1899 and was completed in 1911. Idaho Statesman (8 December 1937); Idaho Statesman (9 December1937); Idaho Statesman (10 December 1937)