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

INMATES OF THE IDAHO PENITENTIARY 1864-1947Petitioners for the release of John Starr (no. 3357)reportedly included the “Biggest business man inEmmett,” an “Old timer,” the “Secretary of the LastChance Ditch Company,” the “First white child bornin Boise and early settler in Payette Valley,” and the“Editor of the Emmett Index, who says that he neverheretofore signed a petition for pardon, though hehas many times been asked to do so.”On his intake form, Spanish immigrant Paul Arruti (no. 3589) listedhis nearest relative as the Merino Pool Hall in Boise. The prosecutingattorney noted that Arruti’s “associates seem to be of good averagecharacter, except as Arruti became Americanized he was occasionallythrown in contact with the jazz class.”19241925Anthony Zepina (no. 3358) entrusted his watch fob to thewarden for safekeeping, along with instructions that he shouldbe buried with it were he to “die here.” Zepina asked that hiswatch and money be sent to an orphan in “Jugo Slavia” and hisclothing and shoes given to “some american poor man.” Zepinawas paroled a few months later without his watch fob havingbeen returned to him.Thomas O’Hara’s (no. 3039) letter to warden William Cuddy—addressed as “Old Chap”— from a Chicago jail, protested thathe was unable to obtain employment, the Young Men’s ChristianAssociation (YMCA) had taken his card away, “the I.W.W. I foughtfor don’t know me now”, and that he was being harassed by the“Brutal Cops.” The new warden, Joseph Wheeler, replied thatdespite O’Hara’s “yeoman service... in trying to establish the ruleof the proletariat,” O’Hara would not be allowed to return toIdaho because “while here you acted very much like an ingrate,finding fault and carping criticism with the cuisine service andother appointments.”The Lewis County sheriff reported that John Ross (no. 4131)“went through the walls of our jail building on Mon. night” whileawaiting trial. The prosecuting attorney claimed Ross had said he“would give up the criminal life only because it does not pay.” Hewas later (1941) killed as a prowler in Tulsa. Ross’ unidentifiedbody was reported to the FBI as an “Unknown Dead Man.”Forger John Doucas (no. 3206) violated his paroleand was arrested in Chicago after being soughtby the California Bankers Association, AmericanBankers Association, and the William J BurnsInternational Detective Agency. Doucas was killedat the State Prison at Folsom while attempting toescape in 1927.To a letter from Albert Workman’s (no. 3814) wife,warden Wheeler replied: “...tone down your letters...Your husband will be embarrassed and it is naturalthat such letters belittles him and makes it appearto us that he comes from a very tough, immoralenvironment and it lessens his chances. So be fair toyour husband and if you find it impossible to writedecently, just omit writing.”1926192719281929Commodore Perry Sam (no. 3344) wrote letters of petition to the governor, a prosecuting attorney, a district judge, a Bannockcounty commissioner, and “Chief Satan” aka “that unsuspected Spirit of the living”, care of the secretary of state.Burel McCall (no. 4211) was convicted of possession of liquor after crashing his car into a gasoline pump and later on a side road,and entering a stranger’s home in Garden Gulch, near Culdesac, where he “demolished all of the furniture in the house,” broke outall thirteen windows, and set fire to an out building.Lester Thompson’s (no. 4372) second incarceration ended four years with a Pocatellobaseball team, the “colored Giants.” According to the prosecutor, Thompson’sfather “was a rodeo rider and was killed in Montana a year or two ago”; his mothermaintained a reputation as a “fine woman” with a “quite respected” family.Victor Chacon’s (no. 4379) pardon application reflected on 1,000 years of Mayo (Yoreme) history in the Americas, “where my Peoplenumber about 14,000 Soules, my Father is one the Chiefs of his People, we are an Independent Tribe enjoying full Tribal Rule...”During the trial of James O’Neil (no. 4448),a witness provided the court with a recipeand proportions for making “a little homebrew”— of lemon, sugar, water, yeast, andpotatoes— called “Snake River Special”: “Q.What kind of drink would that be after you gotit made. A. Real nice drink. Q. Real nice drink,was it. A. Yes, sir. Q. Have you got any SnakeRiver Special on hands at the present time. A.I have not, but I wish I had.” Prohibition endedtwo years later, in 1933.After his prison sentence was commuted to timein the Bannock county jail, Leo Lucero (no. 4399)attempted an escape with Charley Cornish (no.4403) and Leroy Meyers (no. 4405), with the aid ofRulon Wilson (no. 4610). The four men used hacksaw blades and a bottle of acid to cut a hole inthe floor and through the window bars. All threewere sent to the penitentiary for the attempt.1930193119321933xix