Press enter after choosing selection

Sheriff Judson Caught On

Sheriff Judson Caught On image
Parent Issue
Day
30
Month
January
Year
1895
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

A bold attempt at jail-breaking was frustrated in the nick of time last night by Sheriff Judson. The lower rear window of the jail had been forced open by the prisoners, this being accomplished by pulling the staples out of the wall, and one of the iron bars, an inch in diameter, had been sawed almost off, while work had just besrun on a seconrf. The severing of these two bars meant freedom to twenty-two prisoners if they chose to accept it, and an awful lot of trouble to Sheriff Judson and his deputies. At the time the work was being done, the whole number of prisoners were in the lower corridors. From six o'clock iint il eight the men are unlocked from the cage lor supper and a little stretching of their legs. It was daring this brief time last evening that the men got in their work. Three men are suspected of being to blame for the matter. They are George Bryant áud Richard Thompson, alleged to have been implicated in the Sheehan store burglary, andJohn Tilton, who is awaiting trial for burglarzing a 1 ville store. These three are tough customers and Sheriff .Judson has caused them to be put where, as Turukey Canfleld expresses it, "they may saw all day and it won't do them any good. They now languish in 011e of the safest cells in Washtenaw's jail. the one occupied so long by Clifford Hand, the Pulver murderer. They profess to be very ignorant of the whole matter and innoeently asked the turnkey what was the matter. They were jokingly told that some farmers had been trying to break into the rear of the jail, and their wonderment as to why farmers wanted to get into jail was something laughable. The instruments used to saw their way to liberty show that the workmen are no amateurs. They had carried some of the steel knives with which they eat,back into the corridors probably securely secreted inside their sleeves. These by the aid of a file obtained in some mysterious way, they had made into remarkably good saws that did the work well. Of these there were four or five, while another sort of file had been made by wiring together a short piece of steel band and heavy wire. Other eating knives had just been subjected to the saw-making process, hut had not been completed. The making of these utensils showed a good knowledge of the work in hand. Sheriff Judson made the discovery of the attempted outbreak at 8 o'clock upon making the rounds of the jail as he is accustomed to do. The work had evidently been left suddenly upon his approach, for the instruments of ! livery had been dropped at the work. The window, it is needless to say, is now doubly barricaded.

Article

Subjects
Old News
Ann Arbor Courier