CRIME: Jail Breakage

At Folsom, Calif., where on Thanksgiving Day 1927, ten convicts and a guard were killed rioting, Warden Clarence A. Larkin of California's toughest State prison, was last fortnight interviewing inmates about parole applications. Suddenly seven of some 40 convicts in his office sprang out of line, bared knives and a dummy pistol. One demanded that Warden Larkin telephone the watch tower guards to hand down rifles to the inmates. Others covered two guards. In a room nearby, the warden's secretary, Jack Whalen, heard the commotion, recalled what Warden Larkin had told the prison...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!