Virginia State Penitentiary A Notorious History

Download or read book Virginia State Penitentiary: A Notorious History written by Dale M. Brumfield and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2017 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thomas Jefferson developed the idea for the Virginia State Penitentiary and set the standard for the future of the American prison system. Designed by U.S. Capitol and White House architect Benjamin Latrobe, the "Pen" opened its doors in 1800. Vice President Aaron Burr was incarcerated there in 1807 as he awaited trial for treason. The prison endured severe overcrowding, three fires, an earthquake and numerous riots. More than 240 prisoners were executed there by electric chair. At one time, the ACLU called it the "most shameful prison in America." The institution was plagued by racial injustice, eugenics experiments and the presence of children imprisoned among adults. Join author Dale Brumfield as he charts the 190-year history of the iconic prison.

Download or read book The Haunted History of the West Virginia Penitentiary written by Sherri Brake and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2011-12-31 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Afterlife with no parole.If you die in prison, your soul stays in prison. At least that's what many inmates believed. 998 murders and suicides combined with 85 hangings and 9 electrocutions all make for a dark and violent past. The Cincinnati Ohio Enquirer called it a "Hell On Earth" in 1886. The New York Times branded it as "One of the Most Violent in the Country". Inmates called it "Bloody Alley" and for good reasons.The Haunted History of the West Virginia Pen is brought to light by Paranormal Investigator, Haunted Heartland Tours owner and author, Sherri Brake. Built in 1866 in Moundsville, West Virginia and situated on 10 acres, this mammoth fortress held some of the country's worst criminals. Explore Moundsville's bloody frontier history, the Grave Creek Mound, the building of the Pen, and the Wardens. Read first hand accounts from past guards and inmates along with newspaper articles, some collected from over 100 years ago. Accounts of executions, torture, escapes and notorious inmates are revealed. Examine over 100 ghostly accounts as paranormal investigators look for Shadow Men, ghosts and proof of the afterlife. Check out the Paranormal Directory and Vocabulary section. Use the Paranormal Guide to the Pen to help you investigate on site or simply read about the Sugar Shack, the Boiler Room and North Hall, all from the safety of your chair.This book is an excellent resource for gaining insight on the history and hauntings of this gothic prison. It is a first hand look into the dark dimensions of one of America's most haunted locations.

Download or read book Texas Tough written by Robert Perkinson and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2010-03-11 with total page 494 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A vivid history of America's biggest, baddest prison system and how it came to lead the nation's punitive revolution In the prison business, all roads lead to Texas. The most locked-down state in the nation has led the way in criminal justice severity, from assembly-line executions to isolation supermaxes, from prison privatization to sentencing juveniles as adults. Texas Tough, a sweeping history of American imprisonment from the days of slavery to the present, shows how a plantation-based penal system once dismissed as barbaric became the national template. Drawing on convict accounts, official records, and interviews with prisoners, guards, and lawmakers, historian Robert Perkinson reveals the Southern roots of our present-day prison colossus. While conventional histories emphasize the North's rehabilitative approach, he shows how the retributive and profit-driven regime of the South ultimately triumphed. Most provocatively, he argues that just as convict leasing and segregation emerged in response to Reconstruction, so today's mass incarceration, with its vast racial disparities, must be seen as a backlash against civil rights. Illuminating for the first time the origins of America's prison juggernaut, Texas Tough points toward a more just and humane future.

Download or read book Williams' Gang written by Jeff Forret and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-01-16 with total page 485 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores a Washington, DC slave trader's legal misadventures associated with transporting convict slaves through New Orleans.

Download or read book Worse Than Slavery written by David M. Oshinsky and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 1997-04-22 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this sensitively told tale of suffering, brutality, and inhumanity, Worse Than Slavery is an epic history of race and punishment in the deepest South from emancipation to the Civil Rights Era—and beyond. Immortalized in blues songs and movies like Cool Hand Luke and The Defiant Ones, Mississippi’s infamous Parchman State Penitentiary was, in the pre-civil rights south, synonymous with cruelty. Now, noted historian David Oshinsky gives us the true story of the notorious prison, drawing on police records, prison documents, folklore, blues songs, and oral history, from the days of cotton-field chain gangs to the 1960s, when Parchman was used to break the wills of civil rights workers who journeyed south on Freedom Rides.

Download or read book Richmond's Unhealed History written by Benjamin P. Campbell and published by Brandylane Publishers Inc. This book was released on 2012 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a detailed look at the history of Richmond, Benjamin Campbell examines the contradictions and crises that have formed the city over more than four centuries. Campbell argues that the community of metropolitan Richmond is engaged in a decisive spiritual battle in the coming decade. He believes the city, more than any in the nation, has the potential for an unprecedented and historic achievement. Its citizens can redeem and fulfill the ideals of their ancestors, proving to the world that race and class can be conquered by the deliberate and prayerful intention of honest and dedicated citizens.

Download or read book Trejo written by Danny Trejo and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-07-06 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “If you’re a fan like I am this is definitely the book for you.” —Pete Davidson, actor, producer, and cast member on Saturday Night Live “Danny’s incredible life story shows that even though we may fall down at some point in our lives, it’s what we do when we stand back up that really counts.” —Robert Rodriguez, creator of Spy Kids, Desperado, and Machete Discover the full, fascinating, and inspirational true story of Danny Trejo’s journey from crime, prison, addiction, and loss—it’s “enough to make you believe in the possibility of a Hollywood ending” (The New York Times Book Review). On screen, Danny Trejo the actor is a baddie who has been killed at least a hundred times. He’s been shot, stabbed, hanged, chopped up, squished by an elevator, and once, was even melted into a bloody goo. Off screen, he’s a hero beloved by recovery communities and obsessed fans alike. But the real Danny Trejo is much more complicated than the legend. Raised in an abusive home, Danny struggled with heroin addiction and stints in some of the country’s most notorious state prisons—including San Quentin and Folsom—from an early age, before starring in such modern classics as Heat, From Dusk till Dawn, and Machete. Now, in this funny, painful, and suspenseful memoir, Danny takes us through the incredible ups and downs of his life, including meeting one of the world’s most notorious serial killers in prison and working with legends like Charles Bronson and Robert De Niro. An honest, unflinching, and “inspirational study in the definition of character” (Kevin Smith, director and actor), Trejo reveals how he managed the horrors of prison, rebuilt himself after finding sobriety and spirituality in solitary confinement, and draws inspiration from the adrenaline-fueled robbing heists of his past for the film roles that made him a household name. He also shares the painful contradictions in his personal life. Although he speaks everywhere from prison yards to NPR about his past to inspire countless others on their own road to recovery and redemption, he struggles to help his children with their personal battles with addiction, and to build relationships that last. Redemptive and painful, poignant and real, Trejo is a portrait of a magnificent life and an unforgettable and exceptional journey.