Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1905-07-18
COUNTY JAIL REPORT
Statistics Obtained From Sheriff
Titles Report of Prisoners.

Sheriff Little has just completed bis
report of the conditions of, and
statistics concerning prisoners con-
fiDed in the county Jail during the
year ending June 80, 1905. The
report is interesting, from the fact
that it shows the kind of people which
commit the crimes in the county. the
class of crime committed, the age of
the criminals, and other interesting
facts,
There were in all tifty-fve prisoners
held in the county Jail for this county
during the year for which the report
was made out. Out of that number
there were nine removed to the state
prison at Waupun, one Of which,
Hattie johnson, was woman. -Four
were taken to the industrial schools of
the state, two girls and two boys.
Only seven of the number were let
out on bail, one was discharged on a
nolle, and none on a writ of habeas
corpus.
Wood county is one of the few
counties able to report that not a
prisoner made his escape. Two
attempts were made; but neither was
successful. The Sheriff had been
lenient with the prisoners and allowed
them the freedom of the inner room
and corridor, and the prisoners at
tempted to dig out through the Jail
wall, but there detected almost as
soon as the attempt was made, and
were held in closer confinement there
after. The sheriff reports that the
prisoners were, as rule, fairly we'll
behaved, and that he did not have a
great deal of trouble with them. No
employment is furnished by the.county
and so the sheriff at different times
took the more trusty prisoners out of
their cells, and had them clean up the
Jail and the property around it.
Out of the total prisoners, twenty
seven were sentenced to the county
Jail, thirteen were held for trial and
were disposed of by higher court, and
five were insane. There were other
insane persons in the county, but
they were not at any time detained in
the county Jail. There were four
persons sentenced for assault, nineIfOr
drunkenness, seven for larceny, two for
vagrancy, one for using abusive
Ia I'M nj mr. rl
bill, and two children were cared for
while their parents were serving time,
both having been arrested and con-
fined on the same charge, and at the
same time.
Nineteen OF the prisoners were
foreign born, one of them woman;
thirtysix were native born, with
seven of them women. Five men
could not read or write any language,
and six were habitually Incorporate.
Ten young people, between the ages
of six and twenty-one were held, the
youngest being five years, one of the
two children cared for; three were
under sixteen years old.
Of the thirteen prisoners who were
held at the county Jail only till their
trial could be held before a higher
court, there is variety Of offenses
that were charged against them.
There was one murder, byD Abraham,
KaratSky; one assault with intent to
do great bodily harm: four men were
charged with burglary: a girl was
charged with forgery: a man, with
grand larceny and another, withihOrse
stealing; man and woman (the
Johnsonsl with keeping house of i'll
fame. There were in the county a
number of statutory charges against
several men and one woman, but none
of them were detained at the Jail.
Other questions answered under the
report in respect to tine building used
for a Jail, gives the following infor-
nation: that the sheriff is iailor, and
resides in the Jail; the building is
built of brick, stone, cement and