The Mena weekly star. (Mena, Ark.) 1904-1977, 1911-02-09
WELL=PLANNED JAIL
DELIVERY FAILED
A. J. Coughran, Under Sentence of Death, Was
the Leader--Key Moulds Keys, Files and
Chisels Found--Hard at Work When
Surprised by the Officers.

Deputy Sheriff Robert Norris uncov-
cred and spoiled carefully planned
delivery at the county Jail Tuesday
which, if it had been successful.
would have liberated A. j. Coughran.
who is under death sentence for the
killing of Allen Stacy in Montgomery
county last July.
Couehran and two other prisoners,
Haskell Jackson and j. M. Meadows,
we're trapped and caught at work this
morning and quantity of improvised
tools, dies for making keys, partly
made keys, a file and other plumber
was taken from them.
1t is apparent that the men have
been working for weeks, possibly
months, on plans for escape. About
two weeks ago Deputy Sheriff Norris
heard sounds about the cells of the
Jail that caused him to be suspicious.
Since that time he has been on close
guard and for several nights, unknown
to the prisoners, he has slipped from
his living rooms on the first floor of
the Jail building to the head of the
stairway leading to the second floor.
where the cells are located. and listen
ed to the planning and working of the
prisoners.
Tuesday morning Mr.. Norris laid a trap
by casually remarking to the men that
his wife was off on a visit and then
asked them to be good boys. for he
was going out in the country TO be
gone all day.
Norris then left the Jail and went
down town and in about half an hour
returned with Chief OF Police Mcmillan
and Deputy Sheriff Duncan.
Quietly uulockine the steel door at
|thes foot osthe stairway and spreading
blankets over the concrete flocr and
the steps, the three officers went part
way up and listened. The work was un-
der full headway. Filing and pounding
sufficient for a miriature blacksmith
shop in active operation could be
heard. The officers then stepped
forth.
There was a clatter and a shutting
and the prisoners dropped their work
and attempted to hide their tools
They were as cheap a looking set Of
prisoners as ever looked through the
bars.
The county jail proper consists of a
steel cage located on heavy concrete
floor in the second story OF the brick
building. The cage has four cells, two
on each side. which open into a larger
corridor. The prisoners have been
given the freedom of this corridor and
most of their efforts have been direct
ed to unlocking and throwing the bolts
to the door which leads out of the
cage. Beside this door there is d
locker box This box has a door to
open which large and quite COM
plicated key is used. There is also a
combination lock on this door, but this
is not always used. After the box is
Unlocked there is a complicated lever
which must be thrown in and then
pulled out before the bolt that holds
the door to the corridor can be thrown
aside.
From the tools found it is evident
that the men had directed their great
est efforts towards making a key to
open the locker box. By filing. cut
ting and pounding two pieces Of a fry
ting pan handle had been formed so
that. when placed together they made
a remarkably good duplicate for the
original key.
BY reaching through the bars to the
door and around the corner Of the
locker box the key could be placed in
the key hole. Evidently these two
pieces could not be held together suf-
ficiently wei to turn the lock. and
therefore an effort was made to mold
a key.
For a mold the men had, 10y the use
Of stove poker. scratched the mortar
out from around a brick in the wall Of
the jail. The place from which the
brick had been taken was on the
back side of'the cage at a point where
the wall is four feet from the bars OF the
cage. According to the statement OF
Jackson who. with Meadows takes the
entire matter lightly and freely talked
REGARDING the details. after reaching
through with the stove poker and
loosenina the brick they had broom
which had been left on the outside oI
the cage, and by pulling the handle