The Mena weekly star., 1921-12-15
EVERY INMATE OF PENTENTT- AIRY GIVEN CHANGE OF FREE
 DOM BY OUTLAW.
RUNS THE SHOP FOR
 FIVE JOYFUL HOURS
Fired on by Officers at Benton, Out laws Soon Desert Car and Take to Woods, and Leader Is Shot by
 Comrade, Who Then Surrenders.

Tom Slaughter, most notorious Ar kansas-Oklahoma criminal in years, twice convicted in latter state for murder, occupying death cell at "the walls," with date of execution set for December l6, then postponed thru ap- peal, is at large, and, according to re- ports, probably is in Montgomery county, headed westward in effort Co reach rendezvous of gang in Okla homa.
 With him in the escape and depar- ture from Little Rock, are: Jack Buster and James Wells, ne-- groes under death sentence. Willis Cannon and Clifton Taylor, Sevier county blacks, sentenced to death.
 James Howard, white, under sen- tence for forgery.
 Charles Jones, negro, sentenced for 2l years for assault with intent to kill.
 The outlaws had abandoned the Ford in which they escaped in Mont gomery county, and were supposed to be making an effort to reach Okia- homa.
 They were fired upon by officers at Benton as they passed thru, and one of the blacks was seriously wounded.
 Tale of the Escape.
 According to telephone and tele- graph stories reaching The Star di- rect from Little Rock, about 9 o'clock Thursday night Slaughter, who was occupying death cell, called to trusty guard for a blanket. The guard went to the door with the blanket, but before opening the door called another trusty to stand guard with him. Then, as the door was un- locked, Slaughter showed it back, de- livered kick between the legs of the guard, and, with a revolver which he had previously secured, took full charge of the guards and the premises.
 One of his first steps was to herd Warden Dempsey, Mrs. Dempsey and their three children and several guards into a cell and lock them up. He then, taking his time, freed every inmate of the big prison, five blacks and one white joining him in escape plans.
 Four Elaine negroes, under death sentence, were among those who de- clined to leave.
 Crippled Automobiles. Selecting Ford car that is said to belong to Mrs. Dempsey as means of their own transportation, Slaughter and his co-workers crippled four or five other cars at the prison. 1t is said in some cases they merely re- moved or ruined the tires. After more than five hours of such joyful and purposeful effort, Slaugh- ter and his party drove away, and deserted the car a few miles north west of Benton, in Saline county.
 Message to Sheriff Thornton. Sheriff Thornton received a long distance telephone message from Little Rock at a. m. Friday, giving the startling information that the desperate criminal and four con- demned negroes had made their es- cape from the state penitentiary. The message came direct from Warden Dempsey, but beyond stating that Slaughter and the four blacks had started away in ear, no details of the escape were given.
 Sheriff Thornton recalls a re- mark made to him by a penitentiary official some time ago whan the Little Rock man stated that some night "he might have to call up Polk county and tell em Slaughter was gone on his way to Oklahoma,n