The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-03-15

had an escape to his credit which
had more finesse. Kramer haC
himself wired to the bottom Of al
auto driven by trusty, and which
frequently passed the Great Mead
oWs prison gates with only cursory
examination. Before this, at Gin
ton, Leon and his half brother ia.
cob were caught in a plot to dyna-
mite a section of the prison wall
They actually had succeeded in get
| ting into the prison box contain
ing six pistols, 200 cartridges, sew
eral bottles Of liquor and maps OF
the surrounding region.
Leon Kramer was shot by his own
kind. Whittemore was hanged.
Escapes From Death Cell
Less notorious as a criminal per-
haps, but more spectacular as ar
escape artist, was Tommy" O'Con-
nor, Chicago murderer and robber,
who broke from Cook county jail
in Chicago when he was less than
twenty-four hours away from a
we'll earned death by hanging.
On the night before his execu-
ton, with several other prisoners,
the break was made. A guard was
enticed close to the bars of the
death cell. A sudden clutch through
the bars at his throat brought him
to his knees. He was knocked out,
tied and gagged, and his keys
stolen. O'Connor had a gun.
Without firing a shot, however,
the group of deSperadoes met
guards, one after another, knocked
them senseless, and got out the
prison gate. A car was waiting for
them, and in this they made their
escape
O'COnnOr Never Caught
O'Connor never has been caught,
one Of the few of the slippery ones
who has not eventually slipped once
too often.
Despite a legend of frailty, women
criminals are as hard or harder than
men to keep behind the bars. In
fact, their sex sometimes gets them
sympathy and help from outside the
prison.
Clara Phillips, who killed. a girl
friend with hammer, was con-
victed and was in Los Angeles
county Jail when, unquestionably
with aid from the outside, she es-
capped. She had secured a saw, cut
through the cell bars, climbed to
the jail roof, slid down a drain pipe
to the roof of an adjoining build
ing and gone through that building
to waiting auto. Her flight Gun
successful to Honduras and Mexico
City followed her escape.
Woman Gets Outside Aid
Outside assistance apparently
came to the aid also of Mrs. Lydia
Southland, Idaho husband-p oisoner.
A bar of her cell in the Idaho state
prison had been pried loose, ap-
parently from the outside.
She then scaled the prison wall
with a rope made from pieces of
hemp and garden hose which pre-
viously had been buried in the pris-
on yard by an accomplice.
She had married again when
captured fifteen months later.
Twice in as many years, Irene
Mccain, wife and accomplice of a
gunman and murderer, escaped from
prison, the first time leaving a sar-
donic note that she was seeking evil
dence that would clear her husband
of murder charges, and the second
time using struggled hacksaW to
cut through cell bars.
She gave herself up to Chicago
police, unable to enjoy her stolen
freedom.
"Cat-Eye Liz Was Clever
These slippery ladies, however,
were mere amateurs beside "Cat-Eye
Liz Mcdowell, the house burglar,
who boosted that she could Spring
herself" from any jail, and came
near making good. In Buffalo, she
got out of the Erie county jail, de-
spite a huge barred door, on which
she either picked the lock or was
aided by a confederate.
A massive triple lock yielded and
let the prisoner through. Descend
ing staircase, she snaked into the
sheriffs office, picked up a paper
knife, with which she slashed a
window screen and dropped two
stories to the street
Injured by the fall, she soon was
recaptured and sent to Auburn
prison. Here she contrived to
have herself kept in a solitary cell
in brick wing of the prison, by
constant infraction of minor rules.
All the while she patiently was
digging at the brick wall with some
! sharp instrument she had obtained.
Freedom Soon Ended
Making an opening about two feet
square, she crawled through, drag
ging blanket. A loose board served
to get her to the top of an un-
garded wall, and down the blanket
she went to freedom. She soon was
recaptured, however.
From the moment a professional
criminal lands in Jail, accomplices
outside are working to get word or