Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-08-11
4 Killed
I'm Prison

International News Service Wire

McALESTER. Okla, Aug. IL
Gov. Leon c. Phillips today was
personally investigating Jail
break at the Oklahoma State
'Penitentiary yesterday, which left
four men dead, including Warden
Jess Dunn. and four others
wounded.
In addition TO Warden Dunn,
those killed were Deputy Sheriff
Tab Ford. 45, and two convictS,
Claude Beavers, 36. leader of the
desperate break, and Roy MCGEE,
%.
Another convict. William Ander-
son, 30, was so seriously wounded
he was not expected To live. Also
wounded were Murray Fentriss.
As. prison electrician, Robert Pol
lack, prison guard, and Hiram
Prather, a convict.
The attempted break began
about IL a. IN. Armed with long
KNIVES fashioned from old files in
the prison workshop. Beavers,
MCGEE. Anderson and Prather
jumped on Warden Dunn and Fem
ItriSS as the two men were walk
ing across the prison yard where
the ConvictS had been exercising.
Placing their knives at their
lcaptiveS' Threats, the convictS OBJ
tanned the warden's keys and
under threat of death forced Dunn
TO order the east gate tower
guards TO throw down their guns.
Armed with the tower guards
Shotguns. the desperadoes took
Dunn and FentriSS with them as
hostages, opened the prison gate
and. ran TO an automobile parked
IN front of nearby store. They
sped TO the outskirts of McAlester.
Word of the break had been
flashed to Deputy Sheriff Bill AL
exander, who was alone in the
county jail. Alexander quickly
got Ford and they drove to the
prison. picking up Pollack.
The three men chased the fee
ing convicts and caught up with
them just outside the city. Alex
ander then told this story Of what
happened;
II drove across the road and
blocked ii. When the convict car
stopped, called to the men to
get out with their hands in the
air. Warden Dunn was i'm the
front seat. He called to me, let
us 20 by, Bill but I replied,
You can go by, warden, but
those prisoners will have to fall
out Of the car
Just as l said that. one OF
the prisoners i'm the back seat
fired. / returned the fire, emp
tying eight shots. There were
nearly dozen shots from the
convict car.
SHOT IN HEAD
~ noticed that Ford was hit
In the head and slumped down
on the front seat. reopened
fire and the cOnvicts started to
leave the car. BY this time we
were joined by some other Off
4 GERS, and In "A few minutes
| foshti 'OIlt VI TIC IOilNlSlsl
came walking toward us with
his hands I'm the air"
Warden Dunn was found dead in
the convicts' car. He had been
shot three times at close range be-
hind the left ear. Officials ex-
pressed the belief the convicts had
shot him before they abandoned
the car Fentriss was wounded
in the exchange of shots.
IN PREVIOUS BREAK
Beavers was known as one of
the state prisons most dangerous
Inmates. In May of 1886, while
he was serving a 25-year robbery
term, he led a break involving "a
men. in which q guard was slain.
He was captured eight days later.
Tried for murder of the guard.
he was sentenced to the electric
chair but later won a commuta-
ton to life Imprisonment.
Prather was serving a life term
for murder. Magee was serving
ID years for robbery.
Dunn, who was 55, became war
den Of the state prison late in
I1o26