Frank Shaffer In 1918, while US forces were fighting in Europe, Frank Shaffer, 42, was arrested for mailing the anti-war book, The Final Mystery, through the United States postal service. For this, he was charged with violating the Espionage Act of 1917. He was first sentenced to two and one-half years in federal prison but […]

Ed Hagen was a former semi-professional boxer and hero policeman turned bootlegger. He was caught in April of 1919 trying to break into a government liquor warehouse. He was sentenced to two years in McNeil Island Federal Penitentiary. He appealed his sentence but eventually lost and began serving his sentence in March, 1921. The article […]

The following case has been a “repeater” for many years and is now in the penitentiary. She is sixty-eight years of age and has served sentences in the penitentiaries of Blackwell’s Island, Sing Sing, Jolie t, and probably elsewhere. This is her third term in Joliet. She has also served several sentences in the Cook […]

This psychological profile was written in 1897 and I do not vouch for its accuracy. Source: Crime and Criminals, John Sanderson Christison, Chicago Medical Book Co. 1898.   “The first case [George Perry] considered is that of an epileptic, and arson is the crime charged. Epilepsy has many causes and many forms. Some persons have […]

With this post, we introduce a new segment on HCD called “Mug Shot Monday,” which features a mug shot or photograph and a short bio. Today’s mug shot is a 20 year-old shoplifter circa late 1890s with an interesting bio. “Case 15 is a young woman, single, 20 years of age, and a native of […]