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Inside the Ohio Penetentiary
Explore one of history’s most notorious maximum-security prisons through these tales of mayhem and madness.
As “animal factories” go, the Ohio Penitentiary was one of the worst. For 150 years, it housed some of the most dangerous criminals in the United States, including murderers, madmen and mobsters. Peer in on America’s first vampire, accused of sucking his victims’ blood five years before Bram Stoker’s fictional villain was even born; peek into the cage of the original Prison Demon; and witness the daring escape of John Hunt Morgan’s band of Confederate prisoners.
As “animal factories” go, the Ohio Penitentiary was one of the worst. For 150 years, it housed some of the most dangerous criminals in the United States, including murderers, madmen and mobsters. Peer in on America’s first vampire, accused of sucking his victims’ blood five years before Bram Stoker’s fictional villain was even born; peek into the cage of the original Prison Demon; and witness the daring escape of John Hunt Morgan’s band of Confederate prisoners.
- GenresHistoryTrue Crime
193 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 14, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 27, 2019
This book is not a historical account of the Ohio Penitentiary, rather, it attempts to entertain the reader - which is no small undertaking, considering the subject matter. The book describes itself as such:
"Inside the Ohio Penitentiary is a collection of true stories about life inside the legendary prison. For the most part, they are not happy or inspiring or educational…
"In this book, we have attempted to convey an idea of what life was like within the storied walls of the Ohio Penitentiary by highlighting some of the more sensational incidents that took place there.”
"Inside the Ohio Penitentiary is a collection of true stories about life inside the legendary prison. For the most part, they are not happy or inspiring or educational…
"In this book, we have attempted to convey an idea of what life was like within the storied walls of the Ohio Penitentiary by highlighting some of the more sensational incidents that took place there.”
June 10, 2014
Eh, I was expecting a more clear historical account. It is instead a series of stories about famous inmates and events.
August 29, 2020
Interesting read about the various occurrences at the penitentiary; from the riots and fires to notable prisoners like the members of Dillinger's gang. This book focuses on the tales of notable prisoners and events rather than an academic history of the prison itself.
December 30, 2019
Excellent book.
October 13, 2015
A nice handy book on the history of OP with lots and lots of pictures. Starting with the earliest executions in Ohio, the authors continue through Buck Rinehart's ridiculous bulldozing, which imo, had nothing to do with getting rid of OP and everything to do with giving him a chance to ride a bulldozer and gasbag himself (as usual).
I was already familiar with some of the history, especially the OP fire and the 1968 riots. The footnotes appear (and I could be wrong) that although the authors used Dispatch articles, they went out of their way to use out-of-town newspapers, on those events which makes no sense. I've read the Dispatch and Citizen accounts of the fire and they are voluminous. Why go somewhere else? Same with the riots. While the second riot got most of the coverage, I was (for personal reasons) disappointed with the lack of coverage of the first. The second riot, was well summarized. Enjoyed the pictures of Red Armstrong and Paisan (John Conte) which also appears on the back cover. Also a mention of Kelly Chapman. Almost an old home week. And also glad to see that Yonnie Licovoli shows up, but more could have been said about his connection to Gov. James Kent State murderer, Rhodes. There's also an interesting chapter on Sam Shepherd and the cancer experiments. I knew he was involved in them, but nothing about the experiments themselves.
Finally a couple nice pictures of Pat McDermott, the alleged shooter of Don Mellet. The authors, whoever, failed to mention that he couldn't hit the side of a barn and took the fall for Floyd Streitenberger, Louis Mazer, and Ben Rudner, the last of which even get a mention.
I was already familiar with some of the history, especially the OP fire and the 1968 riots. The footnotes appear (and I could be wrong) that although the authors used Dispatch articles, they went out of their way to use out-of-town newspapers, on those events which makes no sense. I've read the Dispatch and Citizen accounts of the fire and they are voluminous. Why go somewhere else? Same with the riots. While the second riot got most of the coverage, I was (for personal reasons) disappointed with the lack of coverage of the first. The second riot, was well summarized. Enjoyed the pictures of Red Armstrong and Paisan (John Conte) which also appears on the back cover. Also a mention of Kelly Chapman. Almost an old home week. And also glad to see that Yonnie Licovoli shows up, but more could have been said about his connection to Gov. James Kent State murderer, Rhodes. There's also an interesting chapter on Sam Shepherd and the cancer experiments. I knew he was involved in them, but nothing about the experiments themselves.
Finally a couple nice pictures of Pat McDermott, the alleged shooter of Don Mellet. The authors, whoever, failed to mention that he couldn't hit the side of a barn and took the fall for Floyd Streitenberger, Louis Mazer, and Ben Rudner, the last of which even get a mention.
October 19, 2015
Starting with the first "legal" execution in the state of Ohio (1844) through the closing of the Pen in 1984, Inside the Ohio Penitentiary covers some of the more interesting history of the old Ohio Pen on Spring Street in Columbus Ohio. The book mostly talks about the prisoners and their lives in and out of the Pen, but discusses some of the wardens and other staff as well. Any easy and interesting read.
August 25, 2014
I love history books and this was ok, but jumped around a lot with the individual stories. I think it needs a timeline written out somewhere that plots out each warden's tenure and the noteworthy events in the prison history. That would be a nice reference to have available when reading each particular story is developed.
October 3, 2013
Just started & I find the stories so interesting.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews