Offenses
CHARGES MADE
Over the years, 363 prisoners were reported on in the newspapers, which gives a general idea of their charges. The most common ones appear to be nonsupport (as defined in the "lazy husband" act), and drug related offenses. Here are the top ten, but you can expand this section to see more.
102 - Non Support
80 - Drug Related
45 - Trespass
31 - Petty Theft
28 - Alcohol
17 - Vagrancy and Begging
9 - Bad Checks
9 - Larceny
8 - Disorderly Conduct
6 - Assault
3 - Impaired Driving
3 - Fraud
2 - Statutory (Rape)
2 - Concealed Weapons
2 - Counterfeiting
2 - Illegal Possession of Deer Meat
1 - Attempted Robbery
1 - Burglary
1 - Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor
1 - Failure to Appear
1 - Failure to Stop at an Accident
1 - Felony
1 - Gambling
1 - Impersonating an Officer
1 - Possession of Stolen Property
1 - Practicing Dentistry Without a License
1 - Public Disturbance
1 - Sedition
1 - Slacker (Failure to Register for Draft)
1 - Domestic Abuse
Much fewer prisoners were incrassated for impaired driving, fraud, statutory (rape), counterfeiting, illegal possession of deer meat, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, gambling, impersonating an officer, practicing dentistry without a license, being a slacker (failure to register for the draft) and domestic abuse.
The sheriff admitted that drugs sometimes continued to be a problem for prisoners at the Stockade, particularly morphine and cocaine.* They were difficult to detect, and there were many ways to obtain them. Contrary to pervasive beliefs, there is no evidence of alcohol use inside the stockade. However, there is one case of an active still being discovered nearby on the County Farm. It was shut down in a couple of days as the smell of alcohol was easily detected.
*At this time there were not many options for those wrestling with addiction. The Stockade offered no particular resources for coping with withdrawal, nor did they have access to some of the rehabilitative services that might come to mind today, such as counseling.