1927 CONTINUED
The following is from a letter written by T.B. Johns to the Honorable Nathan Mayo, Commissioner of Agriculture, dated January 4, 1927 from Jasper, Florida (from the Nineteenth Biennial Report of the Prison Division of the Department of Agriculture of the State of Florida for the years 1925 and 1926).
TRACKING DOGS...
"...There is one feature of the prison management that, in my judgment, can be improved. I refer to the large number of escapes that are made from the various road camps about the State. I think that this can be greatly improved by the State Road Department maintaining a pack of well trained track dogs at each camp. I have observed that no dogs are kept at any of the camps at present except in instances where the wardens in some few camps have dogs that they privately purchase and keep at their own personal expense, whereas if the State Road Department or some department of the State would keep dogs at every camp the percentage of escapes would be reduced promptly, and would save a great cost to the State both in labor saving of escapes and in the recapture and return of these escapes to the prison...."
A bloodhound being transported by horse drawn cart. Escaped prisoners are tracked using "borrowed" bloodhounds. (Photo courtesy of FPC.)
Inmate population doubles, while costs are cut in half. (Photo courtesy of FPC.)
One month after his release, Clarence Martin begins his third incarceration at age 26.
|
|
Two prison officials, J.S. Blitch (left) and Prison Captain Strickland pose with an inmate bloodhound handler in the prison compound.
