In 1931, a 12-year-old boy shot and killed the sheriff of Asotin,
Washington. The incident stunned the small town and a mob
threatened to hang him. Both the crime and Herbert Niccolls's
eventual sentence of life imprisonment at the Washington State
Penitentiary in Walla Walla drew national attention, only to be
buried later in local archives. Journalist Nancy Bartley has
conducted extensive research to construct a compelling narrative of
the events and characters that make this a unique episode in the
history of criminal justice in the United States. Niccolls became a
cause for Father Flanagan of Boys Town,who took to the airwaves,
imploring listeners to write Governor Hartley on the boy's behalf.
The bitter campaign put Hartley in such a negative light that he
lost his bid for reelection. Under a new and progressive warden,
Niccolls thrived in prison. Inmates like physician Peter Miller and
literary agent James Ashe became his tutors, finding that Niccolls
had an insatiable appetite for knowledge. During the deadly 1934
prison riot at Walla Walla, several prisoners kept him from harm.
Niccolls was finally released from prison in his early twenties. He
went to work at 20th Century Fox in Hollywood, where he kept his
secret for the rest of his long life. The Boy Who Shot the Sheriff
explores this little-known story of a young boy's fate in the
juvenile justice system during the bloodiest years in the nation's
penitentiaries. Watch the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRKFFQDgW20&list=UUge4MONgLFncQ1w1C_BnHcw&index=6&feature=plcp
General
Imprint: |
University of Washington Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
July 2015 |
Authors: |
Nancy Bartley
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 21mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Hardcover - Cloth over boards
|
Pages: |
302 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-295-99708-7 |
Categories: |
Books >
Fiction >
True stories >
Crime
|
LSN: |
0-295-99708-7 |
Barcode: |
9780295997087 |
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