Black Sheep Sunday: Pierpont Asks Release From State Prison

Kokomo Tribune, Kokomo, Indiana, August 25, 1933, page 9.

PIERPONT ASKS RELEASE FROM STATE PRISON


Bandit Who Aided in Robbery of Kokomo Bank Said to Be "Leader"


Indianapolis, Aug. 24 - (AP) - The state clemency commission tonight had under consideration a plea for the release from the state prison of Harry Pierpont based on the contention that he is a man of strong character and is a "leader and not a follower."


To support that contention a brief was filed with the commission asserting that when Pierpont was committed to the state prison in May, 1925, he told prison authorities he would try to escape and it was their duty to prevent it.  Subsequently he made three attempts to escape.  Two years ago, the brief said, Pierpont announced that he intended to be a model prisoner and it was contended he has been such since that time.


Pierpont along with four others was convicted of the robbery of the South Side State Bank in Kokomo and sentenced to 10 to 21 years for robbery.


"The tenacity with which he defied authorities was a clear and evident stamp of character which was to remain unbent," the brief said.


Pierpont's parents live near Liepsic, O., and his record showed two previous convictions.  In the years he has been at the prison he has had 10 punishments, 2 reprimands and one merit braid.


The commission this afternoon also heard requests for the release of two men serving 2 to 21 year sentences for manslaughter.


The prisoners are Pleas and John Spurlock, sentenced from Jackson county in October 1931 for the slayings of Patton Gibson.


The sessions of the commission tomorrow will be the last of the July-August quarterly meeting.


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Cousin Harry PIERPONT (1902-1934), asked for parole from the state prison in August, 1933.  When it was denied, he escaped from prison on September 26, 1933.


Black Sheep Sunday – create a post with the main focus being an ancestor with a “shaded past.” Bring out your ne’er-do-wells, your cads, your black widows, your horse thieves and tell their stories. And don’t forget to check out the International Black Sheep Society of Genealogists (IBSSG). This is an ongoing series at GeneaBloggers.