Edward H. Morrell (October 21, 1868 – November 10, 1946) was an American convict, activist, and writer.

Biography

Morrell was an American prisoner who became known for withstanding cruelty and torture. He was an accomplice to the Evans and Sontag gang that robbed the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

in California's

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; Spanish language in California, Spanish: ''Valle de San Joaquín'') is the southern half of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. Famed as a major breadbasket, the San Joaquin Valley is an importa ...

in the 1890s. According to his memoir, "The 25th Man", the robberies were after revenge for the large railroad corporation's mistreatment of local ranchers in the San Joaquin Valley. Morrell was sentenced to life imprisonment in

Folsom State Prison Folsom California State Prison is a California State Prison in Folsom, California, United States, approximately northeast of the state capital of Sacramento. It is one of 34 adult institutions operated by the California Department of Correcti ...

in 1894. He was eventually transferred to

San Quentin San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (SQ), formerly known as San Quentin State Prison, is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in ...

(1899 at the latest) and pardoned in 1908. Five of his years were spent in

solitary confinement Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...

; he was known as the Dungeon Man of San Quentin. Author

Jack London John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...

championed his pardon and Morrell became a frequent guest at London's Beauty Ranch in

Glen Ellen, California Glen Ellen is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 784 at the 2010 census, down from 992 at the 2000 census. Glen Ellen is the location of Jack London State Historic ...

. London used Morrell as a character in his 1915 novel ''

The Star Rover ''The Star Rover'' is a novel by American writer Jack London published in 1915 (published in the United Kingdom as ''The Jacket''). It is science fiction, and involves both mysticism and reincarnation. Plot summary A framing story is told in th ...

''. Morrell had been subjected to severe physical abuse in prison. After his release, he lectured widely on his experiences and advocated

prison reform Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, improve the effectiveness of a penal system, reduce recidivism or implement alternatives to incarceration. It also focuses on ensuring the reinstatement of those whose lives are ...

. He lectured with former San Quentin prisoner and author Donald Lowrie. Morrell's lectures included addresses to the California and Pennsylvania legislatures. He advocated the abolition of

corporal punishment A corporal punishment or a physical punishment is a punishment which is intended to cause physical pain to a person. When it is inflicted on Minor (law), minors, especially in home and school settings, its methods may include spanking or Padd ...

. In 1914, he wrote a one-act play, ''The Incorrigible'', based on his experiences (and one of his nicknames). In 1924, he published his memoirs, ''The 25th Man: The Strange Story of Ed. Morrell, the Hero of Jack London's Star Rover''. Morrell was born in Thomaston, Pennsylvania on October 22, 1868. He came to California in 1891. "In his later years, he was a colorful habitue of

Gower Gulch Gower Gulch is a nickname for the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. History Since the days of silent film, the surrounding area had contained several movie studios, including the Chris ...

and a frequenter of Hollywood and Vine, the crony and pet of Hollywood film people." He died, age 78, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

on November 10, 1946.Sifakis, Carl. ''The Encyclopedia of American Prisons'', Edward Morrell entry pp. 169-171, Facts on File, Inc., 2003.

Selected publications

''The Twenty-Fifth Man''
(1925)

References

External links

The Twenty-Fifth Man
- biography {{DEFAULTSORT:Morrell, Edward 1868 births 1946 deaths 1894 crimes in the United States American people convicted of robbery Criminals from California Criminals from Pennsylvania People from Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania Outlaws of the American Old West Prisoners and detainees of California Recipients of gubernatorial pardons in California

Biography

Selected publications

See also

References

External links