Nebraskan mug shots
From first-degree murder to chicken theft.
Chris Wild
1880s-1930s
In the mid 1860s, police forces began to photograph the suspects they arrested. These photographs became known as "mug shots," after the British slang word "mug," meaning face. Generally, officials took full face and profile photographs. If convicted, men had another set of images taken after their hair and beards were shaved off to limit the spread of lice. Women's hair was not shaved.For these Nebraska shots, the term "grand larceny" appears often on the reverse. The crime of larceny is to deprive another person of their property, and the term is still used in the U.S., but was abolished in the UK. Larceny "from a person" refers to pickpockets. Another term that appears is "mayhem," which refers to the permanent disfigurement or disabling of another person. In the UK this term has now fallen into disuse.
The reactions these men and women had to being photographed varies. For instance, Herbert Cockran had to be restrained in a headlock; Minnie Bradley refused to look at the camera. But Goldie Williams exhibited the most extreme gestures of defiance. George Ray, who served 10 years for manslaughter, managed a smile.
The stories behind many of these images are intriguing. Mrs. H. C. Adams with her Victorian demeanour, was actually a prostitute who was jailed for blackmail. "Fainting Bertha" Liebbeke, would faint into the arms of a passing gentleman, relieveing him of his valuables as she went down. Stephen Stock reportedly enlisted in the U.S. army after his release, and caught the tail end of WWI. Amos Holloman was a repeat offender, amd his series of mugshots record the effects of time on his features. Alv Lytle was sentenced to 12-15 years for bank robbery. Then another man confessed to the crime and Lytle was released. He served two years of his sentence and received $2,500 in compensation.Perhaps the strangest story is that of Bert Martin. As a cowboy, he was arrested for horse stealing. In prison, he worked in the broom factory at Nebraska State Penitentiary. After 11 months his cell mate revealed his secret: Bert was actually a woman named Lena. She was promptly removed to the women's section and her sentence was commuted to one year, six months.
