In the autumn of 1905, a violent and ultimately tragic event unfolded within the walls of the Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City. On November 24th, Prison Guard Ephriam Allison, a 69-year-old veteran of the Civil War, was killed during a desperate escape attempt by inmates. Allison, who had served with the prison for 16 years, was a married man with children.
The inmates had managed to smuggle four.
45 caliber revolvers, ammunition, and explosives into the penitentiary, setting the stage for a deadly confrontation. During the ensuing chaos of the jailbreak, both Ephriam Allison and another guard, John Clay, were shot and killed. The escaped inmates' freedom was short-lived, as they were quickly apprehended by citizens just outside the prison gates.
The aftermath of the bloody escape attempt saw a thorough investigation into how the weapons and explosives had made their way into the prison. Three of the inmates involved in the murders of the two guards were subsequently convicted for their crimes. Their sentences were carried out on June 27, 1907, when they were hanged. One of the executed men was also connected to the Morrison-Rosenau Gang, a criminal group responsible for the deaths of several St. Louis police detectives in a separate incident years prior. Ephriam Allison was later buried in Englewood Cemetery in Clinton, Henry County, Missouri.
