Ralph Fults
Encyclopedia
Ralph Fults was a Depression-era outlaw and escape artist associated with Raymond Hamilton
, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow of the Barrow Gang.
, he was arrested in Aspermont, Texas
after police found him carrying a suitcase full of stolen goods. The 14-year-old Fults escaped from the town's jail a week later after making a key from an old tobacco can. With the town sheriff attending the county fair, Fults was able to start a mass jailbreak, letting the remaining inmates out of jail. However, Fults was soon recaptured and sentenced to the Gatesville reformatory where he escaped on April 16, 1927.
Two years after his escape from Gatesville, Fults was arrested and convicted of burglary after selling stolen cigarettes to a grocer in Greenville, Texas
. Given a two year prison sentence, Fults arrived in Huntsville Prison
on June 16. He was eventually transferred to Eastham prison farm from which he escaped with two other inmates on April 8, 1930. Recaptured five months later while burglarizing a hardware store in St. Louis
, he was sent back to Texas where he received a parole on August 16, 1931.
" and helped smuggle hacksaw blades to bank robber Ray Hamilton to escape from jail in McKinney, Texas
on January 27, 1932.
He later joined up with Hamilton on March 22 and, along with Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, attempted to rob a hardware store in Kaufman, Texas
. However, after the night watchmen sounded the alarm, the four fled in a stolen car until Barrow drove into a mud hole, which bogged the car down. Although Barrow and Hamilton were able to escape on foot, Fults and Parker were arrested by arriving police.
Fults was sentenced to ten years imprisonment on May 11, 1932 although he was later granted a pardon by Governor Miriam A. Ferguson
shortly before leaving office on January 10, 1935.
s from a National Guard
armory in Beaumont, Texas
. After stealing a car in Tulsa, Oklahoma
on February 24, he and Hamilton headed for Texas after managing to evade a police ambush while passing through McKinney.
On March 19, the two gave an interview to a Houston journalist detailing inhumane treatment in the Texas penal system. That same afternoon, he and Hamilton robbed a grocery store in San Antonio. Three days later, while driving towards Mississippi, the two stopped at the Louisiana site where Bonnie and Clyde had been killed the previous year. Stealing a car in Hattiesburg, Mississippi
on March 27, he and Hamilton robbed a bank at Prentiss, Mississippi
the following day.
After this latest robbery, the two separated, with Fults boarding a train to Louisville, Kentucky
and Hamilton returning to Texas. However, after his arrival in Springfield, Illinois
on April 5, Fults had learned of Hamilton's arrest at Fort Worth that same day and immediately took the first bus bound for Texas. Fults reached Fort Worth on April 8 and, although perhaps planning to save his old partner from the electric chair, he instead drove to his mother's home in McKinney. Stealing a car from Renner, Texas on April 12, he and an unidentified accomplice stole $900 from an oil refinery in Graham, Texas
.
on April 17, his latest crime spree came to an end and he was returned to Huntsville prison until his extradition to Mississippi to face bank robbery charges. Convicted in September 1935, he was sentenced to fifty years imprisonment at the Parchman prison farm. Although he was put in solitary confinement for leading a prison strike, he was pardoned in 1944 and thereafter assumed a legitimate profession as a security guard at an orphanage. He converted to Christianity and spoke to the children about the evils of a life of crime.
In 1960 Ralph Fults helped create a local television program called Confession. On this program, in a panel format, Fults and representatives of the Texas State Board of Pardons and Paroles and of the state prison system discussed with former inmates, businesspeople, and attorneys the unique needs of former prisoners and the importance of offering them jobs. Through the efforts of Norman Vincent Peale
the program was nationally syndicated. He died in Dallas, Texas on March 16, 1993 at the age of 82.
Raymond Hamilton
Raymond Hamilton was a member of the notorious Barrow Gang during the early 1930s. By the time he was 21 years old he had accumulated a prison sentence of 362 years.-The Barrow Gang:...
, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow of the Barrow Gang.
Early life
Born to a U.S. postal worker in Anna, TexasAnna, Texas
Anna is a city in Collin County, Texas, United States. The population was 8249 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Anna is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 57 square miles , all of it land.-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 8249...
, he was arrested in Aspermont, Texas
Aspermont, Texas
Aspermont is a town in and the county seat of Stonewall County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,021 at the 2000 census. Aspermont means "rough mountain" in Latin....
after police found him carrying a suitcase full of stolen goods. The 14-year-old Fults escaped from the town's jail a week later after making a key from an old tobacco can. With the town sheriff attending the county fair, Fults was able to start a mass jailbreak, letting the remaining inmates out of jail. However, Fults was soon recaptured and sentenced to the Gatesville reformatory where he escaped on April 16, 1927.
Two years after his escape from Gatesville, Fults was arrested and convicted of burglary after selling stolen cigarettes to a grocer in Greenville, Texas
Greenville, Texas
Greenville is the county seat, and the largest city, of Hunt County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 25,557....
. Given a two year prison sentence, Fults arrived in Huntsville Prison
Huntsville Prison
Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville or Huntsville Unit , nicknamed "Walls Unit," is a Texas state prison located in Huntsville, Texas, United States. The approximately facility, near Downtown Huntsville, is operated by the Correctional Institutions Division of the Texas Department of Criminal...
on June 16. He was eventually transferred to Eastham prison farm from which he escaped with two other inmates on April 8, 1930. Recaptured five months later while burglarizing a hardware store in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, he was sent back to Texas where he received a parole on August 16, 1931.
Fults with Hamilton, Bonnie & Clyde
During his time in prison, he had become acquainted with many criminals and outlaws of the "public enemy eraPublic enemy (term)
Public enemy is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though in fact the term had been used for centuries to describe pirates and similar outlaws.The modern use of term...
" and helped smuggle hacksaw blades to bank robber Ray Hamilton to escape from jail in McKinney, Texas
McKinney, Texas
McKinney is a city in and the county seat of Collin County, Texas, United States, and the second in population to Plano. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 131,117 The Census Bureau listed McKinney as the nation's fastest growing city from 2000 to 2003 and again in...
on January 27, 1932.
He later joined up with Hamilton on March 22 and, along with Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, attempted to rob a hardware store in Kaufman, Texas
Kaufman, Texas
Kaufman is a city in Kaufman County, Texas, United States. The population was 6,490 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Kaufman County.-Geography:Kaufman is located at ....
. However, after the night watchmen sounded the alarm, the four fled in a stolen car until Barrow drove into a mud hole, which bogged the car down. Although Barrow and Hamilton were able to escape on foot, Fults and Parker were arrested by arriving police.
Fults was sentenced to ten years imprisonment on May 11, 1932 although he was later granted a pardon by Governor Miriam A. Ferguson
Miriam A. Ferguson
Miriam Amanda Wallace "Ma" Ferguson was the first female Governor of Texas in 1925. She held office until 1927, later winning another term in 1933 and serving until 1935.-Early life:...
shortly before leaving office on January 10, 1935.
Reuniting with Hamilton
Rejoining Hamilton less than a month later, the two stole eight Thompson submachine gunThompson submachine gun
The Thompson is an American submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1919, that became infamous during the Prohibition era. It was a common sight in the media of the time, being used by both law enforcement officers and criminals...
s from a National Guard
Texas National Guard
The Texas National Guard consists of the Texas Army National Guard and the Texas Air National Guard. The Guard is administered by the adjutant general, an appointee of the governor of Texas. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and state...
armory in Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
. After stealing a car in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
on February 24, he and Hamilton headed for Texas after managing to evade a police ambush while passing through McKinney.
On March 19, the two gave an interview to a Houston journalist detailing inhumane treatment in the Texas penal system. That same afternoon, he and Hamilton robbed a grocery store in San Antonio. Three days later, while driving towards Mississippi, the two stopped at the Louisiana site where Bonnie and Clyde had been killed the previous year. Stealing a car in Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Hattiesburg is a city in Forrest County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 44,779 at the 2000 census . It is the county seat of Forrest County...
on March 27, he and Hamilton robbed a bank at Prentiss, Mississippi
Prentiss, Mississippi
Prentiss is a town in Jefferson Davis County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,158 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Jefferson Davis County...
the following day.
After this latest robbery, the two separated, with Fults boarding a train to Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
and Hamilton returning to Texas. However, after his arrival in Springfield, Illinois
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...
on April 5, Fults had learned of Hamilton's arrest at Fort Worth that same day and immediately took the first bus bound for Texas. Fults reached Fort Worth on April 8 and, although perhaps planning to save his old partner from the electric chair, he instead drove to his mother's home in McKinney. Stealing a car from Renner, Texas on April 12, he and an unidentified accomplice stole $900 from an oil refinery in Graham, Texas
Graham, Texas
Graham is a city in north central Texas. It is the county seat of Young County, and as of the 2010 Census had a population of 8,903.-History:...
.
Later years
Captured by police in Denton County, TexasDenton County, Texas
Denton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 432,976; in 2009 the estimated population had reached 628,300. Part of the Dallas – Fort Worth Metroplex, it is one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States. The county seat is Denton. The county...
on April 17, his latest crime spree came to an end and he was returned to Huntsville prison until his extradition to Mississippi to face bank robbery charges. Convicted in September 1935, he was sentenced to fifty years imprisonment at the Parchman prison farm. Although he was put in solitary confinement for leading a prison strike, he was pardoned in 1944 and thereafter assumed a legitimate profession as a security guard at an orphanage. He converted to Christianity and spoke to the children about the evils of a life of crime.
In 1960 Ralph Fults helped create a local television program called Confession. On this program, in a panel format, Fults and representatives of the Texas State Board of Pardons and Paroles and of the state prison system discussed with former inmates, businesspeople, and attorneys the unique needs of former prisoners and the importance of offering them jobs. Through the efforts of Norman Vincent Peale
Norman Vincent Peale
Dr. Norman Vincent Peale was a minister and author and a progenitor of the theory of "positive thinking".-Early life and education:...
the program was nationally syndicated. He died in Dallas, Texas on March 16, 1993 at the age of 82.