Prisoner of the Ohio Pen since 1910, after being convicted of assault with intent to rob following an attack on Dr. B. E. Sager of Cleveland. Sager thwarted the attack by clubbing Brennan and his accomplice with a heavy bottle, and the men were arrested and taken to jail. The jury took only 20 minutes to find Brennan guilty. Knowing the judge would probably send him to prison, Brennan attempted to commit suicide the night before sentencing by dissolving match heads in a glass of water and drinking it. A doctor at the Cuyahoga county jail saved him, and the next day he was sentenced to six years in the penitentiary.
Brennan made three unsuccessful escape attempts during his incarceration. The circumstances of the first incident are unknown, but in the second attempt, in February 1912, he and fellow prisoner Otis Hurley scaled the 30 foot stone wall surrounding the prison. Guards fired at both men, but only Brennan was hit, once in the right calf and again in the left foot. Hurley succeeded in evading the guards but was later captured and returned to prison.
While recovering in the prison hospital, Brennan observed another prisoner whose job was to climb tall poles in the prison yard to light or extinguish gas lamps illuminating the area. One evening Brennan decided to scale the poles himself with the thought of throwing the yard into darkness so he could scale the outer wall unseen and hide in the adjacent train yard. Unfortunately for Brennan, he was unaware that the prisoner lighting the lamps used a system of signals to communicate with armed guards stationed atop the walls. When he neglected to signal as expected, the guards realized Brennan was attempting an escape and shot him. He died almost instantly.
NB: Otis Hurley (Brennan's partner in escape attempt #2) was the person known as the Prison Demon for multiple assaults on other inmates and prison personnel, including a stenographer who ended up moving to another city due to his repeated threats on her life. Remarkably, Hurley was pardoned by Ohio Governor Cox in 1917. He was sentenced to prison for new crimes in 1918.
Brennan made three unsuccessful escape attempts during his incarceration. The circumstances of the first incident are unknown, but in the second attempt, in February 1912, he and fellow prisoner Otis Hurley scaled the 30 foot stone wall surrounding the prison. Guards fired at both men, but only Brennan was hit, once in the right calf and again in the left foot. Hurley succeeded in evading the guards but was later captured and returned to prison.
While recovering in the prison hospital, Brennan observed another prisoner whose job was to climb tall poles in the prison yard to light or extinguish gas lamps illuminating the area. One evening Brennan decided to scale the poles himself with the thought of throwing the yard into darkness so he could scale the outer wall unseen and hide in the adjacent train yard. Unfortunately for Brennan, he was unaware that the prisoner lighting the lamps used a system of signals to communicate with armed guards stationed atop the walls. When he neglected to signal as expected, the guards realized Brennan was attempting an escape and shot him. He died almost instantly.
NB: Otis Hurley (Brennan's partner in escape attempt #2) was the person known as the Prison Demon for multiple assaults on other inmates and prison personnel, including a stenographer who ended up moving to another city due to his repeated threats on her life. Remarkably, Hurley was pardoned by Ohio Governor Cox in 1917. He was sentenced to prison for new crimes in 1918.
Prisoner of the Ohio Pen since 1910, after being convicted of assault with intent to rob following an attack on Dr. B. E. Sager of Cleveland. Sager thwarted the attack by clubbing Brennan and his accomplice with a heavy bottle, and the men were arrested and taken to jail. The jury took only 20 minutes to find Brennan guilty. Knowing the judge would probably send him to prison, Brennan attempted to commit suicide the night before sentencing by dissolving match heads in a glass of water and drinking it. A doctor at the Cuyahoga county jail saved him, and the next day he was sentenced to six years in the penitentiary.
Brennan made three unsuccessful escape attempts during his incarceration. The circumstances of the first incident are unknown, but in the second attempt, in February 1912, he and fellow prisoner Otis Hurley scaled the 30 foot stone wall surrounding the prison. Guards fired at both men, but only Brennan was hit, once in the right calf and again in the left foot. Hurley succeeded in evading the guards but was later captured and returned to prison.
While recovering in the prison hospital, Brennan observed another prisoner whose job was to climb tall poles in the prison yard to light or extinguish gas lamps illuminating the area. One evening Brennan decided to scale the poles himself with the thought of throwing the yard into darkness so he could scale the outer wall unseen and hide in the adjacent train yard. Unfortunately for Brennan, he was unaware that the prisoner lighting the lamps used a system of signals to communicate with armed guards stationed atop the walls. When he neglected to signal as expected, the guards realized Brennan was attempting an escape and shot him. He died almost instantly.
NB: Otis Hurley (Brennan's partner in escape attempt #2) was the person known as the Prison Demon for multiple assaults on other inmates and prison personnel, including a stenographer who ended up moving to another city due to his repeated threats on her life. Remarkably, Hurley was pardoned by Ohio Governor Cox in 1917. He was sentenced to prison for new crimes in 1918.
Brennan made three unsuccessful escape attempts during his incarceration. The circumstances of the first incident are unknown, but in the second attempt, in February 1912, he and fellow prisoner Otis Hurley scaled the 30 foot stone wall surrounding the prison. Guards fired at both men, but only Brennan was hit, once in the right calf and again in the left foot. Hurley succeeded in evading the guards but was later captured and returned to prison.
While recovering in the prison hospital, Brennan observed another prisoner whose job was to climb tall poles in the prison yard to light or extinguish gas lamps illuminating the area. One evening Brennan decided to scale the poles himself with the thought of throwing the yard into darkness so he could scale the outer wall unseen and hide in the adjacent train yard. Unfortunately for Brennan, he was unaware that the prisoner lighting the lamps used a system of signals to communicate with armed guards stationed atop the walls. When he neglected to signal as expected, the guards realized Brennan was attempting an escape and shot him. He died almost instantly.
NB: Otis Hurley (Brennan's partner in escape attempt #2) was the person known as the Prison Demon for multiple assaults on other inmates and prison personnel, including a stenographer who ended up moving to another city due to his repeated threats on her life. Remarkably, Hurley was pardoned by Ohio Governor Cox in 1917. He was sentenced to prison for new crimes in 1918.
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