“From a Good Family”: Privilege at the Penitentiary
Many more people in Idaho than those discussed in this exhibit received ICAN convictions yet never faced penitentiary sentences. They remain on the public record as nothing more than an “arrest statistic” rather than a “conviction statistic.”[1] In addition, some inmates convicted under ICAN faced shorter sentences than others. Factors such as race, income, community connections, or simply coming “from a good family” played into unequal treatment.
Some men avoided prison time altogether due to their privileged status. Bill Roden recounted how he participated in the Boys of Boise case of a prominent attorney whose father-in-law was a former Idaho Supreme Court Justice.[2] The defendant was acquitted in the case, and Roden believed the main reason for the acquittal (beyond his father-in-law representing him) was “his position in the community.”[3] This example represents a small fraction of ICAN cases; the vast majority of convictions came from men of blue collar backgrounds who had no money to hire a lawyer, much less have connections to one. The incarceration experience of Alvin Walters reflects how status and connections allowed for an easier or shorter prison sentence.
Alvin “Al” Walters
Alvin “Al” Walter’s community standing did not keep him from facing ICAN charges. Walters was born in 1891, in Springdale, Arkansas. His family moved to Emmett, Idaho, in 1910, when Walters was seventeen years old. Three years later, he married and moved to nearby Weiser. Walters worked at Morris Summers grocery store for twenty-two years and quit when he won the Washington County sheriff election; he served as sheriff for eight years. Walters took part in fraternal organizations like the Elks, Odd Fellows, and Lions; maintained a significant social circle of friends and family; and regularly attended services at a local Baptist church. He also was caught, while serving as sheriff, having sex with one of his male prisoners.[4]
Upon investigation, police found that Walters had had sex with inmates in the county jail and “boys” in Washington County.[5] Then on August 26, 1952, Walters had sex with nineteen-year-old male prisoner Maynard Dillon. Dillon was from Ainsworth, Nebraska, and serving five years at the penitentiary for breaking out of county jail.[6] Because he was sheriff, Walters was treated differently from other men accused of ICAN violations. Despite widespread knowledge of his sexual activities, Prosecuting Attorney Harold Ryan indicated that Walters would remain sheriff unless he was convicted or resigned.[7]
After his trial and conviction, Judge Albert Norris sentenced Walters to no more than five years. One year earlier, inmate Emil Rickert had received fifteen years for consensual sex with a free man. Walters’ daughter-in-law, Lillian Walters, sent a letter to Warden L. E. Clapp blaming his crime on “excessive drinking” due to his son’s death.[8] Because prison officials did not consider Walters an alcoholic and he regularly attended religious services, they recommended favorable consideration for him.
While incarcerated, Walters worked in the laundry from 1952 to 1954. He received parole to State Hospital South for one month in 1954 and returned to segregation in Cellhouse One afterward. He continued working in the laundry until his paroled release on February 12, 1955. After incarceration, Walters moved to Seattle, Washington, and worked for his brother in construction. His parole officer suggested that he be released from supervision and allowed back to Idaho; his parole ended in 1956.[9]
While most of the men convicted of ICAN came from blue collar backgrounds, the few from more privileged families found ways to use it in their pardon requests or used their social circles for various forms of support. Most privileged individuals not only fit the mold of well-behaving inmates, but demonstrated that they retained the social sway to pick their lives back up after their incarceration, which contributed to more favorable treatment.
Notes
[1] Humphreys, Tearoom Trade, 96.
[2] Roden worked in the prosecutor’s office at the time. See William C. “Bill” Roden, interview by Ellen Haffner, 7 July 2010, Idaho State Capitol Phase II Collection, ISA, Boise, Idaho.
[3] While Roden does not mention the attorney by name, he is most likely referring to Paris T. Martin, but his claim of relation to a Supreme Court Justice cannot be substantiated. See William C. “Bill” Roden, 7 July 2010, ISA.
[4] Alvin Walters inmate file, ISPIFC, AR 42, ISA.
[5] It is unclear in his record whether this meant minors, as younger men were sometimes referred to as boys.
[6] “Sheriff Held On Morals Accusation,” Idaho Daily Statesman, 20 Nov. 1952.
[7] “Sheriff Arrested On Morals Charge,” Idaho Daily Statesman, 20 Nov. 1952.
[8] Lillian Walters to Warden Lou Clapp, 1 May 1954, Alvin Walters inmate file, ISPIFC, AR 42, ISA.
[9] Alvin Walters inmate file, ISPIFC, AR 42, ISA.