Frank Sawyer (criminal)
Encyclopedia
James Franklin "Frank" Sawyer (May 1, 1899–1979) was an American Depression-era bank robber and prison escapee. An associate of Jim Clark
, Ed Davis
and other fellow Oklahoma bandits, he was a participant in countless bank robberies throughout Kansas and Oklahoma between 1917 to 1933. He was wrongfully imprisoned for a 1932 bank robbery in Fort Scott, Kansas
and spent almost 40 years in prison before he was pardoned by Governor Robert Docking
in 1969.
on May 1, 1899. Raised in a strict Baptist family, he was the fourth of nine children. However, he started getting into trouble as a teenager and, at age 17, started robbing banks with Jim Baldwin and Tom Slaughter. Sawyer was eventually thrown out and disown
ed by his parents after discovering stolen money from a then recent bank job.
He eventually found work in the gambling halls of Wichita, Kansas
. It was there that he met professional bank robbers Jeff Davis, Bud Maxwell and Henry Wells with whom he would take part in a string of bank robberies during 1917 and early-1918. Sawyer was then drafted into the U.S. Army but was discharged shortly after the Armistice
and returned to Wichita where he became a professional gambler. He may have been connected to Al Spencer's gang, which robbed a large number of trains and banks during the early 1920s, but there is no conclusive evidence to support this claim.
Sawyer was, however, responsible for killing two men in disputes over card games. The first was bank robber John Moore who he shot and killed after Moore accused of him of cheating. Afterwards, Sawyer briefly returned to his hometown where he shot a local card dealer named Bleaker whom he accused of cheating. Sawyer was arrested for the shooting in Dallas six months later and extradited back to Oklahoma where was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Arriving at the state penitentiary in McAlester
on April 13, 1920, he was in prison for two years before escaping. It is unknown whether he was a member of the team that robbed a U.S. mail train of $20,000 on August 20, 1923, one which included Al Spencer, Frank Nash
and several others, but several reports claim he was in the area where police and federal agents shot and killed Al Spencer near Bartlesville, Oklahoma
a month later.
and escaped after eluding careless guards. He remained around the capitol for another two years supporting himself by gambling and robberies. He was identified as one of the men who robbed a small bank in Union, Missouri
on May 2, 1932.
It was shortly after this heist that he teamed with Jim Clark
and Ed Davis
for a planned robbery in Rich Hill, Missouri
but called it off, supposedly due to a case of bad nerves, quietly leaving the bank before drawing their pistols. They were arrested by police several hours later, caught in the dragnet searching for the men who robbed a bank in Fort Scott, Kansas
that afternoon, and were taken in for questioning. One of those who accompanied the arresting officers, 17-year-old Stanley Butner, described the arrest.
Although no evidence connected them to the robbery, they were all escaped convicts who were driving a stolen car. All three were indicted and wrongly convicted of the Fort Scott bank heist, in actuality committed by the Barker Gang, and sent to the state prison in Lansing. At least one account claims Sawyer was one of four outlaws recruited to rob the bank, referred to as a member of the "St. Paul Outfit", which included Harvey Bailey, Jim Clark and Ed Davis.
, Robert "Big Bob" Brady
and Wilbur Underhill. Sawyer went off on his own after the group reached the Cookson Hills
on June 4. A series of mishaps followed as Sawyer attempted to flee the area. He first attempted to hitchhike but eventually resorted to stealing a car at gunpoint. The motor of this first car died soon after and his second car blew a tire near Middleburg
. He was forced to abandon yet another car when it began developing problems with the steering rod. He managed to steal a fourth car from a farm and drove it a little over six miles before it broke down just north of Gracemont. He hijacked another car but the driver purposely steered the car into a roadside ditch. Sawyer was eventually confronted near Chickasaw
by Sheriff Horace Crisp and a deputy, then investigating the string of car thefts in the area, who was disarmed then knocked unconsciousness.
on September 18, 1969, after a signed affidavit by Alvin Karpis
cleared Sawyer of the 1933 Fort Scott robbery. Sawyer filed a lawsuit against the state for wrongful imprisonment but the case went on for several years, up until his death.
Jim Clark (criminal)
Jim Clark was an American bank robber and Depression-era outlaw. A longtime career criminal in Oklahoma during the 1920s, Clark was associated with Wilbur Underhill, Harvey Bailey and Robert "Big Bob" Brady and remained a public enemy in the state of Kansas until his capture and imprisonment in...
, Ed Davis
Ed Davis (criminal)
Ed Davis was an American burglar, bank robber and Depression-era outlaw. He was especially active in Oklahoma, referred to by authorities as "The Fox", and frequently teamed with Jim Clark and Frank Sawyer during the early 1930s...
and other fellow Oklahoma bandits, he was a participant in countless bank robberies throughout Kansas and Oklahoma between 1917 to 1933. He was wrongfully imprisoned for a 1932 bank robbery in Fort Scott, Kansas
Fort Scott, Kansas
Fort Scott is a city in and the county seat of Bourbon County, Kansas, United States, south of Kansas City, on the Marmaton River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,087. It is the home of the Fort Scott National Historic Site and the Fort Scott National...
and spent almost 40 years in prison before he was pardoned by Governor Robert Docking
Robert Docking
Robert Blackwell Docking, , was the 38th Governor of Kansas from 1967 until 1975.Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Docking attended public school in Lawrence, Kansas, before attending the University of Kansas, and served in the Air Force during World War II...
in 1969.
Early life and criminal career
James Sawyer was born near Durant, OklahomaDurant, Oklahoma
Durant is a city in Bryan County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 15,877 at the 2010 census. Durant is the principal city of the Durant Micropolitan Statistical Area, which had a population of 42,416 in 2010...
on May 1, 1899. Raised in a strict Baptist family, he was the fourth of nine children. However, he started getting into trouble as a teenager and, at age 17, started robbing banks with Jim Baldwin and Tom Slaughter. Sawyer was eventually thrown out and disown
DISOWN
Disown is a four-piece Industrial rock band originally from Cleveland, Ohio.Along with guitar riffs and stabbing electronic synths similar to Nine Inch Nails or Linkin Park, Disown adds an arrangement of melodic, emotional lyrics similar to A Perfect Circle or Tool.Formed in 2000, Disown has shared...
ed by his parents after discovering stolen money from a then recent bank job.
He eventually found work in the gambling halls of Wichita, Kansas
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
. It was there that he met professional bank robbers Jeff Davis, Bud Maxwell and Henry Wells with whom he would take part in a string of bank robberies during 1917 and early-1918. Sawyer was then drafted into the U.S. Army but was discharged shortly after the Armistice
Armistice
An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
and returned to Wichita where he became a professional gambler. He may have been connected to Al Spencer's gang, which robbed a large number of trains and banks during the early 1920s, but there is no conclusive evidence to support this claim.
Sawyer was, however, responsible for killing two men in disputes over card games. The first was bank robber John Moore who he shot and killed after Moore accused of him of cheating. Afterwards, Sawyer briefly returned to his hometown where he shot a local card dealer named Bleaker whom he accused of cheating. Sawyer was arrested for the shooting in Dallas six months later and extradited back to Oklahoma where was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Arriving at the state penitentiary in McAlester
McAlester
McAlester might refer to:* McAlester, Oklahoma, an American city in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma* Miles D. McAlester, Union general in the American Civil War* McAlester Army Ammunition Plant in McAlester, Oklahoma...
on April 13, 1920, he was in prison for two years before escaping. It is unknown whether he was a member of the team that robbed a U.S. mail train of $20,000 on August 20, 1923, one which included Al Spencer, Frank Nash
Frank Nash
Frank Nash has been called “the most successful bank robber in U.S. history,” but he is most noted for his violent death in what has become known as the Kansas City Massacre...
and several others, but several reports claim he was in the area where police and federal agents shot and killed Al Spencer near Bartlesville, Oklahoma
Bartlesville, Oklahoma
Bartlesville is a city in Osage and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 43,070 at the 2010 census. Bartlesville is located forty-seven miles north of Tulsa and very close to Oklahoma's northern border with Kansas. It is the county seat of Washington County, in...
a month later.
Escape from McAlester and the Fort Scott robbery
Sawyer was married that same year and although his wife tried to persuade him otherwise, he continued his criminal actives. He was arrested the following year shortly after his daughter was born and returned to McAlester to finish his sentence. On February 2, 1930, Sawyer was assigned to a prison work party assigned to paint the state capitol building in Oklahoma CityOklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
and escaped after eluding careless guards. He remained around the capitol for another two years supporting himself by gambling and robberies. He was identified as one of the men who robbed a small bank in Union, Missouri
Union, Missouri
Union is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Missouri, United States. The population was 10,204 at the 2010 census making Union the fastest growing community in Franklin County, Missouri. It is located on the Bourbeuse River. The city was founded in 1827 and is named after the...
on May 2, 1932.
It was shortly after this heist that he teamed with Jim Clark
Jim Clark (criminal)
Jim Clark was an American bank robber and Depression-era outlaw. A longtime career criminal in Oklahoma during the 1920s, Clark was associated with Wilbur Underhill, Harvey Bailey and Robert "Big Bob" Brady and remained a public enemy in the state of Kansas until his capture and imprisonment in...
and Ed Davis
Ed Davis (criminal)
Ed Davis was an American burglar, bank robber and Depression-era outlaw. He was especially active in Oklahoma, referred to by authorities as "The Fox", and frequently teamed with Jim Clark and Frank Sawyer during the early 1930s...
for a planned robbery in Rich Hill, Missouri
Rich Hill, Missouri
Rich Hill is a city in Bates County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,461 at the 2000 census.The current mayor of Rich Hill as of April 2011 is Jim Kithcart.-Geography:Rich Hill is located at ....
but called it off, supposedly due to a case of bad nerves, quietly leaving the bank before drawing their pistols. They were arrested by police several hours later, caught in the dragnet searching for the men who robbed a bank in Fort Scott, Kansas
Fort Scott, Kansas
Fort Scott is a city in and the county seat of Bourbon County, Kansas, United States, south of Kansas City, on the Marmaton River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,087. It is the home of the Fort Scott National Historic Site and the Fort Scott National...
that afternoon, and were taken in for questioning. One of those who accompanied the arresting officers, 17-year-old Stanley Butner, described the arrest.
Although no evidence connected them to the robbery, they were all escaped convicts who were driving a stolen car. All three were indicted and wrongly convicted of the Fort Scott bank heist, in actuality committed by the Barker Gang, and sent to the state prison in Lansing. At least one account claims Sawyer was one of four outlaws recruited to rob the bank, referred to as a member of the "St. Paul Outfit", which included Harvey Bailey, Jim Clark and Ed Davis.
Escape from Lansing
Sawyer and his partners escaped from Lansing less than a year later, joining a mass escape with eight other inmates on May 30, 1933. He and the others forced their way out using pistols, smuggled in by Frank Nash, and among whom included Harvey BaileyHarvey Bailey
Harvey John Bailey , called "The Dean of American Bank Robbers", had a long criminal career. One of the most successful bank robbers during the 1920s, walking off with over $1 million during that time, Bailey is almost forgotten today.- His career :Born in West Virginia, Bailey robbed his first...
, Robert "Big Bob" Brady
Robert Brady (criminal)
Robert G. "Big Bob" Brady was an American bank robber and Depression-era outlaw. A well-known Oklahoma bandit during the 1920s and 30s, Brady was associated with Wilbur Underhill, Harvey Bailey and Jim Clark....
and Wilbur Underhill. Sawyer went off on his own after the group reached the Cookson Hills
Cookson Hills
The Cookson Hills are in the eastern part of Oklahoma. They are an extension of the Boston Mountains of Arkansas to the east and the southwestern margin of the Ozark Plateau. They lie generally between Stilwell, Oklahoma, Sallisaw, Oklahoma and Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The area became part of the...
on June 4. A series of mishaps followed as Sawyer attempted to flee the area. He first attempted to hitchhike but eventually resorted to stealing a car at gunpoint. The motor of this first car died soon after and his second car blew a tire near Middleburg
Middleburg
Middleburg may mean the following places in the United States of America:*Middleburg, Florida*Middleburg, Iowa*Middleburg, Kentucky*Middleburg, Maryland*Middleburgh , New York**Middleburgh , New York*Middleburg, Logan County, Ohio...
. He was forced to abandon yet another car when it began developing problems with the steering rod. He managed to steal a fourth car from a farm and drove it a little over six miles before it broke down just north of Gracemont. He hijacked another car but the driver purposely steered the car into a roadside ditch. Sawyer was eventually confronted near Chickasaw
Chickasaw
The Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the region that would become the Southeastern United States...
by Sheriff Horace Crisp and a deputy, then investigating the string of car thefts in the area, who was disarmed then knocked unconsciousness.
Prison years and pardon
Returned to McAlester to serve his sentence, he was transferred to the state reformatory in 1946 and the paroled to Kansas where he was then returned to Lansing and remained there for over two decades. Sawyer was finally pardoned by Governor Robert DockingRobert Docking
Robert Blackwell Docking, , was the 38th Governor of Kansas from 1967 until 1975.Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Docking attended public school in Lawrence, Kansas, before attending the University of Kansas, and served in the Air Force during World War II...
on September 18, 1969, after a signed affidavit by Alvin Karpis
Alvin Karpis
Alvin Francis Karpis , nicknamed "Creepy" for his sinister smile, was an American criminal known for his alliance with the Barker gang in the 1930s. He was the last "public enemy" to be taken.-Early life:Karpis was born to Lithuanian immigrants in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and was raised in Topeka,...
cleared Sawyer of the 1933 Fort Scott robbery. Sawyer filed a lawsuit against the state for wrongful imprisonment but the case went on for several years, up until his death.
Further reading
- "Warden, Three Women Two Guards Kidnapped By Fleeing Convicts; Eleven Escape From Lansing, Kans., Prison During Ball Game--Elude Police Cars Captive Officials Later Are Freed Car With Invalid Woman and Two Girls Seized-- One Group Fleeing Through Oklahoma". Hartford Courant. 31 May 1933.
- "Prison Fled By Eleven; Warden, Seized, Freed Later". Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
. 31 May 1933. - "Kidnapped Warden Freed By Felons; No Word From Women Second Group Seized; Kansas Prison Chief Left in Oklahoma. Meyer Wins Indianapolis Auto Race; Three Killed--Kansas Convicts Escape; Release Warden After Wild Ride". Chicago Daily Tribune. 31 May 1933.
- "Oklahomans Trap Kansas Convict; Frank Sawyer, Who Kidnapped 8 Persons in Their Autos, Is Taken at Binger. Two Others Are Trailed; They Hold Up Filling Station at Mammoth Springs, Ark., and Drive Into Missouri". New York Times. 5 Jun 1933.
- "Convict Bands Spread Terror. Oklahoma Officers Capture One of Kansas Fugitives". Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
. 5 Jun 1933. - "The chase may be over, but its chilling memories last a lifetime". Kansas City Star. 10 Oct 1993.
- "Frank Sawyer, 70, paroled after found innocent of 1932 Kansas bank robbery. Served 37 years Alvin Karpis recently admitted it". CBS Evening NewsCBS Evening NewsCBS Evening News is the flagship nightly television news program of the American television network CBS. The network has broadcast this program since 1948, and has used the CBS Evening News title since 1963....
. Columbia Broadcasting Service. 17 Sep 1969.