Henry Moity’s Crazy Postscript (1940s)
Over the course of a few years, Henry gained the trust of prison officials, becoming a “trusty.” Because of his trusty status, he was allowed more freedoms, special assignments, and had less guard oversight than fellow inmates. Using that trust and full of French Quarter feistiness, he escaped in 1944 during a routine post office visit. As he carried out his duties, he grabbed a taxi.
While Henry took a train to Chicago, the prison superintendent was nonplussed. He believed Henry would return on his own, since he had already served sixteen years and probation was coming soon. When it became clear Henry wasn’t coming back, the law set after him, recapturing him in 1948. But prison beckoned to Henry; in 1956 he shot his girlfriend in a Los Angeles hotel. While he didn’t kill her, he was sent to Folsom, where he died in 1956.
