From Butch Cassidy to an 11-year-old car thief to a Jesse James crony still bloody from a posse's beating, these mugshots evoke the true outlaw spirit of the Wild West.
The brothers were captured and sent to Stillwater Prison after a botched bank heist turned them into national fugitives. Younger was paroled with his brother Cole in 1901 and committed suicide in 1902.Wikimedia Commons
In prison, it was revealed that Bert Martin had been born female and was named Lena. Martin had been living as a man in order to work as a cowboy. Records show that Martin was transferred to the prison's women's division on Sept. 22, 1901.History Nebraska
He was convicted of killing two men though he confessed to 43 other murders, many of which could not be substantiated. In court, his lawyers used the insanity defense, but he was executed a year later.History Nebraska
Younger, along with his brothers, was captured and sent to Stillwater Prison. After he was paroled on July 10, 1901, Younger worked on a 'Wild West' stage show and toured as a lecturer.Wikimedia Commons
His Wild West days came to a stop after the brothers and the James gang raided the First National Bank in Minnesota in 1876. He died in prison in 1889.Northfield Historical Society Press
According to his prison records, the warden trusted Perez enough to make him a "trusty" which meant he had the authority to discipline other inmates when they were working outside. He escaped from prison on October 27, 1922 and seems to have vanished into the California wilderness.Shayne Davidson/CapturedandExposed.com
She was sentenced to one to three years in the Nebraska State Prison.History Nebraska
He was a baker by day and a pimp by night, and was charged with placing a woman in a "house of prostitution." Vancouver Police Department/Washington State Digital Archives
It's unclear what exactly her crimes were but the legal definition of mayhem is "the criminal act of disabling, disfiguring, or cutting off or making useless one of the members (leg, arm, hand, foot, eye) of another either intentionally or in a fight, called maiming." History Nebraska
Dalton was pardoned after 14 years in prison. After his release, he wrote books about his experience as an outlaw and even played himself in a 1918 silent movie about the Dalton gang.Wikimedia Commons
He was arrested after a homemade alarm system setup by the owners alerted them to his trespassing. History Nebraska
Three days after she made bail, McKamey was rearrested after speaking at another rally. This time she was charged with being "incorrigible." As punishment, she was sent to the local Detention Home for juveniles despite being an adult.Shayne Davidson/CapturedandExposed.com
In her photograph, Williams appears defiant upon her arrest.History Nebraska
Later, another man confessed to the crime, and the state paid Lytle $2500 for false imprisonment. He served two years in prison for a crime he did not commit.History Nebraska
The reformatory was first opened in the state in 1910.Mark Michaelson/Flickr
Brownfield, on the other hand, described Armstrong as a general thief. Missouri Historical Society
His thick mustache and hair were shaved off before a second photo was taken.History Nebraska
“I'm looking for photos that move me for whatever reason. From things that are terribly funny to things that are terribly tragic," author and collector Mark Michaelson told New York Daily News of his mugshot collection.Mark Michaelson/Flickr
When the fugitives were finally caught and arrested, they requested to go to the Nebraska State Prison rather than return to the woman's reformatory.History Nebraska
Hutchinson and her brother were released after their court hearing due to lack of evidence.History Nebraska
As clearly shown by her mugshot, she refused to look at the camera for her photograph.History Nebraska
He was eventually captured after leading authorities on a multi-state chase.History Nebraska
Whitney was a grifter who made his money by advertising his clairvoyance and palm reading abilities in the local newspapers. One of his unsatisfied customers reported him to authorities who charged him with collecting money under false pretenses.History Nebraska
The partners fled only to be caught in Colorado. During trial, through an interpreter, the Mexican-born Lopez pleaded not guilty but admitted she knew of the murder. She served a little over two years.History Nebraska
Oddly, the victim was able to identify Hudson by the shape of her legs since he hadn't seen her face during the robbery. The couple was arrested in 1928 for making away with $382 of cash from the restaurant's profits.Shayne Davidson/CapturedandExposed.com
His bandaged head was the result of his scuffle with police after he escaped custody and was rearrested.History Nebraska
On Aug. 20, 1953, inmates at the reformatory staged a mass riot which lasted for four days.Mark Michaelson/Flickr
According to his prison records, he enlisted in the US Army shortly after his release in 1918 to serve in World War I.History Nebraska
The original police document of O'Brien included a cryptic note which read "Taken out March 7, 1883." Mark Michaelson/Flickr
After serving his sentence for more than 10 years in jail, Whitewater was one of two inmates pardoned by the Nebraska governor following a change of law. After his release, Whitewater walked through the prison gates and "rolled in the grass from joy."History Nebraska
Lee was sentenced to six months to two years in the Nebraska State Prison. He was granted a furlough to visit his terminally ill wife. After, he served time until July 4, 1921, when he was finally released.History Nebraska
He was booked by the St. Louis police.Missouri Historical Society
This trick earned her the nickname "Fainting Bertha." Her scam came to a halt when she was arrested in May 1903. History Nebraska
"I feel like an archaeologist trying to find and preserve these records of the common man, most of which are treated like trash and destroyed once they’re no longer in use," mugshot collector Mark Michaelson told Collector's Weekly. Mark Michaelson/Flickr
Unfortunately for Johnson, his hair and luxurious mustache were later shaved off by officials due to a lice scare.History Nebraska
The advent of photography revolutionized the criminal investigation process, giving police the ability to capture and maintain vital records of criminals like never before. The mugshot as we know it today has roots in 1840s Belgium, where police began to photograph individuals in prison so they could be identified if they offended again after release.
As of 1857, New York police regularly photographed suspects and displayed their images in a gallery so the general public could help apprehend the criminals. By the 1860s, mugshots on wanted posters were everywhere in America.
Many early mugshots didn't use the front view and profile view side-by-side format that modern mugshots use. This format began circulating in 1888 thanks to the work of a French policeman, Alphonse Bertillon.
And in these early days of the mugshot, perhaps no place was more filled with outlaws and bandits to be photographed than the American frontier.
See some of the most hardened criminals from the late 1800s and early 1900s in the gallery of Wild West mugshots above and learn more about their daring exploits below.
Justice In The Wild West
Criminals in the Wild West were mainly sent to jails like the Wyoming Frontier Prison. Conditions inside these jailhouses were abysmal, starting with having no electricity or indoor plumbing. These prisons also featured facilities that would be considered barbaric in the modern age, including a torture dungeon where inmates were routinely beaten and whipped.
Despite some of the 19th-century judicial reforms that went against the inhumane treatment of inmates, such as torture and solitary confinement, many Old West jailhouses didn't end their brutal ways. The Wyoming Frontier Prison, for example, didn't even close for good until 1981. But before it closed, approximately 13,500 people were incarcerated at the facility, including 11 women.
Meanwhile, another infamous Wyoming prison housed two people in each five-foot-wide cell and allowed no talking between prisoners of any kind. But, this being the Old West, you could both smoke and chew tobacco if you so chose.
The Biggest Criminals Of The West
Prisons like these held some of the most notorious criminals in American history, bandits who took full advantage of the Wild West's lawless ways.
Among the most notable outlaws — whose mugshots are featured in the gallery above — are the Younger Gang. This band of crooked siblings made up of Cole (the eldest), Bob, and Jim Younger achieved infamy by committing a string of robberies in states like Missouri, Texas, and the surrounding area.
They soon teamed up with another pair of outlaw brothers, Frank and Jesse James, to form the infamous James-Younger Gang and execute a daring batch of robberies and evade authorities for years.
Jesse James, the leader of the alliance, penned letters to sympathetic newspaper editors and painted his gang of outlaws as American Robin Hoods who stole from the greedy rich to disperse wealth to the poor.
But their reign of terror largely ended with a botched bank robbery in Northfield, Minnesota, in September 1876. They ended up outnumbered and targeted by armed civilians of the town who managed to drive the robbers away.
While the James brothers successfully escaped the angry town mob to continue their lives of crime crime, the Younger brothers were captured by a group of the townspeople in the woods.
After the posse captured Jim Younger, he was still bloody from the beating the locals had given him when he was dragged in front of the jailhouse camera for his mugshot.
That mugshot, like so many others that survive from the Old West, paints a unique picture of a largely lawless land where criminals could make a killing and cops could often deal with those they did capture however they pleased.
Although the hard-knock days of the Old West are now long gone, the remarkable outlaw tales from that time live on in the period's striking mugshots that survive to this day.
Next, take a look at some of the most famous mugshots throughout history. Then, see some more incredible vintage mugshots that bring the past to life.
