Jessie Starcher: A WV State Pen Tragedy

Beckley Post-Herald
03 October 1951

Jessie/Jesse James Starcher was barely out of his teens when he was sent to the West Virginia State Penitentiary at Moundsville. The coal driller from Richwood, WV was found guilty of grand larceny/forgery and sentenced to serve 2 to 10 years in the penitentiary. 

However, prison life didn't seem to suit Mr. Starcher. Although he was a trusted enough prisoner to join a prison road camp, on May 1, 1949, Mr. Starcher walked away from that camp, which was located just outside of Charleston, WV. For over a month, Starcher wandered from state to state. On June 5, he was arrested in Youngstown, OH for public intoxication. With his conscience getting the better of him, he admitted to police that he was an escaped prisoner from WV. Apparently, the officers thought this was merely 'drunk talk,' and sent him on his way, telling him to "go home."

Instead of heading back home to West Virginia, he made his way to Cleveland to visit his sister. The following day, she accompanied him to the police station, again where he attempted to turn himself in to Detectives Michael Gaynor and Carl Roberts. He was held in custody until it was confirmed that yes, he WAS missing from the state penitentiary. He claimed that he escaped because after serving 16 months of his sentence, he was afraid he wouldn't be paroled until 1953.

Unfortunately, none of the news articles I could find explained Starcher's thought process. He was originally sentenced from 2 to 10 years. That means he only had eight months to go before the lower end of his sentence was up. He was obviously trusted enough that he was put on work detail in another part of the state! Why did he panic...and why was he so scared of that arbitrary 'middle' date of 1953? He surely had to know that should he be caught, an escape attempt would not fare well for his case. 

Whatever his reasoning, Starcher was sent back to the WV State Penitentiary. On October 2, 1951, however, he would attempt a different method of escape. That morning, he attended his regular on-site work detail but asked to go to his cell early because he wasn't feeling well. When a guard checked on him 45 minutes later, he was found in his South Hall cell, hanging from his belt. The time of death listed on his death certificate was 12:05pm. 

Jesse James Starcher was sent home to Richwood to be buried. Born September 30, 1928, he was the son of Leonard Starcher. 

The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH)
07 June 1949

Death Certificate for Jesse James Starcher
WV State Archives