Lawrence P. Gooley

North Country / Adirondack Author

Book Format: Paperback

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Dannemora’s Death House: The Crimes and Fates of 41 Killers Sentenced to Die in Clinton Prison’s Electric Chair

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Dannemora's Death House-Front Cover

In 1890, when electrocution replaced hanging in New York State, Clinton Prison became a house of execution for the next 24 years. But not every killer who was sentenced to death died in the electric chair. Some were saved by fate, mercy, legal action, or last-minute reprieves. While some ultimately survived, most did not. By 1914, when all executions were moved to Sing Sing, 26 inmates had been electrocuted at Clinton.

Inside are the stories of 41 murderers who were sentenced to die in Dannemora’s electric chair. Graphic details of many brutal attacks are covered, including victims’ injuries as provided in coroner and autopsy reports, so this is not a book for the squeamish—but it is a book for fans of true-crime stories. There’s plenty of drama, passion, and angst throughout in stories ranging from shocking to frightening to just plain remarkable. » More Details

People & Places of the Adirondacks & Foothills, Volume 7

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People & Places of the Adirondacks, Volume 7-Front Cover

The People & Places of the Adirondacks collection contains a variety of story types: original works of hard history, the lives of unusual people, noteworthy accomplishments, groundbreaking inventions, remarkable mishaps, oddities, and humor.

They all have one thing in common: each is rooted in the North Country, defined here as the Adirondacks and foothills. The region’s past is filled with relative or complete unknowns who were, in fact, highly accomplished individuals. Many of the chapters here reveal their stories, which are well worth preserving. Those and others are presented with a purpose that is threefold: to educate, amuse, and entertain.

In this volume… » More Details

Escape from Dannemora: 170 Years of Escapes, Tortures, and Infamous Inmates at New York’s Most Notorious Prison

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Escape from Dannemora-Front Cover

Clinton Prison has hosted the best and worst criminals in the country, from gentleman scam artists and bank robbers to vicious serial killers who murdered on a whim and dismembered their victims. Included within these pages are those stories and much more—ingenious breakout artists and how they escaped, details on severe punishments and tortures imposed at Clinton for a half century, and profiles of dozens of the most famous, infamous, and unusual prisoners ever confined within Dannemora’s walls.

This book was already in progress when the stunning escape from Dannemora occurred in June 2015. Since the plan included extensive coverage of Clinton’s violent past and dozens of escape stories, the recent escape that gripped the nation for nearly a month provided the perfect opening chapter.

It was a spectacular breakout, but contrary to what was widely stated in the media, hardly unprecedented. Men went over and under the wall on many occasions prior to 1929, which is the line of demarcation that separates the old from the new. During the eighty-five years following 1929, no one escaped from inside the high wall until Richard Matt and David Sweat did it. But during the eighty-five years prior to 1929, it was done many times in exciting, ingenious, and spectacular fashion. » More Details

People & Places of the Adirondacks & Foothills, Volume 6

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People & Places of the Adirondacks, Volume 6-Front Cover

The People & Places of the Adirondacks collection contains a variety of story types: original works of hard history, the lives of unusual people, noteworthy accomplishments, groundbreaking inventions, remarkable mishaps, oddities, and humor.

They all have one thing in common: each is rooted in the North Country, defined here as the Adirondacks and foothills. The region’s past is filled with relative or complete unknowns who were, in fact, highly accomplished individuals. Many of the chapters here reveal their stories, which are well worth preserving. Those and others are presented with a purpose that is threefold: to educate, amuse, and entertain.

In this volume… » More Details

People & Places of the Adirondacks & Foothills, Volume 5

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People & Places of the Adirondacks, Volume 5-Front Cover

The People & Places of the Adirondacks collection contains a variety of story types: original works of hard history, the lives of unusual people, noteworthy accomplishments, groundbreaking inventions, remarkable mishaps, oddities, and humor.

They all have one thing in common: each is rooted in the North Country, defined here as the Adirondacks and foothills. The region’s past is filled with relative or complete unknowns who were, in fact, highly accomplished individuals. Many of the chapters here reveal their stories, which are well worth preserving. Those and others are presented with a purpose that is threefold: to educate, amuse, and entertain.

In this volume… » More Details

People & Places of the Adirondacks & Foothills, Volume 4

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People & Places of the Adirondacks, Volume 4-Front Cover

The People & Places of the Adirondacks collection contains a variety of story types: original works of hard history, the lives of unusual people, noteworthy accomplishments, groundbreaking inventions, remarkable mishaps, oddities, and humor.

They all have one thing in common: each is rooted in the North Country, defined here as the Adirondacks and foothills. The region’s past is filled with relative or complete unknowns who were, in fact, highly accomplished individuals. Many of the chapters here reveal their stories, which are well worth preserving. Those and others are presented with a purpose that is threefold: to educate, amuse, and entertain.

In this volume… » More Details

People & Places of the Adirondacks & Foothills, Volume 3

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People & Places of the Adirondacks, Volume 3-Front Cover

The People & Places of the Adirondacks collection contains a variety of story types: original works of hard history, the lives of unusual people, noteworthy accomplishments, groundbreaking inventions, remarkable mishaps, oddities, and humor.

They all have one thing in common: each is rooted in the North Country, defined here as the Adirondacks and foothills. The region’s past is filled with relative or complete unknowns who were, in fact, highly accomplished individuals. Many of the chapters here reveal their stories, which are well worth preserving. Those and others are presented with a purpose that is threefold: to educate, amuse, and entertain.

In this volume… » More Details

People & Places of the Adirondacks & Foothills, Volume 2

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People & Places of the Adirondacks, Volume 2-Front Cover

The People & Places of the Adirondacks collection contains a variety of story types: original works of hard history, the lives of unusual people, noteworthy accomplishments, groundbreaking inventions, remarkable mishaps, oddities, and humor.

They all have one thing in common: each is rooted in the North Country, defined here as the Adirondacks and foothills. The region’s past is filled with relative or complete unknowns who were, in fact, highly accomplished individuals. Many of the chapters here reveal their stories, which are well worth preserving. Those and others are presented with a purpose that is threefold: to educate, amuse, and entertain.

In this volume… » More Details

People & Places of the Adirondacks & Foothills, Volume 1

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People & Places of the Adirondacks, Volume 1-Front Cover

The People & Places of the Adirondacks collection contains a variety of story types: original works of hard history, the lives of unusual people, noteworthy accomplishments, groundbreaking inventions, remarkable mishaps, oddities, and humor.

They all have one thing in common: each is rooted in the North Country, defined here as the Adirondacks and foothills. The region’s past is filled with relative or complete unknowns who were, in fact, highly accomplished individuals. Many of the chapters here reveal their stories, which are well worth preserving. Those and others are presented with a purpose that is threefold: to educate, amuse, and entertain.

In this volume… » More Details

Killing in the Kuyahoora Valley

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Killing in the Kuyahoora Valley-Front Cover

Killing in the Kuyahoora Valley is the true story of a murderous attack in 1914 by a teenager (Jean Gianini) in the village of Poland, New York. Kuyahoora, the native-American name for West Canada Creek, is located in Herkimer County. Poland, in the southern Adirondack foothills, is about 15 miles northeast of Utica.

The death of petite schoolteacher Lydia “Lida Lou” Beecher at the hands of a former student proved to be a landmark case—the first to cite intelligence on the same level as insanity in determining a defendant’s guilt or innocence. America’s courts would never be the same.

The viciousness of the crime, the intensity of the trial, and worst of all, the indifference and arrogance of the killer were all reasons why a public mania surrounded the proceedings every step of the way. In the wake of the Chester Gillette-Grace Brown story, the Jean Gianini case assumed the moniker, “Trial of the Century.” » More Details