BROWN

Posted by Cathy Gowdy on Saturday, December 27, 2008 at 04:45:46 :

Marin Journal
Thursday, May 28, 1914
Page 3

Convict Commits Suicide

Tuesday night George Brown, sentenced to San Quentin from Santa Clara county for a three year term on the charge of burglary, committed suicide in his cell.

His prison term began April 4th of this year. Becoming despondent he had made several previous attempts to take his life which resulted in his being confined in the insane quarters of the prison.

Tuesday night near midnight after the guard had made his rounds the convict poured the coal oil from his lamp with which he saturated a blanket, wound it tightly about him and set fire to it. He was immediately discovered by Sergeant Jean McLean who smothered the flames with a piece of bed clothing and rushed the would-be suicide to the prison hospital where he died about three o’clock Wednesday morning.