CONSTRUCTION OF THE OLD GILA COUNTY JAIL WAS COMPLETED IN 1910. IT WAS BUILT OUT OF REINFORCED CONCRETE AND WAS CONSIDERED TO BE IMPENETRABLE AT THE TIME. THE NEW JAIL WAS BUILT WHERE ANOTHER JAIL PREVIOUSLY EXISTED . THE PRIOR JAIL HOSTED A HANGING GALLOW THAT MANY MEN MET THEIR FATE IN. THE GALLOW WAS EVENTUALLY SHUT DOWN DUE TO LACK OF FEDERAL STANDARDS BEING UPHELD. THE HANGING OF EARL GARDNER WAS THE LAST HANGING THAT TOOK PLACE IN GLOBE, AZ. AS EARL FELL THROUGH THE TRAP OF THE GALLOW, HIS SHOULDER STRUCK THE SIDE, COMPROMISING THE DROP/ WEIGHT RATIO. THE ROPE NEEDS TO BE TIED A SPECIFIC WAY BASED ON THE PERSON'S HEIGHT AND WEIGHT. ONCE THE LEVER IS RELEASED, THE AMOUNT OF ROPE THAT IS RELEASED IS DETERMINED ON HOW MUCH PRESSURE IT WILL TAKE TO BREAK THE NECK. IF THIS IS COMPROMISED DURING THE EXECUTION, THE CRIMINAL IS LEFT SUFFERING AND GASPING FOR AIR. THIS IS IN FACT, WHAT HAPPENED TO EARL GARDNER. HE HUNG FOR 25 MINUTES UNTIL SHERIFF LON JORDAN STEPPED IN AND PRESSED HIS SHOULDERS DOWN TO STOP HIS BREATHING.
THE OLD GILA COUNTY JAIL HAD IT'S SHARE OF VIOLENCE AND SUICIDES THROUGH HISTORY. THERE ARE STORIES OF INMATES JUMPING FROM THE CATWALK, WHICH CONNECTS THE COURTHOUSE TO THE JAIL ON THE 3RD FLOOR. INMATES ALSO COMMITTED SUICIDE BY HANGING, AS WELL AS OTHER INVENTIVE WAYS.
THERE WAS A MURDER IN THE JAIL ON THE NIGHT OF JULY 2ND 1910. KINGSLEY OLDS WAS SHOT AND KILLED BY AN UNKNOWN ASSAILANT FROM THE COURTHOUSE WINDOW NEXT DOOR. THE KILLER WAS NEVER CAPTURED. KINGSLEY OLDS WAS ON TRIAL FOR THE MURDERS OF HIS EMPLOYERS DAUGHTERS, MYRTLE AND LOU. RUMOR HAS IT THAT FATHER WESLEY GOSWICK MAY HAVE INDEED FIRED THE SHOT THAT KILLED KINGSLEY OLDS IN HIS VERY OWN CELL.
WE ENTERED THE JAIL AT 9:00 P.M. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17TH AND INVESTIGATED UNTIL 3:00 A.M. THE FOLLOWING MORNING. THE JAIL WAS FILLED WITH PARANORMAL ACTIVITY. THERE WERE MULTIPLE SPIKES CAPTURED ON OUR STATIC FIELD DETECTORS. HOWEVER, OUR ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD DETECTORS WERE RENDERED USELESS DUE TO HIGH LEVELS OF E.M.F. COMING FROM POORLY INSULATED WIRING THROUGH THE ENTIRE BUILDING.
AFTER AN INITIAL WALK THROUGH WE SEPARATED INTO GROUPS OF 2 AND POSITIONED OURSELVES AT OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE BUILDING. WE ALMOST IMMEDIATELY WITNESSED OUR TRIBO-METER STATIC FIELD DETECTOR ACTIVATE, FOLLOWED BY MULTIPLE CELL DOORS OPENING AND MOVING. DURING THIS TIME, VICTOR AND DANNY WITNESSED THEIR R.E.M. POD STATIC FIELD DETECTOR ACTIVATE AS WELL.AS THE NIGHT WENT ON, THE ACTIVITY CONTINUED. AS WE INVESTIGATED ONE OF THE CELL BLOCKS, LEAD INVESTIGATOR ERIC .R., WAS TEMPORARILY SUBJUGATED BY AN UNKNOWN FORCE AND HAD TO BE REMOVED FROM THE AREA TO REGAIN COMPOSURE. UPON 2ND ENTRY TO THE CELL, A SIMILAR EVENT OCCURRED ONCE AGAIN TO ERIC, FORCING US OUT ONCE MORE.
I BELIEVE THAT THE SPIRITS LINGERING WITHIN THE WALLS OF THE OLD GILA COUNTY JAIL ARE THOSE OF BOTH INMATES, AS WELL AS LAWMEN. A COMBINATION OF GOOD AND BAD, THAT WILL REMAIN FOR ETERNITY WITHIN THE CELLS AND OFFICES AT THE GILA COUNTY JAIL. THE SPIRITS THERE WILL COMMUNICATE WITH THE LIVING, WHILE LETTING IT BE KNOWN, THAT THEY ARE IN CONTROL OF THE SITUATION ONCE YOU ENTER THE CELL BLOCKS. THE SPIRITS AT THE JAIL ARE ALSO ABLE TO HARM AND MANIPULATE THE LIVING, SO WE RECOMMEND EXTREME CAUTION WHEN INVESTIGATING THIS LOCATION.
