Holy Judd

A one time editor of Collier's magazine, Henry La Cossitt (1899-1962) also served as a deck hand on a ship and worked as a radio commentator and newspaper correspondent. As a magazine writer, his first published story was “Silent Eyes” in the September 1927 issue of Everybody's. He became a staple in The Saturday Evening Post, Collier's, and Adventure. My first experience with the writer is his prison-break story “Holy Judd”, which was published in the May 1st issue of Adventure in 1933.

La Cossitt's story's features a protagonist named Jim Judd. He is a former District Attorney that is now serving a five year stint in prison. As the story begins, Judd is now in his third year of the sentence and is considered a model prisoner. His record shows he is a trusted inmate that has a bit more freedom than others. He can leave the prison on short errands for the warden and the people in town know him well. When columnists and prison crusaders stop by the facility for inspection and interviews, the prison board typically places Judd front and center as the proverbial model citizen of the clank. 

A special place in the prison is reserved for bad behavior. It's a little knoll in the middle of the prison grounds that is connected by a twenty-five foot tunnel leading to a small concrete box with eight heavy iron doors. This type of penalty box hosts prisoners that have journeyed off the rails and need a break from the population. It consists of insufferable heat, a claustrophobic atmosphere, and one meal a day served with a small cup of water. It's the last place any prisoner wants to remain confined. Yet one day, Judd punches a gardener for no reason. It was as if he wanted to be sent to the box that day. 

As I alluded to earlier, La Cossitt's story is of the prison-break variety. But, what's remarkable about the plot is that Judd is nearing prison release with a clean record and the aptitude to continue on in some variety as a “reformed” man. Why would he purposely risk all of that to condemn himself to such Hellish conditions complete with an attempted escape blemish on his record? 

Thankfully, La Cossitt's story contains an interesting backstory on how Judd found himself in prison - a bogus bribery charge and set-up from his former law partner. Now, his former partner is close to becoming elected Governor and Judd wants to stop it. There's an elaborate set-up to free himself from the prison, capture a fellow inmate, and a quick home invasion angle. 

La Cossitt has a fantastic knack of building character backstories while still maintaining a brisk pace to keep it purposely plot-driven. “Holy Judd” is an enjoyable read. To my knowledge the story has never been reprinted, but you can read it below courtesy of Archive.org.