Harry Minto

{{Short description|Superintendent of the Oregon State Penitentiary from 1914 to 1915}}

{{Infobox person

|name= Harry Minto

|image= Harry P. Minto in 1908.jpg

|imagesize=150px

|caption= Minto in 1908

|birth_date ={{Birth date|1864|10|16}}

|birth_place= Salem, Oregon

|death_date ={{Death date and age|1915|9|27|1864|10|16}}

|death_place = near Albany, Oregon

|occupation= Law enforcement

|spouse=

}}

Harry Percy Minto (October 16, 1864 – September 27, 1915) was the superintendent of the Oregon State Penitentiary in the U.S. state of Oregon from 1914 until his death in 1915. Minto died in the line of duty, killed by an escaped inmate.

Early life

Harry Minto was born in Salem, Oregon, in 1864, the son of Oregon pioneer John Minto. In 1890, Minto was married to Jessie Glenn (1870 Salem, Oregon – 1956 Tampa, Florida).{{cite web |url=http://egov.oregon.gov/DOC/OPS/PRISON/osp_history5.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514165001/http://egov.oregon.gov/DOC/OPS/PRISON/osp_history5.shtml |publisher=Oregon Department of Corrections |title=The Last Day of Superintendent Minto |archive-date=14 May 2011 |url-status=dead}} Minto was chief of police for the Salem, Oregon police department from 1891 to 1895{{cite web |url=http://www.salemhistory.net/people/police_chiefs.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430193243/http://www.salemhistory.net/people/police_chiefs.htm |publisher=Salem Public Library |title=Police Chiefs |archive-date=30 April 2016 |url-status=dead}} and he served two terms as the Marion County sheriff. He was elected sheriff in 1908, and served through 1913.{{cite web |url=http://gesswhoto.com/sheriff-marion-pg2.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303195555/http://gesswhoto.com/sheriff-marion-pg2.html |publisher=A Place Called Oregon |title=Oregon Sheriffs - Marion County|archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=live}} His older brother, John Wilson Minto, was previously the sheriff as well as chief of police in Portland.{{Cite book|last=Geer|first=Theodore Thurston|title=Fifty Years in Oregon: Experiences, Observations, and Commentaries Upon Men, Measures, and Customs in Pioneer Days and Later Times|publisher=The Neale publishing company|date=1912|pages=[https://archive.org/details/fiftyyearsinore02geergoog/page/n124 113]|url=https://archive.org/details/fiftyyearsinore02geergoog}}

File:Oregon State Penitentiary 1892.jpeg

File:Carl Panzram OSP.jpg

In 1914, Minto was appointed as the superintendent of the Oregon State Penitentiary by governor Oswald West. He replaced Berton K. Lawson, who had been involved in the events at Copperfield, Oregon early that year. As warden, he supervised the infamous serial killer Carl Panzram, in June 1915, when Panzram still was in his early twenties and before his known murderings.{{cite web |url=http://serialkillercalendar.com/Detailed-Bio-of-Carl%20Panzram.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818001159/http://serialkillercalendar.com/Detailed-Bio-of-Carl%20Panzram.html |publisher=serialkillercalendar.com |title=Detailed Bio of Carl Panzram |archive-date=18 August 2016 |url-status=live}}

Death

Warden Harry Minto believed in harsh treatment of inmates, including beatings and isolation, among other disciplinary measures. On September 27, 1915, inmate Otto Hooker escaped from a work gang at the prison and Minto was one of many law enforcement personnel who went searching for the escaped prisoner. After Hooker shot and wounded one law enforcement officer, Minto caught up with Hooker near Albany around 11:30 pm. There Minto challenged Hooker, and Hooker shot Minto in the head, killing him instantly. Hooker was mortally wounded the next day during capture. Minto's remains were cremated in Portland, Oregon. Hooker's accomplice, Carl Panzram, was executed in 1930 for killing a prison employee at the United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth.