Guard George Joseph Turley

George Joseph Turley

Guard George Turley was beaten to death by a death row inmate during an escape attempt from the Cook County Jail at 26th Street and California Avenue.

The inmate had tricked other guards into letting him out of his cell. He was able to make his way onto the top of the prisoner's outer wall where he encountered Guard Turley, who was in a watchtower. He attacked Guard Turley and beat him to death with his shotgun.

The man then successfully escaped with the shotgun. He remained at large for 48 hours before being taken back into custody. He was was executed on March 14th, 1952, for the original murder he had been convicted of.

Guard Turley was a U.S. Army veteran of WWII and had served with the Cook County Jail for only one month.