Deputy Keeper Joseph H. Tinney

Joseph H. Tinney

Deputy Keeper Joseph Tinney was shot and killed as two inmates attempted to escape from the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton.

Handguns had been smuggled into the prison for the two suspects. When Keeper Tinney arrived to take the inmates to the dining hall, he was shot and killed. After killing Keeper Tinney, the inmates attempted to scale the wall. The officers in the tower opened fire on the inmates, who fired back. Both inmates were shot and wounded by the tower officers and apprehended when they fell to the ground.

The two inmates were convicted of Keeper Tinney's murder and sentenced to life in prison. The following year several accomplices who helped smuggle the guns into the prison were convicted of related charges.

Keeper Tinney was a WWI veteran and had served with the New Jersey Department of Corrections for three years. He was survived by his wife and daughter.