Guard Henry J. Gearhart

Henry J. Gearhart

Guard Henry Gearhart was shot and mortally wounded by an inmate at the Ohio State Penitentiary in Columbus.

The inmate shot another guard through his shoulder and then shot and killed himself. No one knew how he got the revolver he used. The inmate was angry with Guard Gearhart because he had reported him for an infraction of prison rules, by which he lost special privleges for 30 days. The inmate was serving a 10 year sentence for a robbery and safe blowing conviction in Perry County in 1901. Guard Gearhart, shot through both lungs, succumbed to his wounds four days later.

Guard Gearhart was survived by his wife and two children.