Texas African American Wanted Poster – D. D. Spates, First Degree Murder, 1912 – with 2 3/4" x 4 3/4" Mug Shots

Original Texas prison escape wanted poster for D. D. Spates, an African American school teacher from San Augustine County, convicted of first-degree murder. His death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment on July 31, 1911, and he was received at Huntsville Prison on August 6, 1911. He escaped from the Trammell Force unit in Angleton, Texas, on July 16, 1912.

Includes Spates’ mug shots, printed at 2 3/4" x 4 3/4", in standard dual-profile format. The poster describes Spates as age 33, 5'6 1/2", 127 lbs., with extensive identifying scars: a cut scar over the right eye, multiple cuts along the jaw and wrist, two missing upper front teeth, and sore shin scars on both legs. His wife is listed as Lucy Spates of San Augustine.

An extraordinary and deeply documented example of early 20th-century prison fugitive record-keeping, with detailed biometric data and biographical notes. Typed on brittle paper, partially toned, with edge losses not affecting content. Rare.