Biography
Joseph Reilly was an Irish immigrant and miner imprisoned under Montana’s sedition law after statements made in Saltese in April 1918. The prosecution attributed to him denunciations of the American flag and government, support for Germany and identification with the Industrial Workers of the World. He was confined at Deer Lodge from May 11, 1918, to May 11, 1919.
The original Montana State Prison descriptive intake form records actual receipt at Deer Lodge on 1918-05-11 and sentencing on 1918-05-11 in the Mineral County state sedition case, with an imposed term of two to four years. The report date is distinct from prison admission; receipt is not necessarily initial arrest, and the term is not completed time served. No new physical discharge is inferred. The named form includes frontal and profile photographs. Source: https://clcowgill.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/intakeform-m-w.pdf#page=9
The original Montana State Prison descriptive intake form records the sentence date as 1918-05-11 and records the plea/trial response as: Guilty. This sentencing entry is separate from receipt at the penitentiary.
