On February 6, 1998, Beyond Belief: Fact Or Fiction aired a segment called "The Wall," which was revealed at the end of the show to be true!
The segment featured a man accused of a crime he didn't commit without a fair trial. The accused man left a bloody handprint on the wall of the interrogation room, stating that it would remain there forever as proof of his innocence.
In a rare case of a "true" Beyond Belief story actually being substantiated, this story actually has kind of a cool real-life mystery behind it.
Background - the jail and the Molly Maguires
The Old Carbon County Jail was built in 1869-1870 and served as Carbon County Pennsylvania's prison until 1995. It contains 27 cells and basement dungeon cells, which were used for solitary confinement until as recently as 1980.
The Old Jail is best known for its connection to the Molly Maguires, a secret society of Irish coal miners who fought against the oppressive working conditions in Pennsylvania's anthracite coal fields during the 1870s.
The trials of the Molly Maguires were highly controversial, and many historians now believe that the trials were deeply unfair. As one Carbon County judge later noted: "The Molly Maguire trials were a surrender of state sovereignty. A private corporation initiated the investigation through a private detective agency. A private police force arrested the alleged defenders, and private attorneys for the coal companies prosecuted them. The state provided only the courtroom and the gallows."
Executions & the mysterious handprint
Between 1877-1879, six men were hanged at the Old Jail. Before his execution, one of the condemned men (believed to be Thomas Fisher) placed his hand on the dirty cell floor and then firmly pressed it against the wall of Cell #17, declaring: "This handprint will remain as proof of my innocence."
Remarkably, despite numerous attempts to remove it—including washing, painting, and even rebuilding parts of the wall—the handprint remains visible to this day!
Listen to Beyond Believers Episode 3 where we recap this segment and more!
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Read more about the Old Carbon County Jail
Watch the Beyond Belief episode