The 25th Man

The Incredible True Story of Corruption, Prison Brutality, and the Outlaw Who Fought Back

By: Ed Morrell

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

The last of the train robbers tells his incredible true story.

In 1880 the railroad was like a god. Their power was absolute, and power corrupts…

When the honest hard-working ranchers and settlers of Frontier California pitted themselves against the far-reaching tentacles of the railroad, they were bound lose it all, and on May 11, 1880, the San Joaquin Valley became the site for one of the bloodiest gun battles of the west in a dispute over land titles with the railroad. This became known as the Mussell Slough Massacre.

Chris Evans, John Sontag, and Ed Morrell were the last of the railroad-raiding bandits. Working to avenge the settlers of San Joaquin Valley and the "Mussell Slough Massacre" they repeatedly held-up and relieved the Railroad of its cash and valuables.

Then came the Battle of Stone Corral. John Sontag was killed, and Chris Evans wounded within an inch of his life and captured.

Ed Morrell then helped Chris Evans breakout of the Fresno County Jail, triggering one of the largest manhunts in California History.

Over a year later finally captured and imprisoned in Folsom, Ed Morrell became the symbol of hatred from the railroad and was subjected to severe abuse and retribution.

Soon driven to revenge by mistreatment and torture Ed Morrell and a few others planned a mutiny and coup of Folsom Prison, but when a disgruntled stool pigeon foiled their plan, they were transferred to San Quentin Prison.

Then came the hardest ordeal of Ed Morrell's unfortunate life.

Sentenced to Life in Solitary on false charges, Ed Morrell "The Dungeon Man" was subjected to extended periods of the infamous "Bloody Straitjacket of San Quentin". A fiendish torture device much different than the restraining device more commonly known, this "Jacket" worked much like a boa constrictor, and being left in it for days and weeks at a time was an unimaginable torture.

While in the Jacket, Ed Morrell through self-hypnosis and out-of-body experiences, was able to survive with his sanity that which by all rights should have killed him. He credits these strange experiences for his release from solitary and later his pardon from the governor.

Upon his release Ed Morrell set out to reform that which he had endured in prison. Subjected to horrors in prison beyond belief, he was able to regale legislators with his experiences and what he felt should be done. His tireless work and his New Era Penology—an epiphany that came to him while in the Straitjacket—became a basis for the much-needed reformation of the prison policy of many states and Canada.

In giving to the world the story, ''The Twenty-Fifth Man," Ed. Morrell, its author, has contributed a human document of gripping interest. It is not only replete with stunning human interest episodes. It is more. "The Twenty-Fifth Man" will prove to be a great addition to American literature, surpassing anything of its nature ever attempted. Dr. Raymond S. Ward Montclair, introduction

…it is the work of such men as Ed. Morrell and the document he has prepared of his experiences, which will help most toward bringing about a day of better understanding. Geo. W. P. Hunt Governor of Arizona